Instep Pain First Time Running after Time Off for Any Injury?

Chas Tennis

G.O.A.T.
Note - I did not know that the word "Instep" has been used for 1) top of foot, 2) bottom of foot or 3) all around the foot. I used it to mean the top of the foot only.


I am not young. Over the last few years I have taken off a few times for injuries. Typically I did not run for, say, 3 months and wanted to get my legs and cardio back in shape. Feet felt good. I reconditioned myself by running at a rubberized track.

The first day has been an easy run, run 50 yards, walk 50 yards. Just 1/2 mile total.

Each first day after running I have had top of foot instep pain in both feet. The last time was pretty painful. It feels as if the tendons on the top of my foot are very irritated by the running. The good news has been that this pain hardly lasts, it's mostly only the eve after the first day of running.

I am bouncing on my toes occasionally now and feel that motion in the running is aggravating my instep slightly. (Is this similar to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome of the hand?). This time I'm taking off longer and am worried.

Has anyone felt this same brief but specific instep pain when first running after an injury time off?
 
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D

Deleted member 23235

Guest
I am not young. Over the last few years I have taken off a few times for injuries. Typically I did not run for, say, 3 months and wanted to get my legs and cardio back in shape. Feet felt good. I reconditioned myself by running at a rubberized track.

The first day has been an easy run, run 50 yards, walk 50 yards. Just 1/2 mile total.

Each first day running I have had instep pain in both feet. The last time was pretty painful. It feels as if the tendons on the top of my foot are very irritated by the running. The good news has been that this pain hardly lasts, it's mostly only the eve after the first day of running.

I am bouncing on my toes occasionally now and feel that motion in the running is aggravating my instep slightly. (Is this similar to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome of the hand?). This time I'm taking off longer and am worried.

Has anyone felt this same brief but specific instep pain when first running after an injury time off?
just a general comment...
first your running technique is probably not the same as your tennis running "technique"
since your running technique is different, it's probably stressing different parts of your foot, as it acclimates to the stressors you're putting on it.
IMO, just give it time.. take it slow, and only add 10% increase in speed or distance, every week to allow your body (muscle, tendons, ligaments) to adapt.
it takes 7x longer for tendons and ligaments to adapt (than muscle)
also are you running with different sneakers on the track (than on the court).
i spent alot of time barefoot running, backward running, etc.. which contributes building up the muscles/tendons/ligaaments in the feet.
 

r2473

G.O.A.T.
I am not young. Over the last few years I have taken off a few times for injuries. Typically I did not run for, say, 3 months and wanted to get my legs and cardio back in shape. Feet felt good. I reconditioned myself by running at a rubberized track.

The first day has been an easy run, run 50 yards, walk 50 yards. Just 1/2 mile total.

Each first day running I have had instep pain in both feet. The last time was pretty painful. It feels as if the tendons on the top of my foot are very irritated by the running. The good news has been that this pain hardly lasts, it's mostly only the eve after the first day of running.

I am bouncing on my toes occasionally now and feel that motion in the running is aggravating my instep slightly. (Is this similar to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome of the hand?). This time I'm taking off longer and am worried.

Has anyone felt this same brief but specific instep pain when first running after an injury time off?
Yes. These days I'm running only winters. First few days back are rough. I don't get the exact pain you describe, but my feet usually hurt for the first few days. I've been running long enough to know the difference between "pain that I can run through" and "pain that is telling me to stop / something is wrong". Hopefully you know your body well enough to know the difference too.

Otherwise, just do like nytennisaddict says above. Just take it slowly and ease back into it (like you've been doing). If you think something might be wrong, stop. Better to err on the side of caution. Lots and lots of people get hurt running. Be careful.
 

movdqa

Talk Tennis Guru
I've had this in the past, maybe in the 1990s. I was experimenting around with homemade arch supports at the time and it was a problem when the arch support was too high.

But the things to check, as always:

- Technique
- Equipment

For running, I use well-cushioned shoes with a good aftermarket insole and track mileage and replace shoes between 300-400 miles. There are some that advocate minimalist shoes but I know what works well for me.

I'm also a heel-striker but can also run forefoot-style or even run one style with one foot and the other style with the other foot. The different styles place different loads on the lower leg so maybe running sometimes with one style and then the other may distribute the stress more evenly to different parts of the leg.

There may be some strengthening exercises that you could do to help solve this problem as well.

In general, it helps to take it slow in increasing distance or speed.

Also, losing a lot of weight helps to make lots of little problems go away.
 

ByeByePoly

G.O.A.T.
I am not young. Over the last few years I have taken off a few times for injuries. Typically I did not run for, say, 3 months and wanted to get my legs and cardio back in shape. Feet felt good. I reconditioned myself by running at a rubberized track.

