I know you don't want to hear this but training through an undiagnosed injury never works out well.

I had pain in the ball of my foot and continued to run and climb. I had fractured my sesmoid and inflamed the surrounding tissues so badly that by the time I went to the doc, I was off my feet for 6 months. No running, no climbing for 6 months. I could ride and swim but no push off the wall.

Once you have inflammation in an area, you really do need to give it total rest until it feels pain free for a week or so. I would really go to get a proper diagnosis. If you have had a bad experience with one doc, get some recommendations for a new doc from your athlete friends. An expert opinion is far better than a bunch of guesses over an Internet forum.

And take the time off! In the grand scheme of things, we are not pros, we only get one body, don't abuse it! Take care of your feet so you can keep running as long as you want. Six weeks now is better than 6 months later bc you tried to train through it and it is certainly better than creating a chronic condition that will haunt you for a long time. You can keep aerobic fitness other ways. Your running fitness will take a little setback but you will come back quickly!

If you have any Qs about my recovery from sesmoid fracture and the resulting sesmoiditis, don't hesitate to ask.

And feel free to complain a little about having to take time off! We are all type A personalities who don't like being told to take a few steps back and rest. We can all commiserate with the games our mind plays when we have to take a break from training.

Best wishes and do get to a good doc and take some time off to give those feet some time to heal!

At the very least, it sounds risky. Are you willing to roll the dice and possibly end up with worse problems ?
Backing away from running and shifting the focus to swimming, biking and/or any other activities which do not cause pain has NO downside. If you train well , you neither lose fitness nor exacerbate the original problem.
And , there are many doctors out here. Consider referrals from friends, etc. who have had similar (toe/foot) issues.

I am not proud of this but have run through many things. I actually suspect a lot of people do...
I can't in good conscience recommend it, but it's your body and ultimately your choice to make after a risk/benefit analysis.

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

Is running your main sport? Does it hurt with cycling?

I can tell you I Always recommend laying off if something is hurting in the way your are describing. If you are conscious about your running stride while running and trying to ensure that this or that is relaxed to avoid the pain, I can almost guarantee you that you are changing something else in your run as well. It might be small, but over miles and miles, it can add up to another injury. Also the difference between an inflammation and a stress fracture is usually just time. I have run shin splints into stress fractures - TWICE! I can understand the frustration of mis-diagnosis. If you can (either financially or if your insurance pays for it) go to a sports physical therapist in your area. PT's and Orthopedic Surgeons test almost equivalently at their knowledge and expertise of the musculoskeletal injury. There is always a chance that something may be mis-diagnosed. But I hate to say it, I would guess the larger part of your fear is as you stated...you don't want to be told not to run.

So what are some alternatives?
Water running - reduces the stress on the body
Anti-gravity treadmill - to reduce stress
cycle more if there is no pain
Have your shoe wear re-evaluated (by more than the running shoe guy - PT, DPM, etc)
If triathlon is your main thing - working on the bike (assuming it doesn't hurt) will actually help your run. In all but maybe the sprint distance, over biking often cooks people for the run. Having the opportunity to work on the biking leg may actually yield great race results while letting the foot rest.

Good luck. Sometimes the old saying "if it hurts don't do it" applies - I think this is one of those cases.

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Don't Just Live, Thrive!
Thrive Kinematics Physical Therapy - http://www.facebook.com/...8178667572974?ref=hl

I've trained through a bout of Achilles tendinitis, but only while working with a PT/ART. I hate to say, but you need to find a doctor that can figure out what the issue is and help you rehab it. Training on an injury is only going to give you a more serious injury.

M

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The beatings will continue until morale improves

My fiance felt something that sounds a lot like your pain and finally gave up and took 3 weeks off to let it heal. He was grumpy the entire time, but once he started running again, he felt great.

On the other hand, 90% of my runs result in my right calf (JUST my right calf) being a bastard and cramping up to the point where I feel like a vice is crushing my leg. I've gone to PT and have stretches to strengthen my hips and ankles, but it hasn't gone away yet (definitely pissed me off during my run yesterday after I had such a badass ride). Nothing to be done for it while running, so I try to stop, stretch it a little, but always end up ignoring it. Yay for my meditation/visualization skills increasing.

