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[spynappels]

Hi All,

This is post more to vent and moan as I'm trying to motivate myself to carry on.

I've been working at improving my general fitness since last summer, with a fairly successful regime of 3 15-20 mile cycles a week over the summer and through the autumn. Bad weather has dented this over the winter to the point where I've not been on my bike in nearly 2 months.

I have been trying to get myself motivate since the Christmas holidays to at least start walking more again, and I've managed to average at least 2-3 miles a day for the last 2 weeks or so, which I'm pretty happy about. I finally decided to do the couch to 5k programme, mostly in my work lunchbreaks as the terrain around Queen's Island and the Titanic Quarter is nice and flat for starting off. Just waiting for some new runners to arrive as my walking boots just aren't appropriate for running in.

Here is the ratty part: In the last week or so, I've noticed a pain in my left heel. It's not a bone pain, it feels more like it may be an Achilles tendon type of feeling, and it gets me when I'm walking up steps or stairs or when jogging like when I run across the road when on a walk. I notice it when walking too, but it isn't painful, just slightly uncomfortable. It does feel worse when going uphill, and all of this makes me think it may be tendon related.

I know I should probably go and see a doctor about it, I'm guessing walking it out is not really an option as I've been doing nothing but walking and that seems to have brought it on! It's just a pain as I'd just decided to do the C25K and I HATE running, so it was a big step for me.

Anyway, sorry for moaning, I am determined to keep going with the general fitness drive as I don't want to be the "Fat Dad" at the kid's Sports Days. Hope to get on track soon, I'll update this thread when I do.

Stefan

[LandyLiam]

Good luck with the program Stefan, I normally hate running myself, but when I do it with a group and keep withing my means and don't bust myself it can be good craic so maybe think about joining a club.

[whoRya]

Don't apologise for moaning, heck you can rant away if you want also.

I totally understand how you feel.  If you are someone who enjoys being active then these injuries and lay-ups are a bit of a curse.

You're not the only one.  I experienced some foot pain back in September over a couple of weekends whilst backpacking in the hills.  The bottom line is that I have plantar fasciitis in both feet.  The onset of this was over 4 months ago now and things don't feel significantly better at this stage.  As a result I've had to curtail just about anything active that I was involved in.  Football has been knocked on the head, big days in the hills, flip even racing my son to the car is now off the agenda.  I literally haven't been out of breath for those four months.  Thankfully a good metabolism has kept any weight off (I'm not eating any less).

The only thing I've continued to do is the odd little bimble in the smaller hills, where the route isn't arduous, mainly on tracks.  But there hasn't been any getting off the beaten track.  And when I say odd I do mean I've only been out about 5 times in those four months and walks have been under a few km.

A tight Achilles has been linked to PF so I'd be careful.  I think you are wise to be wary of trying to walk it off.  Some things you can't do that with.

I wish you a speedy recovery, hopefully we'll both be in a better place soon (that's not meant to sound like a euphemism for death  ).

Until then, have a good moan.  It's dung when you feel like this.     

[Rich.H]

Couple of wild guesses here, first it could be related to your posture when you are out walking. If you have a bad walking posture then moving to running would only make it worse if you do not fix the issue first. You could have either weak muscles in that area of your ankle or tight muscles, tight ones are easy enough to fix as it just involves a fair amount of good quality stretching after use and trying to keep them long as much as possible. As to weak ones I suffered something similar a couple of years back and found one particular thing handy.

Stand on a stair with only your toes and balls of your feet in contact, allow the rest to poke over the edge (standing facing towards the stairs). Then let one leg hang loose behind you in the air, slowly lower yourself all the way down with your standing leg, the bend should come from the tow and ball area, but also allow your ankle to bend inwards naturally. Drop down as far as it will go, then start to push upwards to straighten your ankle then keep going up until you are on your tiptoes. It is best to do this on stairs I find as you have walls to keep your balance on. Once fully raised hold the position for 5 to 10 seconds then start to lower and repeat the process. I found this was an absolute killer for fatigue and to begin with it was rare I would manage more than about 5 on each leg before everything calf and lower felt like it was on fire. However since making it a natural part of my routine I have found that my ankles and lower legs are much stronger and able to support me correctly, this means my posture is better I suffer less from ankle roll when running, and all round pain in that region is reduced.

Now it may well be you do have a real problem not just a niggle, get your posture checked out and if that looks fine you might need to see a doc, no doubt someone will spot this thread who has real medical knowledge to offer you some better advice though.

[RedLeader]

As someone who effectively can't jog because of shin splints I don't have much advice to give but I can sympathise. I went to see both a Podiatrist and Sports Physio (both through Groupon offers). They both suggested that I might pronate (or supinate) and I think this can manifest in lots of different types of pain issues that can be managed with the correct footwear / insoles so you might want to look into that.

