My Sports Med Pages
Achilles Tendinitis | Ankle Sprain | Athlete's Foot | Black Toenails | Blisters | Calf Strain | Dehydration | Diarrhea (Runner's Trots) | Groin Pull | Hamstring Pain | Iliotibial Band Syndrome | Overtraining | Runner's Knee | Shinsplints |
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Foot
Ankle
Lower leg
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Chest or belly
Achilles TendinitisAn inflammation of the Achilles tendon, Characterized by
dull or sharp pain along the back of the tendon, calf
tightness.Treat with ice and anti-inflammatories and stretch your
calf five to ten times a day. Wear street shoes with the
heel height that provides the most comfort. You may find
that wearing running shoes all the time is best.Athlete's FootPain usually on the inside or outside of the ankle, caused
by turning or twisting of the ankle. Treat with R.I.C.E.
Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation. Also anti-inflammatories.
Wrap your ankle with a ace bandage, elevate your foot by putting
it up on a chair and then ice your ankle. This is the prescription for
the next 24 hours. When you go to bed, prop your foot up with a pillow
or two. I also use 3 Ibuprofen 3 times a day. This injury can be
reoccurring and you will need to do some exercises to strengthen your muscles.
Here are some of my favorites:
1. Spell the alphabet with you big toe
2. Using a sock for resistance around the ball of your foot, push your foot down.
3. Same exercise as above but have someone hold the sock on the top
of your foot and pull towards you.
4. Standing calf raises.A fungal infection that causes itchy or painful scaling,
redness and blisters between the toes and on the soles of
the feet.Apply a fungicide such as Desenex or Tinactin. Use these
products two or three times a day for two to four weeks,
and continue to use them for one to two weeks after
symptoms are gone. The fungus remains even after the
irritation disappears.A pooling of blood under the toenail, caused by the toe
rubbing or hitting the top of your shoe. Often the toe will
throb with the pressure of the blood.To relieve the pressure, you need to make a hole in the
nail and drain the blood. Either heat the tip of a small,
straightened paper clip and use it to burn through the nail
until a drop of blood comes out, or sterilize a small drill
bit with heat or alcohol, and drill a hole in the nail by
spinning the instrument between your finger and thumb.
Stick your foot in a pan of water until all the blood comes
out. If you black toenail isn't painful, you don't have to
drain the blood. Lubricate with anti fungal cream and
cover it with a bandage. But monitor the nail, as it will
probably loosen and fall off over the next few months.
Buy a pair of running shoes with more room in the toe
box.Fluid accumulation between the skin's inner and outer
layers due to excess friction.When possible, leave the blister alone for 24 hours to
allow it to heal itself. If the fluid isn't reabsorbed, lance the
blister as follows:
Sterilize a needle by heating it in a flame or boiling water,
or by soaking it in alcohol. Swab the blister with a
disinfectant such as alcohol or Betadine. Prick two holes
on opposite sides to the blister, and press gently on the
blister with sterile gauze to push out the fluid. Do not
remove the loose skin. Smear the blister with Preparation
H and cover it with a sterile gauze pad. If the blister refills,
lance again and then soak it in Epsom salts or Domeboro
solution. Before putting on shoes, make a doughnut shape
out of molefoam and place it around the blister, then put
another layer on top to cover the whole area.Pain in the calf, as well as swelling, tenderness and
muscle tightness, resulting from sudden overloading of the
muscles during speed work, hill running or running on
uneven trails.Treat with ice and anti-inflammatories. Wrap your calf
with a 4 inch Ace bandage. Wear this all day long and
during running for a couple of days. Stretch your calf 5 to
10 times a day. Wear shoes whose heel height reduces
stress on the muscles: running shoes are often a good
choice. Avoid walking barefoot.Excessive loss of bodily fluids. Symptoms include thirst,
dizziness, weakness and nausea. Serious dehydration can
lead to cramps, chills and disorientation.Stop running, get to a cool place and drink plenty of
fluids.Frequent, loose bowel movements during or
immediately following a run.If diarrhea occurs only when you race, pay attention to
what you eat and drink in the days and hours just
before racing. Too much fiber or caffeine can cause
runner's trots. Dairy products may be the problem if
you're lactose intolerant. Also, be sure to drink plenty
of fluids before and during a race, as dehydration can
cause diarrhea. Finally, this one may seem obvious, but
try to have a bowel movement before a run or race.A pulled adductor muscle occurring suddenly during fast
running, resulting in pain just below the crease between
the lower abdomen and thigh.Treat with ice and anti-inflammatories, and stretch.