I think it has to depend on the type of injury. Some things really should be left to heal, some things aren't going to be fixed by rest.

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You. You make me stronger.

In general I feel like if it is possibly a bony injury, training through it is unwise. The only injury I train through is a muscle strain I get on the inside of both of my lower legs when I increase my volume. It happens every single year (this is year #6). I've taken to just ignoring it....

Jodi

as I'm sitting here alternating between ice/heat on my achilles and throwing in some foam rolling every cycle (after the heat). I've had many instances of training through an injury. The first time I tried to train through my achilles problems was IM Florida 2006. I just wanted to do the race and deal with it after. I was out for 9 months after that. In 2008 I started getting ART when I had achilles problems, probably averaged 2x a month for the entire year. And I foam rolled regularly, but I trained through that no problem. This year I've ignored it and have done some foam rolling, but nothing regularly and haven't had ART for it, and I was 20 minutes into an hour run yesterday when I started to feel the pain, I turned around but only made it 35 minutes before the pain was too much to even walk w/o a limp.

So...I can train through things if I manage them, but when I ignore them, then training through them usually means a lot of time on the couch w/ an ice pack/heating pad and quality time with my foam roller before I can get back out there. If I manage them and get ART at the first sign and roll regularly, then I don't lose any training time at all.

This is great stuff, MC, and deep down I know you're right! The toe has been quiet for a couple days, so fingers crossed it's only another week or two being nice to it!

Thanks for this detailed reply. The funny thing is, for the past 5 years (and I've been running for 30) I'm always conscious of just about every muscle/joint during the first four or so miles of my run -- possibly down to a sensory hypersensitivity developed due to neuromuscular issues in my left leg. I would love to be able to run without thinking about what's doing what but it's impossible, and yes, it's incredibly noisy. Once I'm up past four miles the noise shuts down and then it's simple plodding . . .

This has led me to experiment with all manner of shoes, most recently Vibrams, and I have to say that attempting to move to a forefoot gait is probably a big part of my toe problem (and calf pain every time I start running again after a couple weeks off). Beware any older women who try to change things drastically!

So the next running shoe fad in my house will be Hoka's. I'll keep the Vibrams for walks, because I love them, but running in them may be a bridge too far . . .

I've been working on my hips too. I had some physio-style exercises I was doing for a while but I honestly don't think doing clamshells and bridges is enough for an athlete bent on pounding pavement for hours -- pistol squats is more like it. So I'm working toward these. Also, I make it a point to stand as much as possible during the day . . . good luck!

what are pistol squats?

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

Lower on one leg with other leg extended fully in front and arms held out in front as well. Crazy hard!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwFaGmIhf70

disclaimer -- training up to it with an office chair on wheels, as in this vid, is begging for trouble :>

Working on your hips is great! Clams and its harder friend side stepping are actually 2 of the exercises that target the lateral hip the MOST. I know they seem simple, but simple can be good. Please, make sure someone is watching you do the pistol squat. One legged squats are great, but even the guy demonstrating them is allowing his hip to fall out at times. Advanced strength and balance exercises like this take a lot of time to work up to and if you just keep doing them wrong you aren't going to help yourself!

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________________________________________________
Don't Just Live, Thrive!
Thrive Kinematics Physical Therapy - http://www.facebook.com/...8178667572974?ref=hl

I'm going to have to try some of these! Doing clamshells in public is... mhmm. Not the image I want to project when I work out at my client's gym.

Unfortunately I am desk-bound for my work day, but I did replace my chair with a yoga ball for a little extra core work.

Really going to miss this client when I leave at end of week - no more gym/spin class.

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You. You make me stronger.

Sounds like you have been running a long time. If you've run long enough you'll deal with issues. I have gone to a doctor for sesmoiditis many years ago, came back negative and also no arthritis. Two years ago I had to have a MRI for stress fx.....interesting enough, the results showed a HISTORY of sesmoiditis and arthritis..and lucky me after 8 weeks, yes a stress fracture not healing. I am going through the exact thing right now with other foot. I have run with many, many injuries including nearly 2 years of PF. The biggest thing I have learned is that it hurts or you find yourself adjusting your gait or landing...stop running. There is a fine line of running in discomfort vs pain...