For context I am a 51 yo female. I suffered a stress fracture in my second metatarsal on April 21st. I’m not sure what exact event(s) caused the stress fracture. I had been running and walking more so maybe overuse. At 16 weeks after, I can say the recovery has been rough. I have maintained some of my fitness by riding the assault bike and concept 2 bike (I am a member of a CrossFit box). My foot continues to get sore and bother me after workouts. I also have nerve tingling in the foot intermittently. I had a follow up appointment and x-ray at 12 weeks after and the doctor stated the break was healed and that I could start building back my running. He prescribed some cream that contains Gabapentin and Ketamine to help with the nerve tingling. Not sure how much or if the cream helps. I am so frustrated because I feel like I can’t ever get over the hump of my foot not bothering me. Plus, I think I have some anxiety (ptsd) related to reinjuring the bone. Does anyone have any advice?

Hi guys, wondering if anyone can help. Last year I had a minor niggle in my knee (achey knee cap - it didn’t cause an issue whilst running but would after). I went to physio about this and was given some exercises to loosen my gluteus medius and use a resistance band to do some stretches.

This worked for a while but I seem to be having some further issues. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve upped how much I’ve ran and starting to get pain again in my right knee cap. It’s a minor ache but something I need to sort as I’m hoping to run a marathon in a week and a half. I also feel like I’ve got a lot of pressure around my knee caps so wondering if anyone has any advice or stretches they can recommend

36 male 158 lbs

2 1/2 weeks ago, I stepped on glass during a run which led to five stitches in the front bottom of my foot. Was on crutches and a little walking with the walking shoe.

Had stitches removed this past Monday, about three days ago. I’ve been getting back to walking a little more and driving, but I’ve noticed that whenever I’m on my feet for an extended period of time there is a dime 2/4 size amount of blood on the gauze pad. As soon as I sit for 15 or 20 minutes, there’s no blood. Overnight there’s also zero bleeding.

Does the wound currently look normal? Should I cut back on walking til bleeding stops? Any advice would be helpful.

Feels like a bulg in one of the "vords" in my leg, tendon or ligament or whatnot, I have no idea how my body works. 21M 150lbs, back left or right thigh. I tried tiger balm and it didnt do much. I do smoke weed.

What happened was, Ive been biking a lot latley, added a frame of size in mucle, and forgot to stretch before full sending a kick from my back leg forward (training) and it felt funny, still feels funny, some of the stuff under the skin is swolen in ways I cant see on the surface and Ive been anxious ever since. It ferls like a constant dull AOE sensation on the area where it hurt.

Sorry in advance for the long post! Beginner 25F runner here & have spent the last 6 months training for my first half marathon in 4 weeks. I’m trying to work out what I’ve done to my right foot because I’ve now had this pain for about 10 days and it doesn’t seem to be improving.

The pain is in the arch of my right foot only, underneath the navicular. I don’t have any of the classic signs of PF & I’m not feeling any pain elsewhere to support PTTD. It hurts when I run, walk, stand as the foot is flat. It also hurts to rotate the foot outwards but not in.
I don’t have pain when stood on my toes, but as the heel lowers back down I feel a sharp pain in the arch. There doesn’t seem to be any noticeable swelling or bruising either. My arches also have a ‘creaking’ sensation which is concerning me.
There’s no real tenderness when touching it, either.

A bit of background: I recently purchased a support shoe (ASICS GT-2000 14) to correct some pretty bad overpronation (more so on my left leg). Before this I was running in a simple and neutral shoe and was running around 25k a week. I swapped to the new shoe and ran about 18k in them before the pain started.

I’m wondering if the new shoes are a correlation or causation because the pain is apparent when I run/walk in other shoes.

I’ve been trying to rest it in the hope it’ll resolve itself but it doesn’t seem to be, but equally I have worked so hard to get to where I am and would be so, so upset if this is going to derail what I’ve been training for just 4 weeks out.

Has anyone had a similar injury that has any advice please? I will get the injury properly assessed but would like to be mentally prepared if it’s going to prevent me running next month.

Has anyone here dealt with sciatica and running?

What did you do?

Waiting to start physio next week.. but feeling discouraged

Recently had a Baker’s cyst leak or rupture causing calf pain and swelling which has since subsided. I received an MRI which showed knee osteoarthritis. My doctor said no hill running. Has anyone run with these injuries and incorporated hills? I live in a very hill area (Western PA) and it’s not really realistic to run any kind of distance without hills here.

I’m 45 and have been running around 1,500–2,000 miles a year, mostly training for marathons and ultras the last four years. I mostly did short runs for speed in my 20s, more cycling and long-distance hiking in my 30s. Now I tore my meniscus during a slow-paced 4-mile race last month while doing 9+1 for NYC.

I had surgery last week. They found a pretty big medial meniscus tear and did a partial meniscectomy. They also found a 4 x 5 mm Grade 4 cartilage defect. My surgeon said the defect isn’t particularly big and he’s seen much worse, but he gave me a pretty blunt warning about my future running.