The first day has been an easy run, run 50 yards, walk 50 yards. Just 1/2 mile total.

Each first day running I have had instep pain in both feet. The last time was pretty painful. It feels as if the tendons on the top of my foot are very irritated by the running. The good news has been that this pain hardly lasts, it's mostly only the eve after the first day of running.

I am bouncing on my toes occasionally now and feel that motion in the running is aggravating my instep slightly. (Is this similar to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome of the hand?). This time I'm taking off longer and am worried.

Has anyone felt this same brief but specific instep pain when first running after an injury time off?

Ironically ... I just had something similar happen to me about 3 weeks ago. I had two singles matches where it took a good 10 minutes + for my instep (side, not bottom plantar faciitus area) and tendons on top of foot hurt. One time it took 10 munutes walking on treadmill to losen the top of the foot up enough. Actually hurt quite a bit ... but then 10 minutes into match it went away. Like I said, this happened twice.

This was out of nowhere ... no warning. Wearing same shoes, same insoles ... no extra days of play. I've never even thought about tendons on top of foot.

Massage seems to have helped ... at least I think so ... problem went away. I started doing massage to the instep and top of foot before singles matches (I don't seem to need to anymore ... did it for several matches). If you ever had plantar faciitus (I did in my 20s) ... rolling your arch over a tennis ball in the morning allowed walking. I think what was really happening was re-tearing ... not stretching, but it seemed to help. So for this side instep pain/tightness I rolled the instep over the tennis ball ... applying enough weight to work it pretty good. I then felt for the tendon that runs through the arch from around the big toe. I massaged that area with my thumb lengthwise with the tendon ... and also along the side of the arch next to this tendon. No PT here ... just trying to losen up area hurting. The last thing I did is really massage the top of my foot toward the direction of the toes.

Surprisingly ... that seened to do the trick that 3rd and 4th match. I didn't feel any issue by the time I was on the court warming up.

The one additional change that made my feet happier was changing tennis shoes. I went from NB to Kirkland, and the Kirkland seemed stiffer flex in the forefront of the shoe. Perhaps my feet are happy to not flex the toes back as much.

Really ironic that we just both had this. I have been really lucky with my feet for a long time since I went to insole replacements. I have used SofSole Airr orthodic forever. I would like lighter ones ... but I figure with feet if it's working ... don't change it.
 

Chas Tennis

G.O.A.T.
Ironically ... I just had something similar happen to me about 3 weeks ago. I had two singles matches where it took a good 10 minutes + for my instep (side, not bottom plantar faciitus area) and tendons on top of foot hurt. One time it took 10 munutes walking on treadmill to losen the top of the foot up enough. Actually hurt quite a bit ... but then 10 minutes into match it went away. Like I said, this happened twice.

This was out of nowhere ... no warning. Wearing same shoes, same insoles ... no extra days of play. I've never even thought about tendons on top of foot.

Massage seems to have helped ... at least I think so ... problem went away. I started doing massage to the instep and top of foot before singles matches (I don't seem to need to anymore ... did it for several matches). If you ever had plantar faciitus (I did in my 20s) ... rolling your arch over a tennis ball in the morning allowed walking. I think what was really happening was re-tearing ... not stretching, but it seemed to help. So for this side instep pain/tightness I rolled the instep over the tennis ball ... applying enough weight to work it pretty good. I then felt for the tendon that runs through the arch from around the big toe. I massaged that area with my thumb lengthwise with the tendon ... and also along the side of the arch next to this tendon. No PT here ... just trying to losen up area hurting. The last thing I did is really massage the top of my foot toward the direction of the toes.

Surprisingly ... that seened to do the trick that 3rd and 4th match. I didn't feel any issue by the time I was on the court warming up.

The one additional change that made my feet happier was changing tennis shoes. I went from NB to Kirkland, and the Kirkland seemed stiffer flex in the forefront of the shoe. Perhaps my feet are happy to not flex the toes back as much.

Really ironic that we just both had this. I have been really lucky with my feet for a long time since I went to insole replacements. I have used SofSole Airr orthodic forever. I would like lighter ones ... but I figure with feet if it's working ... don't change it.

I used the word "instep" and thought it only meant the area of the foot on the top where the shoestrings are laced. I looked it up and it has three definitions.

This is one definition-
images


Another definition for "instep" is the top of the foot and a third is the bottom of the foot. Search: instep foot and look at the pictures

In my case, it was the top foot only. Feels like the tendon sheaths were irritated by the first run back.

