Morning stiffness

[ladycheshire5]

Curious if this is a phase or does anyone else have the same problem. In the morning when I first get out of bed and put weight on my feet they are a bit tender and stiff. Almost as if they were stuffed into a small space (crammed) for a while. Walking is a small challenge, don't ask me to hit the ground running. But after a few minutes on my feet this subsides. I have been running in the morning 4-5 days a week for 2-3 weeks now ( I think I'm not underestimating ). So far, this hasn't kept me from running at all bit it's curious as it happens every single morning even on my second off day.

Laura

 

[Smelph]

mine have done this for a

mine have done this for a long time now, even before i started running over a year ago. I have tried many different things to fix it and have pretty much just accepted it as the way it is. I figure it's "getting old syndrome"

If you find a remedy let me know though!

 

[Neil_D]

Hi there,I swear by the

Hi there,

I swear by the bucket of icy water, it really worked for me when stopping pain from transitioning to barefoot running.

After a workout I would stand in a large bucket of water for around 10 minutes then have a shower and warm up the area. That stopped the stiffness in its tracks.

I don't have to do it anymore as the tendons adapt after a year and it shouldn't be a problem.

Regards

Neil

 

[ladycheshire5]

Troy, this hasn't been a

Troy, this hasn't been a issue for until after I started bf-ing. I usually keep my runs to M-F mornings, breaks are the weekends. By Monday it's not as bad but still stiff. Neil, I haven't tried this. I have used ice packs for a pain here and there, isolated in one area. You have me curious about the ice bath. Immediately after running, right? Every single time? I can give this a try. Good to know it is a phase I just have about 9 months or so to go. Ha Thanks.

Laura

 

[Barefoot Gentile]

I used to get this as well,

I used to get this as well, after two years of running barefoot I recently changed my running style and technique. I used to land midfoot, now I land forefoot. The morning foot soreness has gone away, and the calves feel much better as well.

 

[Jonny00GT]

I had this pretty much every

I had this pretty much every morning in the beginning. Now, I only get it when I'm upping my mileage. Your feet are going to have to get stronger and use to the activity. You've been in "foot cast" shoes your whole life...it's gonna take some time. If you're doing more than every other or every 3rd day or not waiting to run again till the soreness is gone, then it's just something you'll have to deal with, IMHO.

I let my feet dangle off the bed, wiggle my toes, flex my arches and just get the blood flowing a little before I step down. Like you, it only takes a few minutes before it goes away.

-Jonny

 

[Barefoot TJ]

Your feet are getting a huge

Your feet are getting a huge workout, especially considering the number of muscles, bones, tendons, etc. It should subside with more experience and conditioning, but as Gent suggested, make sure you are running properly.

 

[barefoot kean]

This happened to me a few

This happened to me a few months after I started bf running, it just went away after awhile. What i did was to not wear shoes as much as possible until my feet strengthened and stopped hurting in the morning.

 

[Barefoot Dama]

Sore feet first thing in the

Sore feet first thing in the morning is part a the package it will go away eventually.

 

[pilotrunner]

I had to double-take this

I had to double-take this thread. I thought it said, "Morning Stiffies" not "Morning Stiffness".

Either way, I think the answer to both is often, at least for guys, "yes".

I have nothing to add.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

I think you added plenty. 

I think you added plenty. ;-)

 

[JosephTree]

Yup. I've been there,

Yup. I've been there, wiggling my feet before getting out of bed to work out the stiffies, er... stiffness.

The ice bath sounds quite effective and I'd love to hear if it's valid beyond the field of one. Mine went away with time. Funny, I just woke up one day and realized it hadn't been an issue in a couple months.

Good luck Lady Ches!

 

[ladycheshire5]

I did pause at the title

I did pause at the title before submitting... couldn't think of how else to word it. Hey, if it gets a little extra attention for that, I don't mind.



As far as form goes, I've been pretty diligent, or so I think, to stay more on the forefoot, I think I do fairly well. The new thing for me right now is the hill. I started adding half the hill back into my runs about 2x week, last week I think it was 3-4x. I have not gotten to the point of doing a complete 5 days in a row on the hill yet. I suppose I could look at hill ascent and descent form a little closer? When I was doing the short 1.62-ish, flats continuously this did not happen. It wasn't until I began upping my speed and distance that this started, which goes along with what Jonny said. I tried the ice bath this morning, I'll see how I get out of bed in the morning, but, I'm sure it might take a few times of doing it before it shows any positive affect.

 

[NickW]

My morning stiffness is in

My morning stiffness is in the ankles everyday. My feet are fine just my ankles are stiff. They work out after a few minutes of being awake too. Must be part of the same thing. It doesn't seem to bother me as much as it used to, so maybe I am on the downhill slope.

 

[Smelph]

Nick, mine seems to be more

Nick, mine seems to be more in the ankle area too, although it goes down int othe arches a little. I found that running up on my forefoot more makes it worse and more persistent. I'd love it if it eventually goes away like some folks have experienced, but it's been over a year now for me (and like i said earlier, this was a problem i had before I even started running!) so I'm not too hopeful at this point.

 

[Spinningwoman]

I thought I would resurrect this thread rather than my own more recent one on the same topic because I thought it would be interesting to find out what people's subsequent experiences were with this. I particularly like the poster's description of the stiffness as feeling like her soles are too full - that may not be the exact wording, as Tapatalk doesn't let me look back while typing a reply. But that is exactly the feeling I get. [edit, looking back I remembered this a bit wrong - she said her feet feel as if they had been crammed into a small space, whereas I would probably describe it that the feel themselves are somehow a bit 'pumped up')]

My stiffness has definitely got a bit worse since I increased my distance rather quickly to do a 5k parkrun, and maybe a bit since I upped my cadence a few weeks ago. It doesn't bother me while walking or running at all - just for the first few steps after resting, either in bed or just sat down. if I lie in bed and wiggle my feet around before getting up, it doesn't hurt at all to move the feet and the stiffness feels less when I do get up, though it is still there. A few 10-20?) steps, and standing up on forefoot and back a few times, is enough to get rid of it. When it isn't there, it isnt there. It's not just 'less'.

Just to annoy the anti-earthers<g>, if I sit out in the garden with bare feet on the grass, I don't get the stiffening up effect when I get up.

My impression is that it may be less after I have worn minimal shoes with socks and a little bit of cushion (like Vivos with the insole left in) rather than actual bf or Sockwas, and more if more hard surfaces, so I'm wondering if it is related to actual irritation of the sole rather than just bone/muscle/ligament development?

I'm not getting a lot of sympathy as you can imagine -! 'Your feet hurt - oh, what was it you were doing yesterday? Running with no shoes on? Well, duuuh...'

 

[migangelo]

I'm not getting a lot of sympathy as you can imagine -! 'Your feet hurt - oh, what was it you were doing yesterday? Running with no shoes on? Well, duuuh...'/QUOTE]

you can save that and use it when their feet hurt from being in shoes all day. your feet will adapt. it just takes time.