Fascia and tendon issues are another item to consider. Good luck.

Unrelated symptoms, but I broke my 4th metatarsal while trail running 2 years ago. Mine hurt to walk by the end of the run during which I broke it. Hobbled back to car taking every shortcut I knew. Doc said it was one of the worst he'd ever seen. Jagged fracture complete through, but no displacement. As far as recovery goes, I believe I was able to ride my bike at about 6 weeks, maybe a bit sooner (though I don't think any earlier than 4 weeks). I was told I could begin running again at 8 weeks, but the season was over, so I took an additional 2 weeks off to play it safe. Good as new after that.

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I wanna go fast!

I've been through this. In my case, running was extremely painful. Nothing showed up on the X-ray. I didn't do an MRI because of the cost and the doctor said it really wouldn't change the treatment. No running at least for 6-8 weeks (can't remember). Once cleared to run, I started out on sand, then transitioned to grass and finally to pavement. It was a long process. Sorry.

Could be just a sprain as well. I apparently sprained my foot on the first day of a two week hike about 4 weeks ago. I did the hike and continued to run when I got back and the xrays showed some bones in my foot not lining up correctly and a simple tape job for support really helped me out. I am slowly mending now but can still run and bike. Doctor also wanted me to wear insoles during the day for added support, although I have not run in them yet.

I really thought I had broken something as my foot swelled almost immediately and it was very graphic (huge bump on the side of my foot). So hold out faith that it is less serious until you know. Good luck.

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I *heart* weak, dumb ass people...

If you can, I'd recommend getting an MRI. Who knows what you have going on in there, could be nothing or it could be serious.

When I broke my ankle in January I didn't feel much pain at the time and had no idea it was seriously injured. I kept running but I'd sometimes get sore. It didn't improve over a few months, so in March I finally got it diagnosed. I gave up almost all running for several months but it still didn't heal, so I finally got bone graft surgery to fix it in August. Now I have many more months of recovery, but at least hopefully I'm on the road to 100%. I had a cast for the week after surgery, and I'm almost through spending two months in a walking boot. I do wonder sometimes if the walking boot would have been enough and I didn't really need surgery, but I'll never know. :)

I hope in your case it's something minor and quick to heal. Best of luck!

Alex

Sorry to hear about it, but what makes you think you injured it 5 weeks ago if the symptoms didn't present until now?
Also, why does it take another day or more to get x-ray results? If you get a digital copy post them here since we have a few orthopods and PAs etc. If you didn't feel any discomfort until yoga, maybe you just tweaked something (soft-tissue) out during that class? Good luck!

Thanks for the good wishes, everybody. TMorris, I had felt a very brief acute pain following my last race, followed by some tenderness on the top of the foot. I thought maybe I had pulled something, as I had trouble flexing my toes forward (this problem has persisted). However, it was never sore to walk on so I didn't think much of it. It wasn't until all these weeks later when, putting significant pressure on top of the foot, I realized something was definitely not right.

Because I got the requisition from a walk in clinic rather than having the imaging done at emerg, it can take till the end of the day to get the results sent to the MD (this is with a stat order). The clinic should call me sometime tomorrow if it comes up positive for fracture. Otherwise they don't bother calling, and I'm to follow up with my GP... The doc I saw today said something about getting a bone scan if the x ray turned up negative. I'll see if I can get a digital copy of the imaging.

I've had these in the past...used "Ionic Calcium"---plus drank a lot more milk, stayed off of running & took up aqua jogging. Cut the heal time down a lot compared to what the doc thought. Of course, I used a walking boot too just to protect it. Even though I was walking with minimal pain.

So here we are, over a month later. Just this afternoon got the results of a bone scan I did 2 weeks ago. Apparently it shows bone bruising to the 2nd and 3rd metatarsals. The pain has subsided to a low-level discomfort... I've been consistently wearing hiking shoes since my initial x-ray (they're comfortable, flat, supportive, and stiff enough that my foot doesn't bend too much), not running, and I've only been on the bike trainer a handful of times. The instructions I have from my GP are to avoid any activity that stresses the metatarsal area -- running, cycling, no more walking than is really necessary -- and given that I've already cut way back and seen improvement, she thinks I should be healed in a couple more weeks. Here's hoping.

