Injury That Won't Go Away - Help!

Try some superfeet or custom orthotics.

Try changing your shoes when you come back to running. Do a lot of strength work too.

tight, do u run extreme toe to heel? Tip toe runner?

you need to give it more time to heal and be more aggressive with rehab and prehab. it's not an injury to mess around with. not that you want to hear it, but you're young and you have plenty of time to take time off and make a good recovery. ignore it and it will be life long.

take 6-10 weeks off (x-train), see a therapist who is certified in A.R.T., and after that time off get very aggressive with strength training.

see:

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=4532013

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=4360289

good luck, take care of it, and you will recover.

for what it's worth wrote:

tight, do u run extreme toe to heel? Tip toe runner?

Not that I know of but I've never actually seen a video of myself running. I think I tend to be more of a midfoot striker.

dfs wrote:

Try some superfeet or custom orthotics.

I've been running in custom orthotics for about three months now and don't think they've really helped at all. Should I keep running with them?

Don't go back into the boot. The loss of function you acquired through wearing the boot the first time probably set you up for future failure.

Get your parents to get you to someone who does the Graston Technique or ASTYM. You can google each.

Should I completely rest my foot or can I start cross training now?

I'm 22 years older than you and I've had every running injury in the book. One thing I've learned the hard way is that there is a kinetic chain within your legs; this injury could be reoccurring because of something that has nothing to do with your ankle; it could be (probably is) an imbalance coming from your hip or who knows where.

2 weeks off from running is NOTHING in terms of injury recovery. And, just because it feels better, doesn't mean it is. Strength training is very important; not just weights, but something like yoga which will target your whole body. There are lots of male runners who do yoga so don't think it's just for chicks. Or if you don't want to do it in a class, google yoga poses for runners and do it at home.

Try different shoes? Maybe you need something more supportive? I think different shoes can change a little bit the mechanics, maybe you need a higher heel? I did have some problems with that tendon and it was 100% a shoe issue.

I've had posterior tibialis problems in both legs. Unfortunately, this injury ended my running career (I was around 22 years old when the first occurred). My advice:

1. Take a lot of time off. I took 2 weeks like you. Should have taken 2 months. You're young. Take a lot of time off. I would wait until there is no pain and then wait another 4 weeks at least. 6 would be better. Seriously.

2. Do good strengthening. My injury was related to weakness in my glutes. Doing stair-type cross training helped me.

3. Minimal shoes helped me. Orthotics did not help me.

4. ART or something similar is a good idea, but you need to figure out other muscle weaknesses and do PT otherwise, you are right, it will come back.

This injury is mysterious. It will probably be a complicated recovery. Don't give up and don't run through pain. Good luck.

Peace Out wrote:

I'm 22 years older than you and I've had every running injury in the book. One thing I've learned the hard way is that there is a kinetic chain within your legs; this injury could be reoccurring because of something that has nothing to do with your ankle; it could be (probably is) an imbalance coming from your hip or who knows where.

2 weeks off from running is NOTHING in terms of injury recovery. And, just because it feels better, doesn't mean it is. Strength training is very important; not just weights, but something like yoga which will target your whole body. There are lots of male runners who do yoga so don't think it's just for chicks. Or if you don't want to do it in a class, google yoga poses for runners and do it at home.

Is this the kinetic chain you're talking about?

Would those be good exercises to do for my Achilles? (the ones in the video)

John McGilliss wrote:

Try different shoes? Maybe you need something more supportive? I think different shoes can change a little bit the mechanics, maybe you need a higher heel? I did have some problems with that tendon and it was 100% a shoe issue.

^ I concur with this advise. An orthotic is only as good as the shoe it sits in. If you shoe isn't stable, the orthotic will not function like it should.

In addition to the various therapies that have been suggested, you might consider getting a gait analysis. Ideally, you would have a physical therapist who has special expertise in treating distance athletes, could provide the analysis and could make recommendations for best shoes given your particular needs, etc. But however you get the analysis, you would want to know why the injury occurred in the first place.