Top of Foot/Ankle Joint Pain

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

I've been running (after recovering from ITBS injury) for a couple months now, but only recently have I been increasing my miles.  The most recent injury or issue I've encounted is this pain on the top of my foot, but in the nook of my ankle if that makes sense, right below the knobby ankle bone.  When I would run, it almost felt like something was being pinched in that area.  When it first started coming on, I thought I had my shoes laced up too tight.

I went to see my PT, who solves all my running issues of course--seriously!  After checking to make sure that my tendons were all okay, he said that most running injuries have to do with range of motion, or lack thereof.  In my case, with the build-up of miles I was running, my calves were getting really tight and cranking down on my ankle.  Thus the pinching feeling.  All I did to get rid of the ankle pain was do 2 stretches he recommended to start stretching my calves--not necessarily my whole hamstring (which probably wouldn't hurt to do but wasn't the main issue).  Specifically, he had me stand, facing the wall, put my hands on the wall in front of my with one foot forward and bent at the knee with the back leg stretched back.  He told me to turn my back foot in slightly in order to get at all the muscles in my calves, then just bend the front leg forward to stretch. 

The second stretch was the same thing, only bring the back foot closer to the wall (so the distance is less between the front and back feet) and then bend the back knee so you are stretching your calf but bending at the ankle.  It feels really weird, but it totally works.  I also stretched my calves by hanging my foot off a step (or a curb works fine).  My PT said that the hanging off the curb stretch is pretty hard core and the other ones should be fine, but what can I say--a bit of an overachiever and I wanted that range of motion back! 

Now I don't have any pinching in my ankle or any top of foot pain.  I also ditched my orthotics at his suggestion; I thought long and hard about this, and I determined that the orthotics could be restricting the range of motion my ankle needs while running.  So far my runs have just been getting better, even without the orthitics, and I've continued to increase my distance.

9 comments:

Hillsmama May 18, 2013 at 12:54 PM  

I just came across this post, 2 years after the fact but I have the exact same problem you describe. I too came back from years of injury and never gave up and have been running injury free for about 6 months now. I ran a marathon 2 weeks ago and by the end of the marathon, my ankles were sore. I didn't think much of it, I chalked it up to the long distance. After 5 days rest, I went for a few runs. The last run I did hobbled me completed. During my run, both ankles hurt but 5 minutes later, I could barely walk. My friend who is a physio told me that same thing as you did. I find comfort in your story in that I'm not alone and that I can take action to make it better. I hope you are still running injury free.

Almonds and Applesauce May 21, 2013 at 4:45 PM  

Hillsmama,

First off, thank you for taking the time to leave a comment! It made my day, and validated the whole reason I started this blog--to hopefully help someone in a similar situation and return to running. As for my running, I actually just got got back from my PT today because of a separate, but similar, tight ankle issue that resulted from me doing too many calf raises. But once again, he is helping me on my way back to being injury free. I welcome any comments you may have in the future and hope that you get some results soon!
Best,
Ann

CLaabs March 27, 2014 at 5:15 PM  

Hi,

Just coming across this today, as I'm searching for help with my pain. It occurs usually around 2 miles into my run...pain on the top of my foot, close to the ankle, going up the ankle a bit (really, into the very lowest part of my shin). It's a painful burn...actually reminds me of shin pain, just lower. Do you think this is similar to what you had? If so, you recommend more thorough calf stretching? Thanks in advance!

Almonds and Applesauce March 27, 2014 at 10:18 PM  

Hi CLaabs!

First off, sorry that you are experiencing injury--so very frustrating.
In response to your question I have a do have a few thoughts. I must add the disclaimer that I am not a medical professional and the information I have is purely what I have used for my own recovery.
That said, yes there are aspects of your injury that I had, with the exception of the burning feeling. I have since gone round and round with different peculiar things that all affected the range of motion in my ankle.
I definitely think that calves can really mess up ankle range of motion. I've also found that once the range of motion in my ankle gets restricted, then my body tries to do the same job it normally does, but can't because the ankle isn't working. So the issue bounces around like a ping pong ball. For example, when my calves get tight from overuse or understretching or increasing milage too fast (you get the idea), then they crank down on my ankle. When my ankle gets really tight, nerves in my ankle get pinched and sometimes my toes are affected as well as other muscles in my lower calf.
Questions for you: are you running hills? What terrain are you running on, cement, dirt, etc.? How new/old are your shoes?

Alex Neil March 23, 2016 at 10:03 AM  

The ankle joint is the meeting of the bones of the leg and the foot and is responsible for the up and down motion of the foot. In popular usage, the ankle is often considered to be the ankle joint plus the surrounding anatomic region, including the lower end of the leg and the start of the flat part of the foot. Pain in the ankle can result from inflammation or injury to any of the structures in this region, including the bones, joint space, cartilage, ligaments, tendons, or muscles.

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About Me

In addition to running and almost all things outdoors--snow ski, water ski, wakeboard--I love to cook (check out my other blog at almondsandapplesauce.blogspot.com), love to read, and especially love hanging out with my awesome husband and two little boys.

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