Ever since starting to run about a year go, my left hip has this nagging pain after running that lasts about 2 days. Since I run every other day, it’s pretty much a constant thing.
Ever since starting biking and getting to the 3 mile run mark, my foot hurts after running. Also, I feel my metatarsels rubbing together whenever I walk barefoot. (I think this has been going on for years, but I am only now aware of it since I am more aware of things going on with my joints!)
I went to see a doctor at an orthopedic pracitce that I’ve heard is good at working with runners. Many doctors will simply to tell a patient to stop running, so you have to find someone who is willing to work with runners. Anyway, I went to have my hip and foot pain evaluated. I just wanted to make sure nothing serious was going on with my joints before pushing forward in my triathlon training.
He said my hip pain was IT band syndrome, and proper stretching should fix it. He referred me to a physical therapist to learn how to stretch.
He took an xray of my foot and said there’s nothing wrong with my metatarsel bones. I do have some arthritis in my big toe (bunions – oh my!). He gave me a metatarsel pad to put in my shoe to see if that helps. He also said that running will not affect the progress (for better or worse) of the arthritis in my big toe.
He also recommended a 2 week course of advil and also said I could regularly take advil 1 hour before I run.
The good news is that I don’t have to stop running – yeah! The arthritis bit is bad news, but not surprising since it runs in my family. I will keep running as long as I can. I read Runner’s World magazine, and love the stories about 80 year old folks running in marathons. I hope I can keep running that long.
UPDATE: the metatarsel pad was uncomfortable and made my big toe hurt, so I ditched it. I am thinking of getting custom orthotics. I found an article online that describes my foot problem to a “T”…
http://www.spinalhealth.net/inj-foot.html