This is a wee bit off topic at the moment but the issue is creeping into my F1 and Stretch training. It also seems to me that Gymnasts are ripe for foot issues, hence the post.
I'm 52. I've been running for eight months (10 miles per week) and GST (F1 and Stretch) for about 6 months. About 3 and half weeks ago I somehow injured my right foot on a run. I did not notice anything specific that caused it, but it seemed to come on slowly. I could walk, mostly without pain, but once I sped up to a trot the pain returned. The pain is in the plantar surface of the arch and the dorsal surfaces of the metatarsals. It's somewhat inconsistent, as far as pain location, so let's say it across the mid-section of my foot (plantar and dorsal). FWIW, I am a forefoot striker when I run. On the following day I woke up with the flu, which kept me from exercising for almost two weeks.
2 weeks later I was able to do a run without pain. Then, almost a week later (this past weekend), I went on some walks and noticed random foot pain again. However, yesterday all seemed fine so I went for a run. After a slow mile I started to feel foot pain again so I walked home. I did the F1 core workout (the first since being sick) and the calf stretches from the front split. It's hard to say if the pain was present, but I was far more aware of my injured foot than I was of the good one.
I have 3 questions:
- How does one manage a foot injury, generally?
- What are steps (pun) I can take to get back to normal?
- What might I do to strengthen my feet?