Common Foot Injuries After Running: Causes & Symptoms

Do you feel pain in your arch, heel, toes, or at the bottom of your foot? Common Foot injuries after Running are quite common among runners, especially when you’re running a longer distance. A runner normally experiences one injury every year. Besides, your feet take most of the load while you’re on a run.

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People tend to be at higher risk with high pronation & neutral feet or high arches. A runner experience injury in the foot because of many reasons. Excessive Run, over pronation, over-training, neglecting care are few of the causes experienced by runners. Runners usually come across many other common running injuries apart from the foot.

Common Foot Injuries After Running

Plantar Fasciitis

One of the most common foot injuries is plantar fasciitis which involves irritation or degeneration of the thick layer of a tissue known as fascia at the bottom of the foot. This layer works like a spring when a person is walking or running.

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If a runner increases the volume of running too quickly fascia gets stressed. Muscle tightening or weaknesses in calves can also lead to plantar fasciitis.

It can be identified with:

A pain under the heel or mid-foot,

Pain that develops over some time,

Burning sensation at the bottom of the foot,

Great pain in the morning and pain after prolonged activity.

Stress Fractures

A hairline crack in your bone due to a lot of stress or impact leads to stress fractures. Runners experience these fractures usually at the top of the foot or in the heel or the lower leg. If you feel you have a foot fracture, you should go to a doctor right away. An X-ray can be used to diagnose the fracture.

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Its symptoms can be:

Pain that gets worse with time, which is unnoticed at first and swelling,

Bruising or tenderness in the fractured area.

It takes around 1-2 months to heal this fracture, you may need to use crutches or wear a cast to get rid of the fracture.

Achilles Tendonitis– Common Foot Injuries After Running

In this, the tendon that connects the calf muscle to heel inflammation can happen when a runner increases the mileage or the intensity of running. It should be treated well on time; else the Achilles tendon gets rupture. In that case, the last alternative would be surgery.

Symptoms that can be observed are–

Dull pain in the lower leg, especially above the heel,

Swelling along the Achilles tendon,

Warm feeling over the tendon.

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Bunions

A sore or inflamed bump in which the pain increases while wearing tight footwear is Bunions. It can develop as a calloused bump on foot, generally on the side of the big toe or on the side of your little toe. If it develops, it causes you to shift your stride, which leads to pain in the big toe, little toe, or ball of your foot.

It can be commonly seen in people who do not have good arch support. Wearing good supportive shoes can be of great help to overcome this injury.

To Sum Up- Common Foot Injuries After Running

A few runners deal with injuries now and then. The common areas that are likely to be affected by these injuries are the knees, legs, and feet. If any kind of discomfort or pain is felt while running, a doctor should be consulted immediately to get a proper diagnosis and to get over those conditions.

Also, a physical therapy plan or exercises can help to recover many running injuries.

Frequently Asked Questions