I went for my first run earlier this week, after taking over two and a half months off from running. I’ve been struggling with a sore foot and I took the break from running to help it get better. It wasn’t easy to diagnose my foot pain, at first I thought it was plantar fasciitis and then I thought it was a stress fracture. With some help from my wife who is a medical professional, we diagnosed the foot pain as peroneal tendonitis.
The peroneal tendon runs from the fifth metatarsal bone on the outside of the foot and up the ankle to provide stability when running and walking. This tendon essentially stops the ankle from rolling over when running. It turns out that peroneal tendonitis is a relatively rare condition which affects runners who have sprained their ankle repeatedly. I definitely fall into this category, having sprained my ankle countless times while trail running.
I’ve come to appreciate the importance of strong ankles for trail running and have been working on improving ankle strength and flexibility on a daily basis. Over the last 6 weeks, I’ve had a good amount of success with the exercises and stretches below.
Single leg strength training – I’ve recently realized that my left leg is significantly stronger than my right leg. I’m certain that this muscle imbalance is one of the driving forces behind my peroneal tendonitis. Over the last two months, I’ve been focusing on individual leg strength training exercises to combat the tendonitis. My regimen includes weighted lunges, single leg squats and single leg glute bridges. Prior to my foot strain, I used the two legged squat as my main leg strength exercise. Although the squat is a great exercise, it was not correcting the muscle imbalance that I have in my legs.
Single Leg Forward Bends – This simple exercise has been key to helping build ankle strength. I realized just how weak my right ankle was when I could not complete more than two forward bends without losing my balance. I’ve been doing three sets of 10 repetitions for each leg on a daily basis.
Calf Raises – The calf is the biggest muscle in your lower leg and is critical for ankle strength. I’ve been doing simple calf raises, without weights on a daily basis for the past 6 weeks.
Ankle eversion – Ankle eversions specifically target the peroneal tendon. I’ve been using a thera band to perform these exercises 3-4 times per week. I typically do 3 sets of 20-30 reps.
Calf stretches – The double heel drop and the standing wall push are my go to calf stretches which I’ve been performing on a daily basis. I’ve been doing 2 sets of holding the stretch for 30 seconds.
Massage – The massage that I got earlier this week revealed just how tight my lower leg muscles were. My massage therapist spent a good 15 minutes loosening up both calves which left my foot feeling the best that it has in weeks. I’m planning on getting a one hour massage, every 4 weeks to keep my running muscles loose and limber.
