I have been having an issue for the past several months which I am becoming concerned with. I am a competitive runner, running around 65mpw on a mixture of grass, gravel, road, and track. On my left foot, I have been experiencing numbness across the entire length of my second digit, especially on the side touching the big toe, with very little numbness on the side touching the third digit. There is minor inflammation in the joint between the phalange and metatarsal. On the bottom of my foot, there is tenderness under the same joints of the second and third digits beneath the pad. Running exacerbates the symptoms, though it is much worse when running on hard surfaces or in shoes without much forefoot cushion. I took two weeks off of running and inflammation and tenderness was reduced, but numbness remained. Application of ice reduces the inflammation and tenderness temporarily. I am not willing to stop running because of this, especially since the discomfort is mild and the numbness did not subside with taking time off. Any ideas what is going on, or advice?
Common and very classic description - overloading the 2nd MTP joint with subtle capsulitis. This “inflammation” causes symptoms of the deep peroneal nerve in the 1st interspace (medial 2nd toe and lateral big toe).
Back off on speedwork/ball of foot pushing. Ice ball of foot after runs. Can put a met pad in the shoe just behind the area to offload, but will take quite a while to resolve, especially if trying to run through.
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Why does it seem like so many athletes are suffering from foot ailments?
If it’s the new midfoot technique, then that’s fine (as long as we can find common ground), but it seems odd that some podiatrists are recommending/suggesting the barefoot and minimalist movement.
I am not a podiatrist, but here is my suggestion: saddle bone deformity or dysfunction of the 1st metatarsal-cuneiform joint, with involvement of the deep peroneal nerve (as indicated by rroof). I would have more faith in this dx had you mentioned a bony bump on top of foot at the base of 1st metatarsal.
The response from Dr. Coggan seemed to hit it right on the head. One thing I did not mention is that I have a large bunion on the same foot, and the literature I glanced at implicates the bunion with this ailment. I have not had a significant change in gait for years. The thing I am most concerned with is nerve/tissue damage due to the chronic numbness I am experiencing. No bony bump on top of foot, but it appears that (inflammation aside) the joint may be --slightly-- larger than that of the other foot, whatever that’s worth. Thanks for the input.