One thing I would say was that both the Podiatrist and Sports Physio made me feel a bit pressured sales-wise. I'd 100% recommend that you go see your own doctor asap and see if they'll refer you through the NHS to someone who might be able to help with some more impartial advice that isn't selling you something. You'll end up on a waiting list but the sooner you do it the sooner someone will be helping you.

[spynappels]

Yeah, I was thinking of going to see a doctor and see if they could refer me through my work's BUPA scheme, must get the policy out and see what it says about physio, I seem to remember there was a provision for it...

Still managing a few miles a day walking without any real pain, so at least the miles are still ticking over. Thanks for the encouragement guys!

[Rich.H]

As someone who effectively can't jog because of shin splints I don't have much advice to give but I can sympathise. I went to see both a Podiatrist and Sports Physio (both through Groupon offers). They both suggested that I might pronate (or supinate) and I think this can manifest in lots of different types of pain issues that can be managed with the correct footwear / insoles so you might want to look into that.

One thing I would say was that both the Podiatrist and Sports Physio made me feel a bit pressured sales-wise. I'd 100% recommend that you go see your own doctor asap and see if they'll refer you through the NHS to someone who might be able to help with some more impartial advice that isn't selling you something. You'll end up on a waiting list but the sooner you do it the sooner someone will be helping you.

I wouldn't let a diagnosis like that hold you back, I have suffered both shin splints and stress fractures in the past. The former can be resolved if your patient with it. For me it took a lot of strength building in that area with little impact, this meant hitting the pool, bike and rowing. After a couple of months of that I was able to move to short gentle jogs and so on. Having suffered both types of lower leg injury the nice thing about shin splints is you know it is not bone related and thus can be somewhat bull headed about it. I always just kept telling myself "suck it up it is only muscle pain, push hard today then you can rest". It is a long hard process but a battle you can win.

[RedLeader]

Interesting. Non-impact strength building in the specific area of the issue wasn't something I had really thought of. Might look into that, cheers.

As someone who effectively can't jog because of shin splints I don't have much advice to give but I can sympathise. I went to see both a Podiatrist and Sports Physio (both through Groupon offers). They both suggested that I might pronate (or supinate) and I think this can manifest in lots of different types of pain issues that can be managed with the correct footwear / insoles so you might want to look into that.

One thing I would say was that both the Podiatrist and Sports Physio made me feel a bit pressured sales-wise. I'd 100% recommend that you go see your own doctor asap and see if they'll refer you through the NHS to someone who might be able to help with some more impartial advice that isn't selling you something. You'll end up on a waiting list but the sooner you do it the sooner someone will be helping you.

I wouldn't let a diagnosis like that hold you back, I have suffered both shin splints and stress fractures in the past. The former can be resolved if your patient with it. For me it took a lot of strength building in that area with little impact, this meant hitting the pool, bike and rowing. After a couple of months of that I was able to move to short gentle jogs and so on. Having suffered both types of lower leg injury the nice thing about shin splints is you know it is not bone related and thus can be somewhat bull headed about it. I always just kept telling myself "suck it up it is only muscle pain, push hard today then you can rest". It is a long hard process but a battle you can win.

[LandyLiam]

Interesting. Non-impact strength building in the specific area of the issue wasn't something I had really thought of. Might look into that, cheers.

did you ever get a good set of trainers? (not necessarily a dear set) that's how I cured my shin splints, now I can run in flip flops 

[RedLeader]

Yep, got a pair of Asics trainers specifically for pronation but I've not had a chance to really give them a good outing yet. Did you get ones for pronation or just for better quality impact protection?

Interesting. Non-impact strength building in the specific area of the issue wasn't something I had really thought of. Might look into that, cheers.

did you ever get a good set of trainers? (not necessarily a dear set) that's how I cured my shin splints, now I can run in flip flops 

[LandyLiam]

I have normal/average pronantion so got a pair that suited that, I just went with what felt the softest so I would get more cushioning.

[RedLeader]

I think that's pretty much where I ended up. I'll get a few outings over the coming weeks and see how it goes.

I have normal/average pronantion so got a pair that suited that, I just went with what felt the softest so I would get more cushioning.

[spynappels]

So, I got a basic pair of Asics and am now in the third week of C25K.

Am not anywhere near wiped out after each run, all the cycling and walking last year must have had some good effect.

I'm not enjoying the running itself, but I am getting satisfaction from completing each day, and I'm confident I can complete it.

And best of all? NO PAIN!!!

[RedLeader]

Brilliant, well done!

So, I got a basic pair of Asics and am now in the third week of C25K.

Am not anywhere near wiped out after each run, all the cycling and walking last year must have had some good effect.

I'm not enjoying the running itself, but I am getting satisfaction from completing each day, and I'm confident I can complete it.

And best of all? NO PAIN!!!

[LandyLiam]

keep up the good work

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