So here goes... The hip hurts on the right, but that's been going on for like 4 months. It's over the greater trochantor and I have thought that it is bursitis but possibly now some IT band stuff... Who knows! Sometimes after I run it hurts really bad but a run also sometimes will loosen it up. No rhyme or reason. But I do stretch a lot and have one of those foam rollers to help stretch the IT band. The foot is the left. Started on Sat. nothing bad I just noticed it later in the day after my run and now I notice it about a half hour after running. I can feel the exact spot on the inside of my arch in front of my heel, but not on the heel there is a spot that is tender about the size of a quarter. tonight I can feel a little bump in there and the pain is burny-ish. Never severe just there and I noticed today after I had sat down for a little while that it kinda stiffens up and then goes away some after being on it more.
Well If you can solve my problems I would have to call you a miracle worker! It's not that I'm opposed to going to the doctor but I am in a rural area and going to a specialist just hasn't been convienient so I just tend to take a little ibuprofen here, ice it there to get through. Having run with Mik'L the last two Saturdays I've decided I run on my toes a little and maybe sometimes more so maybe that has something to do with it. I've been trying to work on that when I realize that I'm doing it. Good Luck and thanks for listening!
If you have any great advice for IT band help, I'd love it hear it too, Lulu! You seem like the resident expert on running injuries. Mine is my right hip.
Ok Michelle, I've spent a lot of time thinking about your issues. First, let me say I am not professionally trained ie I am not an MD. I read extensively in the medical and popular literature about running injuries and nutrition. They say "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing." I've also been running for more than 27 years and have had more than my share of injuries, particularly hip and foot. Take what I say with a grain of salt.
A couple of questions further.
1. On your left side, if you press (reasonably hard) on the inside of your knee right where the knee cap meets the rest of the knee, does that hurt? You will probably say no, which is good. Your foot issues are probably associated with you running on your toes or with your shoes. I hope.
2. Right hip: does it hurt right on the side, slightly more toward the front or slightly behind? This makes a big difference in what I think it might be.
Ok, what I would do in the meantime. Foot: First thing in the morning -- BEFORE YOU GET OUT OF BED, pull your toes back hard (flex your foot) with your knee straight and then bent to stretch your calf (straight stretches gastrocnemius, bent streches soleus) before you put your feet on the floor. Then stretch your calves when you get out of bed. Stretch maybe one more time before running, but don't stretch too much. That can make plantar worse. Wear shoes with an arch support constantly for at least two weeks. No slippers, no sandles, no bare feet etc. Not even in the house; not even to get up in the middle of the night to go potty! If you have Birkenstocks they have enough (barely) support for the house, but Crocs do not.
Freeze a plastic water bottle. Roll it under your foot for 20 min while eating breakfast, lunch and dinner. Yes, you should be sitting down when you do those things anyway or you'll eat too much. You might even consider wrapping athletic tape around your arch for your run in the next couple of weeks. Use only one piece of white athletic tape and wrap it once while your foot is flexed. You might need to put a bit of lube right where it hits your arch so you don't get a blister. Put your foot flat on the floor with some weight on it and reposition the tape if your foot feels at all squished. You just want to provide some light support while you are healing.
Check your shoes. If the bottoms are worn enough where any portion of the sole is worn through, get a new pair. Cheaper than Dr visit and PT if PF gets worse.
Hip: Using the same frozen water bottle, now that it has melted some, lay on your side and prop yourself up on your elbow. Put the water bottle perpendicular to your body under the portion of your hip that hurts. Using your elbow and forearm, move your entire body forward (toward the direction your head is pointing and back toward your feet direction) so you roll the water bottle beneath the portion of the hip that hurts. This should provide a deep, cold massage.
Get a NEW tennis ball and perform the same type of massage to the foot and hip whenever you have time.
Also, about Ibuprofen. I have a very different view of that than most people on this blog. I notice a lot of people take it. Some people even take it while racing. I believe that is very dangerous to your kidneys and liver. Personally, I don't take it within 12 hours of running, meaning I really have to be hurting (ie almost immobile and not able to run) to take it. There are several reasons for this: (1) inflamation is telling you something and you should listen, (2) inflamation is your body's healing response, why would you want to suppress it? (3) of course, avoid kidney and liver damage, and (4) avoid chemicals as much as possible.
Oh, and some more information I need about your hip: I have noticed on your blog that it hurts sometimes and not others. See if you can remember where in your monthly cycle it hurts the most and the least and if there is a connection there. Many, many women runners have hip issues that are partially related to hormonal changes in their cycle. For example, a woman's body releases relaxin (this is the chemical that your body releases in pregnancy that allows your hips to separate so the baby fits through the birth canal) at one point in her cycle causing her sacral and iliac joints to be very mobile. If you step wrong at this point, it can cause hip pain until the joint tightens up again or the muscles fight to reconfigure the bones. Ok, I could go on and on. If you want you can email me at fastrunninglulu@gmail.com and give me more info or give me your phone number, and I'll call you and we can talk about this. I would love for you to run injury free. I hope this helps.
I agree with you about ibuprophen. If you can't feel how much it hurts when you run, you are more likely to push an injury further than you should and make it worse.
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