There is a difference in my feet now since my last OP pain about 3 years ago. I avoid shoes with a lot of cushioning and use minimalist shoes. I did this because my foot was not flexing much especially at the big toe at the ball of the foot. That joint got stiff and limited my big toe's flexibility. I had changed my gait so that my feet were angled out at the toes. (Look at people walking toward you on a city side walk and see how many have feet that track straight and how many have misaligned feet. A lot of the older people have feet that are out of alignment, toes point out especially. My feet are much more flexible now that I make sure the ball of my foot can flex a lot. I also no longer get brief foot cramps. I avoid shoes with thick cushioning too because they restrict the flexibility.

But the top of my foot pain I don't think was related to the stiff big toe.

Had Plantar Fasciitis also. Agree on retearing and pain every morning. The night boots work well to stop that by keeping the bottom of the foot from becoming short (and presumably starting to heal?).

Last year, I just started playing tennis with minimalist tennis shoes on Hartrue and for our indoor courts with a thin rubberized surface. Worked well.
 
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Chas Tennis

G.O.A.T.
just a general comment...
first your running technique is probably not the same as your tennis running "technique"
since your running technique is different, it's probably stressing different parts of your foot, as it acclimates to the stressors you're putting on it.
IMO, just give it time.. take it slow, and only add 10% increase in speed or distance, every week to allow your body (muscle, tendons, ligaments) to adapt.
it takes 7x longer for tendons and ligaments to adapt (than muscle)
also are you running with different sneakers on the track (than on the court).
i spent alot of time barefoot running, backward running, etc.. which contributes building up the muscles/tendons/ligaaments in the feet.

I am recovering from rotator cuff surgery in March, supraspinatus complete thickness small tear. It was not a tennis injury. (Posted earlier.) Recovery is listed as 9 months - then restore to normal strength. I'm going to take my time and start slow. 9 months is the longest recovery that I've ever had.

My feet are now more flexible in general because I now minimize the use of shoes with stiff thick cushioning (see post #8). I go barefoot a lot too. Last year, I played tennis on Hartrue and indoors on a rubberized court with minimalist and thin soled flexible clay court shoes. It went well. My feet are much more flexible now and that may help.
 
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ByeByePoly

G.O.A.T.
I used the word "instep" and thought it only meant the area of the foot on the top where the shoestrings are laced. I looked it up and it has three definitions.

This is one definition-
images


Another definition for "instep" is the top of the foot and a third is the bottom of the foot. Search: instep foot and look at the pictures

In my case, it was the top foot only. Feels like the tendon sheaths were irritated by the first run back.

There is a difference in my feet now since my last OP pain about 3 years ago. I avoid shoes with a lot of cushioning and use minimalist shoes. I did this because my foot was not flexing much especially at the big toe at the ball of the foot. That joint got stiff and limited my big toe's flexibility. I had changed my gait so that my feet were angled out at the toes. (Look at people walking toward you on a city side walk and see how many have feet that track straight and how many have misaligned feet. A lot of the older people have feet that are out of alignment, toes point out especially. My feet are much more flexible now that I make sure the ball of my foot can flex a lot. I also no longer get brief foot cramps. I avoid shoes with thick cushioning too because they restrict the flexibility.

But the top of my foot pain I don't think was related to the stiff big toe.

Had Plantar Fasciitis also. Agree on retearing and pain every morning. The night boots work well to stop that by keeping the bottom of the foot from becoming short (and presumably starting to heal?).

Last year, I just started playing tennis with minimalist tennis shoes on Hartrue and for our indoor courts with a thin rubberized surface. Worked well.

Learned something ... did not know instep also referred to top of foot. My pain was in the instep region on top of foot marked in your diagram ...middle of the top of the foot ... a bit toward toes from that instep red line. I also had arch pain, but on the edge/side on big toe side.

"That joint got stiff and limited my big toe's flexibility. "

Me to ... right big toe hallux limitus. Just showed up two summers ago. I am convinced I gave it to myself hitting non-stop 2hbhs with ball machine. The 2hbh was new for me ... and you really get up on (and rotate on) the lead foot. I had the hallux limitus checked out by a foot surgeon ... and he gave me the opposite advice for shoes. A stiffer toe box is a friend to HL ... prevents upward flex of big toe joint. That has been my experience. I tried cross trainers in search of a lighter shoe two summers ago, and the flex in the toe box lit the HL. Major icing and post match pain. Went back to NB tennis tennis shoe with normal stiffness, and big improvement. I played so much singles this summer, I was back to light icing after singles ... but nothing like the cross trainer period. Recently switched to Costco Kirkland athletic shoe ... which is stiffer then the NB ... and more room in toe box (I'm a 4E) ... and ZERO pain ... zero icing. Unbelievable really. The foot surgeon said if I keep playing tennis ... I will see him again for surgery (Cheilectomy). Maybe not ... this is the best my toe has felt in two years. The only time I got plantar faciitus was from stiff soled tennis shoes. This always makes me nervous to go stiffer ... but so far good to go with Kirklands.

