Weird Ankle/Heel Pain - Not PF

[blndsnbrdr]

During a low mileage week (less than 20mi total, no long run) my feet started getting cranky. Well, more my ankles. And heels. Its really weird and I'm going to try really hard to properly explain this. I know your not all Drs, but I'm looking more for someone whose experienced something like this.

On my left foot the bone of my heel - exactly the back of my foot, what rubs on the heel of my shoe - is oddly painful. As in I can push and prod it with no pain but if I rub it against the sheets (yes, sheets, no mattress) of my bed wrong its painful. Sometimes it hurts against my shoe, sometimes not. I've tried every shoe I own - old and new - and the results are just as all over the place - hurts walking on Tuesday, no pain running on Wednesday, no pain walking on Thursday, hurts running on Wednesday. Um, wtf?! Its not an excruciating pain but it definitely hurts. This pain started 2 wks ago, I've run about 30 miles on it.

Then, on my right leg/calf/ankle I have a weird muscle ache that is about as consistent as the bone ache on my left foot. It is not the Achilles tendon, its more like the muscle behind it. Sometimes it hurts when I rub on it or stretch it, sometimes it'll be painfree for a whole day. Nothing is consistent. This pain started 6 days ago, I've run exactly .5 miles on it.

Has anyone experienced any of this pain? Any suggestions on wtf it is?

I'm not in training for anything so not running isn't a huge deal - I just REALLY need my body back by January. And if I do go into somebody professional do I go to a foot doctor or a sports massage therapist? I have recs for both, can't decide who to give my money.

**Mileage/Running background: In Sept/Oct my mileage jumped from 20mi weeks to 40mi weeks with my first 50K. Through all of that running my body was perfectly happy. November was my month to "run when I want" without a schedule and almost immediately my body got pissed off. I did run 3 hard/fast race (1 5K, 2 10Ks) on the roads whereas 98% of my 40mi weeks were on trails.

***My thoughts: this pain has something to do jumping around from long trail runs to fast road runs and not running for a while will fix it. BUT if anyone has had other experiences with anything like this I promise I'll take your advice/stories seriously!

[Deleted]

What are your shoes doing? How old are they?

[blndsnbrdr]

Nov 26, 2013 9:55:37 GMT -5 doglove said:

What are your shoes doing? How old are they?

Anywhere from 3-9 months old. I have about 4 pair I rotate through - none are new models and the odd pains have not been shoe specific, from what I can tell.

[Wines Not Whines]

I've been dealing with achilles tendinopathy, and the pain is all in my heel, where the achilles attaches. That's the first thing I thought of when I read your post. I also have good days and bad days. Some days walking hurts, but on other days, running is fine. Maybe that's what you have?

[hannahb]

My thought is Achilles' tendon as well. That should hurt when you press on it though. Going from trails of road could cause that as well as going from a more supportive shoe to something more neutral/minimal. I would stretch and ice and see if it gets better

[blndsnbrdr]

Nov 26, 2013 12:17:52 GMT -5 Wines Not Whines said:

I've been dealing with achilles tendinopathy, and the pain is all in my heel, where the achilles attaches. That's the first thing I thought of when I read your post. I also have good days and bad days. Some days walking hurts, but on other days, running is fine. Maybe that's what you have?

Crap...I'm googling now. I don't like what I'm reading. Silly tendons getting all ornery on me!

And of course the site I read happens to credit weak hamstrings. That makes me even more inclined to believe the may be achilles - my hamstrings are pansies! I need to work on that!

Nov 26, 2013 14:33:01 GMT -5 hannahb said:

My thought is Achilles' tendon as well. That should hurt when you press on it though. Going from trails of road could cause that as well as going from a more supportive shoe to something more neutral/minimal. I would stretch and ice and see if it gets better

Its weird that it doesn't really hurt at all when I specifically press on it. Even if I'm trying to recreate what hurt 2 seconds earlier.

I'm hoping some legit downtime will help - I'll play around with some time on the trails again next week with lots of TLC until then!

[Wines Not Whines]

I think mine was caused by really tight calf muscles, at least in part. It did hurt when I massaged my heel though.