changing foot pain in left foot due to marathon training

[stevos]

Please help, I am due to run a marathon in 2 weeks and i am unsure whether to do so. When i started my training in January I had just had a peroneal tendon strain but my doctor said it would be ok to start running after 2 weeks rest.. All seemed ok but as the mileage increased i started getting pain in my heel about 1 mile into the run which would subside a few miles in but then the pain would come back after cooling down. This pain would go by the next day but as i carried on the time taken to go away would get longer. Now , i went for a run last week and have developed pain on the inside of my ankle which did transmit into my arch but now just the inside of ankle. Any ideas what could be causing the pain to move around my foot and whether 2 1/2 weeks rest would be enough to then run a marathon as the pain has not been bad enough to stop me running?

[Heidi]

Hi
The sensible answer is not to do it! However, I know how much training, time and effort you have put in and I'm sure this is not what you want.

The fact the pain is moving around the heel and inner ankle area suggests it is an overuse, biomechanical based injury. By this I mean poor biomechanics (usually at the feet) repeated over time has caused the problem.

Obviously 2 weeks is not long enough to correct the problem all together. And so if you want to go ahead with the marathon, the best thing you can do at this stage is preventative measures. So, rest completely between now and then. Stretch the muscles of the calf, shin, peroneals, even hamstrings and quads on a 3-5 times daily basis.
You can find stretches here:
http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/cybertherapist/stretching/allstretches.php

Other then that, try some sports massage - this is well worth it in the late stages of marathon training, injury or not.
Another possibility is a heel pad to cushion under the heel and reduce shock. You can get Sorbothane heel pads from our sister site www.return2fitness.co.uk (or .net in the US)

Good luck!

[stevos]

thanks for the reply. I still have some pain on the inside of my ankle and looking at a diagram think its my posterior tibial tendon but i have no pain when standing on my toes on that foot. Unfortuantely my doctor is off for 3 weeks as he`s a great person to turn to as he does triathlons and will tell you what you can get away with. With my peroneal tendon strain he said 7-10 days rest is enough and then you can resume training without limiting mileage. Is it the same for a posterior tibial tendon strain? I am hoping the pain goes by this weekend and i can have 1 week pain free and i will run, obviously if its still painful by this time next week i`ll have to pull out.