Barefoot running is taking the nation by storm. Seriously, it's becoming something of a phenomenon. I started running barefoot in 2007. By 2009 I had convinced a few LU students to try barefoot running. On my 2010 book tour I met dozens of people who run exclusively barefoot and on more than one occasion Ive randomly seen people running barefoot even here in Lynchburg. With so many people giving it a try, are there any injuries popping up? The answer is Yes.
Assuming you don't enthusiastically over-do-it when you start, the most common barefoot running 'injuries' are really just minor blisters or muscle aches that come with using your feet for the first time! What I'd like to discuss here though is a more serious injury that seems to be fairly common to new barefoot runners, one we can call top-of-the-foot pain.
Top-of-the-foot pain is just that, a deep soreness felt on the top of the foot. Personally, I never experienced this when I started running barefoot. I first observed this in a female LU student who started running barefoot in 2009. Since then I've heard (via the internet) of numerous cases and most recently a male friend of mine got it. What is it?
Most likely, top-of-the-foot pain is a stress fracture of one of the foot bones, probably most often the second metatarsal or intermediate cuboid bone.
Most barefoot runners are fully aware that their feet need rehabilitating, but we usually think about muscles, tendons and other soft tissues when we talk of strengthening our shoe-weakened feet. However, the bones of our feet are weak, too. It is a well-known biological fact that bones respond to muscle conditioning: The bigger and stronger your muscles get, the thicker and stronger your bones get. In your feet, the extra muscle activity induced by barefoot running puts extra strain on the bones. Until these bones strengthen they are prone to injury. Thus, stress fracture and top-of-the-foot pain.
The good news: This too shall pass. The best remedy is probably to take a break from running for a few weeks and then ease back into it. Once the bones have healed (and strengthened), you should be running farther and faster than ever!
Good points! It's also important to get enough Vitamin D. Many people with stress fractures find out from their doctors that they're Vit. D deficient. Not having enough of this in your system can slow the absorption of calcium and make your bones weaker.
ReplyDeleteFor more information, do a Google search for a Dr. Holick. He's a leading researcher on Vit. D.
Smiles,
Michael