Anyone have experience with bone bruises in the foot? In my case, it's along the top of the foot, not the underside. From what I understand, this amounts to tiny cracks in the outer layer of bone, causing it to be inflamed. Wondering what the overall prognosis is from a training standpoint.

I wouldn't bother with any MRI or X-Rays. I went to a rehab clinic for a free injury evaluation and they applied a harmonic to that foot and owwwwww vs. the other foot with no reaction.

Didn't run for 6-8 weeks. Lingering niggling pain years later and certain poses in yoga still will cause annoyance.

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Swim - Bike - Run the rest is just clothing changes.

Surroundhound...I have just been diagnosed with a bruised bone on the top of my foot as well. My doc said I could exercise to pain tolerance. Its been 17 days since I ran last, which was 1 week after I first felt the injury.

Som can you share how long your recovery was in total? I'm in my off season (was supposed to do a mary 11/12 but that is out!) and really need to be smart as I age up next year to (gulp) 55-59 and want to have a solid training year.

Did you swim or bike during your recovery? Any pt exercises you can recommend?

Much appreciate any info you can share!

I'm not surroundhound, but swim should be fine. Don't kick with fins.

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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

I did almost nothing till December (initial pain onset was I think beginning of september, didn't get it figured out till a month or so later)... a few super short runs (like 2-3 km), a couple of swims, a few trainer rides. I bought a pair of Hokas for the extra cushioning (hated them), and used a gym treadmill for awhile rather than risk the ice outside. Then I started to build very slowly from there. I think my initial problem stemmed from ramping up my mileage too quickly. I put on a bunch of weight, which sucked, but (knock on wood) I have not had any problems with my foot since then. Full recovery. I didn't do any pt exercises -- but I did wear stiff-soled hiking shoes pretty much all the time that fall and winter. Best of luck to you, don't rush and if it's like mine, your injury should heal nicely.

I just went through this :-/. Be patient and listen are a few really good things I offer.

I had a stress fracture in the end of one bone in my right foot from the big toe - just over the arch. It was a sharp pain when pressing into the arch from the bottom of my foot. I picked this up from trying to ramp up my running load too much and ultimately "broke" it through a track session that I wasn't yet ready for.

I was quoted 5-6 weeks initially too for recovery. In reality, I was in the "boot" for 8 weeks and through close guidance with my running coach, didn't start running until 12 weeks in. I'm now on to the 13-14 week range and doing super easy treadmill sessions (like 30-50 minutes where 80+% is purely walking) since I have a history of foot / leg injuries over the past few years that are not in my favor.

Luckily I like swimming and used that to maintain / improve my overall fitness. I couldn't swim freestyle at first because I was told "no flip turns / wall push-offs". I tried the open turn idea but that was really hard. I ended up learning breastroke instead and stuck with that for the first month - which was a great option because I would have had trouble keeping the weight down otherwise.

On biking, I couldn't bike for 8 weeks. It was just super painful to even be on the trainer. I've done a few rides outside but am still building back with a mix of easy and moderate trainer sessions several times a week.

While this might sound horrible, in reality, this 3 month break is probably the best thing ever. I have a really aggressive schedule next year (4x 70.3s) and have looked at this experience as a way to re-learn and start fresh without bad habits / broken form. I've also found walking fast on the treadmill be super relaxing on it's own - not something I would have done regularly before.

Bummer.

Everyone else's advice is grand. I'll add that I was able to learn one-legged flip turns pretty easily which made swimming -slightly- more enjoyable.

Definitely err on the side of caution with broken bones!

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Eliot
blog thing - strava thing

Thanks for the well wishes guys, but they should be directed at TrishM... my injury (and this post) happened 3 years ago, and I have since fully recovered. :)