Pain on top of foot

I wonder if anyone can shed any light on this.....

Did the Calderdale on Saturday, feet felt fine whilst I was running. However, next day, the top of my foot, approx.1-2 inches below my ankle joint, felt really bruised and I couldn't stand any pressure from the laces on my trainers.

Let it rest for a couple of days and it certainly started to get better.

Went out last night for a run and for 6 miles it was fine, no pain at all. Then it suddenly started to hurt in exactly the same spot. I had to keep stopping and adjusting my shoes, and managed to limp back.

This morning, it feels really bruised again, very tender. But there are NO visible signs of bruising??? Perhaps a slight swelling compared to the other foot but nothing much.

NOTE - my laces were definitely NOT too tight, although that is where the pain seems to be. I don't THINK it's the metatarsal, it feels slightly higher than that.

Any thoughts appreciated.

Try this http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/....shtml#topfoot

Thanks Pudgy. I don't think it is a stress fracture, I reckon I'll try that "piece of foam" thing.

Mr 1470

Over a period of 10 years I've had pain on top of my right foot, esp after long runs or races, tarmac downhill has a particularly bad impact - eg 9 Standards race which finishes with a couple of miles down a 1 in 4 road in fell shoes! This has gradually been accompanied by a hard bony deposit building up, forming a lump on the top of my foot. A couple of years ago I twisted this foot in a race and had excruciating pain in the same spot, followed by nagging pain for weeks afterwards.

I ended up seeing a specialist at the cumberland infirmary who said I've got wear and tear at the point where the bones in the forefoot come together. The pain is caused by the bones rubbing together where whatever is between the bones (cartilege?) has worn out.

The long term solution is to fuse the bones, but that'll reduce flexibility and probably create other problems for the longer term (cos there's a reason for having two bones instead of just one longer one!).

In the short term I'm advised to keep on running as long as the pain remains bearable - running isn't doing any more damage than everyday life and the consultant was big on the fact that it keeps me physically and psychologically healthy therefore keeping the NHS bill down.

I have had some off the peg orthotics prescribed for my road running shoes and could also get some for my fell shoes. These are supposed to maintain a foot posture that keeps the pressure off the joint between the bones.

In the time since seeing the consultant I've kept running but done more training on the bike and things haven't got a lot worse. The injury was the spur to get on with one or two things that have been on my shopping list for a while, so I did my BG last summer (without major side-effects). What I find I have to avoid is football/rugby with the kids, as twisting and kicking a ball with the affected foot bring the pain on.

Hope this is helpful.

Pain on the top of the foot in the area you described could be a bout of flexor tendonitis/ tendonopathy? It would be a good idea to rest for a week, if the pain continues on your run go and see a good sports physio or podiatrist. You can never rule out stress fractures in runners but the presentations or symptoms do tend to be quite obvious..In most cases?

The external plantar nerve crosses the foot about 1-2 inches below the front of the ankle on the top of the foot. Its quite common to bruise the nerve in that area as the nerve is very close to the surface. I quite commonly get pain in this area usually when I've had my shoes too tight. Try running in a different pair of shoes or with thicker socks you may find this provides sufficient protection for the nerve. That would be my guess anyway.