Stretch the hamstrings first, then the quads, hen the
adductors. Wrap the area with a 6 inch Ace bandage. If
pain persists, see a sports oriented physicianPain in the muscles at the back of the thigh, occurring
during sprinting or speed work.Treat with ice and anti-inflammatories and stretch the
hamstring several times a day. Wrap your thigh with a 6
inch Ace bandage. The muscle should be squeezed but
comfortable. Do leg curls to strengthen the hamstrings.
When doing them, lift with one leg at a time so that a
strong leg cannot compensate for a weaker one, and
make sure you feel the work just in the hamstring, not the
buttocks and calf.Pain and inflammation at the outside of the knee where
the iliotivial band rubs against the bursa sac that lies next
to the femur, resulting in bursitis. ITB syndrome is
sometimes accompanies by "snapping hip," which is the
ITB brushing over the bursa sac, which rubs over the
bone.Treat with ice and anti-inflammatories. Stretch several
times a day- first the hamstrings, then the quads, then the
ITB. The following are two good ITB stretches. If the
inflammation is on your right side, stand with your right
leg crossed in back of the left and extend your left arm
against something stable like a wall or a chair for support.
Lean against the wall while you push your right hip out to
the side. Keep your right foot anchored. You should feel
the stretch in your right hip and down the outside of your
right leg. Hold the position until the muscle relaxes.
Release for a few seconds, then repeat. Do six to eight on
that side, then an equal number on the opposite side, to
keep things biomechanically even. For a different stretch,
lie on your back and pull your right knee toward your left
shoulder. With your right hand on your knee, grab the
right foot with your left hand and pull the knee closer to
your shoulder with both hands. You should feel the
stretch along the side of the leg. Hold until the muscle
relaxes, release for a few seconds, then repeat. Stretch
both sides.Fatigue, stale training, poor race performance, irritability
and loss of enthusiasm for running, caused by excessive
mileage or too many hard workouts.Cut back on your running for a minimum of two weeks.
Experiment with cutting back on mileage, adding rest
days and substituting cross-training to see what works
best. When you're feeling better and you're ready to
increase your running, look at your training over a year
and plan periods when you'll train hard and race; follow
these with periods of easier running and lower mileage.
Pain all around and under the kneecap, and stiffness of
the knee joint. In severe cases, flexing the knee may
produce a painful grinding sensation.Poke around the knee. If you find a sore spot, ice it; if
you don't, ice won't help. Take anti-inflammatories. If the
knee swells, ice it and see a sports oriented physician.
Swelling indicates a major problem, and it may take three
to four months for the knee to heal. Runner's knee can
occur when hamstrings are tight, when quadriceps are
much stronger than hamstrings or, in the case of new
runners, when the quads are weak. All runners should
stretch and strengthen quads and hamstrings regularly.Pain usually on the inside of the shinbone, caused by an overload to the shin,
sometimes to the periosteum (the thin sheathing that surrounds the bone),
sometimes to the muscle.Treat with ice and anti-inflammatories. If you can run through this
injury, stay away from uphill and uneven surfaces. Running on a
track is good, as it causes less shin twisting. Ice your shins
immediately after each run. Stretch the calf frequently throughout
the day. Try using a 4 inch Ace bandage wrapped like a barber
pole up the leg not too tight for support. You can wear it all day
long but not while you sleep.