It appears that I have tendinitis of one of the extensor tendons of my big toe on one foot. I’ve been running more in prep for a marathon next week, but I’m thinking I shouldn’t do it because after not running for a week+, I ran and now it hurts again. I’m wondering if other people have had this problem and what seemed to cause it… because I’m reading that it can be caused by tight calves/achilles/etc. but also by tight/ill-fitting shoes. I’ve been riding my bike a lot more than usual as well due to a change in schedule, so I don’t really know whether to blame it on the shoes or running or both. Any experience anyone has had with this?
extensor hallucis longus tendonitis (google that) is most often caused (in runners with no big toe joint or proximal joint pathology, i.e. dorsal bony spurring) by shoes that are too tight on top. Loosen your shoes some (I like mine really tight as well), especially on your long runs as your foot will swell some after 2 hours. Ice the area after runs. Usually responds very quickly/well as this is more commonly an irritation to the tendon sheath and not a real serious condition of the tendon itself. Does it hurt to extend the big toe barefoot now or mostly with just palpation along the tendon?
I’ve never had problems with it before, though… and I don’t think anything has changed with my shoes; that’s why I was concerned that maybe it was the increased time in the bike shoes… have you seen this?
Right now it hurts to extend the toe, especially against resistance, and palpation only hurts if I’m extending it at the same time or if I press really hard over the mid-metatarsal area.
Would it be really dumb to run a marathon on Sunday?? How about a half?