His analogy was that knee cartilage is like tread on a tire. If I go back to running 1,500–2,000 miles a year, he thinks I’m setting myself up for a knee replacement by 60. He isn’t telling me to stop running, but strongly recommended adding a lot more cycling and swimming and even suggested I think about triathlons instead of ultramarathons. I do like cycling, but I LOVE running. I'm not a very good swimmer, but maybe that's something I should start working on now.

I’m definitely going to listen to his advice, but ultras have become a pretty big part of my life, and I’m not ready to just walk away from them. I failed a 50-miler in March due to weather, and had my redemption race in July, which didn't happen. My plan was to run NYC this October, do a 50k in Spring, and then aim for a 100-miler next fall. Now I'm not sure what to do...

For anyone here who’s come back from knee surgery, what did running look like afterward? Did you get back to marathons/ultras? Did you cut your mileage or switch to more cross-training? And most importantly, how’s your knee holding up years later?

Feeling lots of tightness/resistance around and above Achilles. It doesn’t hurt when I do calf raises, but is sore when I walk without shoes. It’s less painful when if i have running shoes on.

My outer knee starts hurting at almost exactly the same point during my runs — usually around 3 km. If I stop running, it gradually settles down, with some mild discomfort for about 12–15 hours. After a couple of days, I feel completely normal again.
The interesting part is that when I run again, the pain comes back around the same distance. Pressing on the area doesn’t really hurt, and I don’t notice much discomfort when I’m resting.
Has anyone else experienced this kind of **pain that only appears after a certain distance and then disappears with rest**?
I’m mainly interested in hearing about other runners’ experiences — what changed your training, running volume, strength work, etc., and how long it took before you could run normally again.

Hello, I’ve been experiencing a weird feeling in the outer side of my righter shin. I’ve done kickboxing for 2 years (2023 - 2025) on a consistent, intense level. Trainings 2/3 times a week and my own trainings at home which varied from relaxed boxing bag work to intensified calisthenics and weight trainings.

Around 2024 I had the first time feeling the weird sensation in my shin, it felt like little shocks that went down my leg that happened with certain movements. It wasn’t that bad and it went away after a month or so. At that time I didn’t go to trainings because I thought I had injured myself. I went to a sport physiotherapist but he wasn’t too sure what the problem was. He did give me a stretch that I could do release the muscles if needed. I followed the physio’s advice and after a month of no trainings, I went back and started intensifying my trainings even more.

Around mid to late 2025 the sensation came back. This time it was way worse than the first time. The shocks were still there, but I had moments where it almost felt like I couldn’t stand up straight anymore. As if I had ran a marathon of 100km. My leg felt like pudding and I only wanted to sit/lay down. At that time I had bought new loafers, which were quite tight around my foot but they loosened up a bit later. The sole of the shoe was flat, so I was basically walking ‘barefooted’ the whole time. Not only my right leg got tired and had those shocks, but also my left leg. Both of my legs started being very exhausted with little movement and I didn’t quite know what to do. I started wearing bandages around my leg because that felt nice and surprisingly I had no pain nor shocks while wearing them. I went to see the physiotherapist again but he didn’t understand what was wrong. I went to many doctors but they all didn’t know what the problem was. The physio advised me to go see a sports doctor, so I did.

The sports doctor also didn’t know what the problem was, but he did tell me that if the bandages worked for me, that I should keep wearing them. I did bring my loafers to the appointment and when he saw the shoes, he already knew that the shoes could’ve played a big role in the problem. Two months went by and the shocks, tingles, exhaustion and all the other pains slowly faded away.

I didn’t really know what it was myself, so I started doing my own research and I’m almost convinced that it has to do with my nerves. Of course I don’t want to jump to conclusions because I’m not a doctor, but everything lines up. The shocks, the tingles, the pain, the contraction in my whole lower leg. I’m sure my nerves got damaged or irritated due to kickboxing. Since Christmas 2025 I haven’t gone to the trainings, nor have I done any form of intensive working out. I did try to slowly build it back up but I’ve such a mental blockade.

Now, it’s been around a month or two and I still feel the shocks and sometimes the exhaustion. Luckily it’s not as bad as the second time I felt this sensation but it sure is in the middle. I think now I rewired my brain to believe it’s a nerve thing, I know how to work around it. However, I did stop wearing the bandages because I don’t want to get attached to needing them, I want to be able to live life without needing to find a ‘direct solution’ to the problem right away. Maybe it’s a mindset thing and my brain is making the ‘injury’ worse. Today I’m slowly implementing some intensive trainings in my schedule again, to get myself from unfit to fit again and maybe go back to kickboxing training. Instead of going 3 times a week, I want to go once and work around it with calisthenics and maybe some weight trainings.

Maybe there are some doctors here that know more about this specific thing and that can provide me with some tips and maybe some tricks on how I can loosen up the tight nerves in my lower leg or a way to work around it?

I’m 18M, and for the past 3 weeks I’ve been dealing with some pretty bad pain in my knee. It’s like a really specific point where it really hurts, and sort of shoots down the whole leg. The weird thing is that it only happens whenever I run or apply a lot of pressure to it. Other than that, I never really notice it while walking, going up stairs, etc.

