Whether you’re going for a quick jog or preparing for an upcoming race, running is a way to get your body moving and track some distance in the process. But it can often come with unwanted injuries, including sore muscles and foot pain. Kevin Mahoney, DPM, a podiatrist with Avera Orthopedics in Marshall, MN, explains some common injuries and tips for prevention.
What is plantar fasciitis?
Plantar fasciitis is essentially inflammation or injury to the plantar fascia. The plantar fascia is a band of connective tissue in the bottom of your foot. It connects to the heel bone, called your calcaneus, and that’s usually where the pain is at. Not always, it doesn’t have to be in the heel, but that’s where it’s most often found. Typical findings are heel pain, especially with the first few steps after rest or first few steps in the morning, and it can be pretty debilitating.
What are muscle strains?
Essentially it’s just straining the muscle. It gets inflamed and sore and can tighten up and make it really difficult to continue with the activities you enjoy doing. As a foot and ankle provider, probably the most common ones we are going to see are with the Achilles or shin splints, which essentially is inflammation of the connective tissue, whether it’s the tendons ligaments, right where they attach to the bones.
What are stress fractures?
When you think of a stress fracture versus a fracture, or an acute broken bone, we often think of a specific incident or an event where you drop something heavy, stubbed your toe, had a very obvious injury. With a stress fracture it’s more of a repetitive injury, so I hate using the word overuse because we want to keep moving but essentially that’s what it is, an overuse injury.
Advice to prevent these injuries?
Wear good, supportive shoes, stretch, take care of yourself, ease into activities, especially if you haven’t been real active, and first sign of trouble always give us a call. You don’t want to kick the can down the road until it’s too late and treatment gets to be more severe or more involved.
Learn more about orthopedic care and sports medicine at Avera
