Help Diagnosing Foot injury.

Sounds like plantar fasciitis. Roll it and stretch calves and big toes 3-5x a day. Not running isn't going to help. The more frequent the stretch and and rolls are the sooner it will clear up.

I'll give it a try. Isn't plantar fasciitis on the heel and arch of foot? Mine is just on the side and localized.

Pain in the foot may occur after a long walk in uncomfortable shoes. If she walked quickly, there is no reason for concern. Constant pain in the foot can be a symptom of the disease. An accurate diagnosis will put orthopedist or neurologist.

Runn3rGirl wrote:

I'll give it a try. Isn't plantar fasciitis on the heel and arch of foot? Mine is just on the side and localized.

If PF you should know soon. If PF you should begin to feel pain in the arch or heel in a day or so.

A simple way to tell if you have plantar fasciitis versus a heel spur/stress fracture is to walk on your toes: heel spurs and heel stress fractures feel better while you walk on your toes, while plantar fasciitis typically produces more discomfort when you shift your weight onto your toes.

I can walk on my toes and heels with no problem. The pain never went to my arch. It's on the side of my heel between my ankle and Achilles tendon, and it's stayed in the same spot. It hurts when I run and push of it.

Runn3rGirl wrote:

I can walk on my toes and heels with no problem. The pain never went to my arch. It's on the side of my heel between my ankle and Achilles tendon, and it's stayed in the same spot. It hurts when I run and push of it.

I developed pain exactly like this last January. I had been upping the miles a bit and also got some new shoes that were far too cushy for me. I just had to dial it way back and spend more time in firmer shoes. It took about three weeks for it to go away completely.

I just started running in a fresh pair of shoes. I haven't ran in 3 days to see if it will heal. I did too much in a 5 day span as well. A cross country meet, 17 mile run and a speed workout. Did you do any specific strengthening exercises or icing?

Nothing too big. I did some self massage and stretched my calves a lot. I also rolled out the arches and heel of my foot on a lax ball.

And I did a lot of walking. I had a fairly young pup that needed to get out. And I walk to work. I think that really helped.

If you do not own a foam roller, I would absolutely suggest getting one. I was having peroneal tendon issues (something worth looking at as well in your situation) years back. I got a foam roller to use before and after runs. It almost instantly helped my tendon issues. Also, you can use a tennis ball to apply firm pressure on any part of your legs/feet that feel particularly sore. Just roll it around and you will know the spots that you need to work when you find them. I have heard this referred to as trigger point therapy. These two things in combination with icing, anti-inflammatory medicine (Advil, etc.) and simply backing off on pace/mileage for a short time take care of an awful lot of the little leg, knee and foot pains I occasionally feel.

Look at good anatomy pictures of the plantar fascia and achilles tendon. You should be able to tell which it is. Both can cause inside heel pain.

Regardless, your tight calves most likely led to it. You probably have myofascial adhesions (knots) in your calves and other parts of your kinetic chain.

Use The Stick or foam roller to break those up. Or go see an ART or graston practitioner who will work out the knots. Then stretch after the knots are worked out. Stretching now can make it much worse.

Also, do warm epsom salt soaks to help promote healing.

use arnica cream, stretch, and ice

It's more on the side of my foot closer to my heel than Achilles tendon.

My best guess with such limited information is Plantar. You don't have to have pain on the bottom of the foot to have Plantar.

My guess is that you got Plantar because you are too tight. You need more flexibility in your foot, calves, and hamstrings.

Stone bruise

Runn3rgirl wrote:

It's more on the side of my foot closer to my heel than Achilles tendon.

It could be the beginning of a tarsal tunnel syndrome or an inflamated posterior tendon that passes through this tunnel. The flexor hallucis longus is the one that is closer to the heel/achilles tendon.

I would try next runs with my old shoes if I were you.

I'll try that. I looked up tarsal tunnel syndrome and an inflamed posterior tendon, and mine is a lot more localized than those injuries look.

Runn3rgirl wrote:

It's more on the side of my foot closer to my heel than Achilles tendon.

The Achilles tendon attaches to the heel bone. Saying "closer to my heel than Achilles" does not make sense.

I agree with this assessment. I'm certainly not a Doctor, but I've had enough running ailments to be somewhat close when it comes to running related injuries. My first thought was posterior tibialis since you said your calves were tight. The post tib runs from your calf down, wraps around your ankle, and connects to the arch of your foot. If you've been running side sloped surfaces more frequently lately, this is a highly likely scenario, as this functions as a stability muscle.