You are correct about feet effecting stride. When I lit the toe up 2 summers ago ... I got some lower back pain. Knots in lower back ... not spine/nerve pain. You subconsciously change your stride to accommodate the toe that isn't flexing enough. I worry about the knee with an altered stride/gait also.

Kirkland + Sof Sole is making my feet happy, but fairly heavy. I will take it. It will be ironic if a $17 Kirkland shoe saves my toe. I bought 3 pair ... watching how long first one lasts. It doesn't have the usual protection (toe guard) on big toe side of toe box, so won't last as long. I told my wife I might buy 10 pair and solve the tennis shoe issue for several years. $170 a lot cheaper than foot surgery. Wife's only complaint was "where are going to stack those shoe boxes?" :rolleyes:
 

movdqa

Talk Tennis Guru
I will have to check out Kirkland shoes. Our local store usually doesn't have my size in stock so I have never tried them on. I think that I'm still better off with New Balance cross-trainers but I wouldn't mind a slightly bigger toe-box. There have been a lot of complaints on New Balance reviews that their toe-boxes have gotten smaller over the past five years. It causes a bit of bruising on my small toes. But it's not enough of a problem to switch so far. Hard to beat the Kirkland price and quality is always decent.
 

Chas Tennis

G.O.A.T.
I will have to check out Kirkland shoes. Our local store usually doesn't have my size in stock so I have never tried them on. I think that I'm still better off with New Balance cross-trainers but I wouldn't mind a slightly bigger toe-box. There have been a lot of complaints on New Balance reviews that their toe-boxes have gotten smaller over the past five years. It causes a bit of bruising on my small toes. But it's not enough of a problem to switch so far. Hard to beat the Kirkland price and quality is always decent.

New Balance offers some of the best size options. With size 14 and a narrow foot the usual size 14 is too wide for me. NB has more size options than others.

In the past, I believe that the toe box being too narrow has affected my toes. My big toe angles toward the center. I'm sorry now that toe boxes are usually made narrow.

Regarding tight toe boxes, did you know that your foot has small muscles that cause the toes to spread apart? When I first tried to activate them I could not find or feel them. I kept trying and got the feeling than I'm doing it but not much visible motion.

I recommend the book Barefoot in Boston, Arthur Horne, for a reasonable viewpoint of what shoes have done to the feet. Look into minimalist shoes and try a pair. Get Vibran bottoms as it wears well.

My father said that as children they went barefoot in the summer. Their feet toughened up. By the end of the summer, they could take bee stings on the bottom of their feet and it did not hurt.
 

ByeByePoly

G.O.A.T.
I will have to check out Kirkland shoes. Our local store usually doesn't have my size in stock so I have never tried them on. I think that I'm still better off with New Balance cross-trainers but I wouldn't mind a slightly bigger toe-box. There have been a lot of complaints on New Balance reviews that their toe-boxes have gotten smaller over the past five years. It causes a bit of bruising on my small toes. But it's not enough of a problem to switch so far. Hard to beat the Kirkland price and quality is always decent.

Costco Kirkland is only wide (way wide ... true 4E wide). NB 4E has always been true 4E for me until recently. I liked the canvas 786 4E ... toes had plenty of room even with thick thorlo-like socks. Bought 786v2 this summer same size ... half size shorter and closer to 2E. They should have been honest at least and dropped the 4E and 786 label. Then tried 806 4E ... same thing. Us true 4Es are close to being phased out of tennis. I was about to try the Addidas $99 4E ... the toe box shape looked promising.

@ricardo saved me ... want to hug him. :D

https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/my-knees-love-these-shoes.574040/
 

ByeByePoly

G.O.A.T.
New Balance offers some of the best size options. With size 14 and a narrow foot the usual size 14 is too wide for me. NB has more size options than others.

In the past, I believe that the toe box being too narrow has affected my toes. My big toe angles toward the center. I'm sorry now that toe boxes are usually made narrow.

Regarding tight toe boxes, did you know that your foot has small muscles that cause the toes to spread apart? When I first tried to activate them I could not find or feel them. I kept trying and got the feeling than I'm doing it but not much visible motion.

I recommend the book Barefoot in Boston, Arthur Horne, for a reasonable viewpoint of what shoes have done to the feet. Look into minimalist shoes and try a pair. Get Vibran bottoms as it wears well.

My father said that as children they went barefoot in the summer. Their feet toughened up. By the end of the summer, they could take bee stings on the bottom of their feet and it did not hurt.

14 ... whoa. That's almost BBP x 2. :D
 
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