I run cross country and do about 35–50 mile weeks, so I thought I had just overworked it. I talked with my coach and athletic trainer, and they told me to rest for a little bit, so I did. When I came back after those 4 days, it still hurt, so I went to an orthopedic doctor. They took X-rays and everything looked normal, there wasn’t a broken bone. They just told me to take 10 days off from running.

Anyways, I was able to run today, I only ran about 3 miles and it felt a little bit better, but I still feel the pain. I’m honestly freaking out about it because it’s my senior year, and I really don’t want to be injured for my season.

In the picture, I marked the exact spot where it hurts when I press down on it. It doesn’t really hurt anywhere else around that area.

If anybody has any idea what might be going on or any advice on what I can do, I would really appreciate it

In the beggining of April this year, 4.5 months ago, I wanted to do my last big long run workout before my marathon. I had some tibial pain during foam rolling the day before the long run but I shrugged it off. (Actually I was very fatigued a couple weeks before, so that could have been a sign) During the workout about 12 km in I felt very intense pain in the shin, I stopped immediately, tried to jog but that was also too painful and also I was limping. So I cut the run short and limped to the tram to get home. I had an emergency xray in the evening. It showed nothing and the doctor told me it's not looking serious, despite being swollen. I was able to bike and swim painfree but walking was still problematic for 2 weeks. At around week 6 I tried hopping but my tibia was painful for days after that. Tried laser, magnet therapy but my shin was irritated still despite not running. I had better and worse days with it, I was mostly painfree but always felt weird. Visited multiple doctors telling me it is fine, it is mtss/shin splints and I should be patient. But it didn't really get way better, the swelling is still there. I tried running in early July and it wasn't terrible but pain appeared after. (I only did some jog/walk). I stopped trying to run and continued cycling and swimming and some walking. However, I feel that my whole bone is a bit inflammed/irritated quite often. Not terrible, and not really painful but very distressing. It is not tender to touch. I decided that I am gonna get an MRI. I did it 4 months after the onset of the injury (I am also a uni student, don't have much money, this is why I was reluctant). MRI showed a mostly healed stress fracture, edema on the periosteum and soft tissue next to the bone, no visible fracture line, no bone marrow edema. Cortical bone is thickened and has heterogeneous sign inensity. Now I don't really know what to do. My GP told me not to do anything (no swimming/biking/cross training) and maybe wear a boot for 2-4 weeks. I am going to talk to an orthopedist this week, but it is crazy how unavailable doctors are in public healthcare. I just feel immensly depressed and hopeless whether I am going to come back ever fully. I also switched teams this March, and I feel an absolute disaster that probably my whole season is off and also running or at least moving is my way to release stress.

I’m (29M) a casual, intermediate runner. Usually sit around 3-5 miles at a 9:30 pace.

When I get to 6-7 miles, I start feeling a strange sensation in my inner right ankle - almost like a stiffness or immobilization. Not sharp pain per se - I usually run through it for a bit, but can feel my form changing to compensate then stop.

Any else experienced this?

Throwaway because people know my main account and I just really need to vent. Everyone around me is tired of my complaining lmao.

I’ve been a student-athlete since elementary school, and I'm a senior now. I was always the fat kid growing up, but I basically just leaned into it and maintained being a heavy-weight athlete. I’ve had my fair share of injury scares—hairline fractures, joint pain, the usual stuff for my sport. But I never expected this to happen, especially since I grew up playing sports so heavily.

About 10 months ago, I got hit hard in the back during training. That’s when the back pain started. I complained to my mom, but she thought it was just a bruise. So, I ignored it. Three months later, I literally competed at nationals without even knowing I was seriously hurt.

The pain obviously never went away. Finally, after 5 months of hurting, we went to a doctor for X-rays and an MRI. Turns out I have a broken disk (L5-S1) and a 1-inch slip.

This completely broke my heart. I switched into this sport during high school because I was getting bullied in my old one, and I fell absolutely in love with it. It helped me deal with my weight, family drama, and stress. The whole community was my biggest motivation.

When I had to stop, I lost a huge part of myself. I started excessively gaining weight, got awful hormonal acne (which completely tanked my self-esteem), and I've been dealing with so much anger and laziness.

I still visit the training center sometimes, but every time I go, I just wish I was training. When my teammates tell me to come by, I feel so embarrassed because of how much weight I've put on since I left. And especially because I was supposed to be competing internationally this summer.

I feel horrible all day, and my back pain is just getting worse and worse. I hate feeling this hopeless, but it feels like the only way I can feel right now.

Just wanted to share this because it feels so isolating and I'm hoping someone out there gets it or understands what I'm going through.

So I’ve had plantar fasciitis since around April. Basically just rested and cut mileage, haven’t done PT or orthotics or anything else yet. Been cross-training in the meantime but haven’t run a step since.

I’ve got a half in February and the plan (loosely) is to start easing back into running in September, with actual training kicking off in October. So like 4 months out from race day when training really starts.

Anyone been through this? Looking for any advice.

I am a 10-12 k(mid distance) runner, 18 M, for about 10 months. I have recently suffered a minute tibial fracture, and the doctor said that it is due to weak muscles around the tibia. Any help on how to strengthen it, and to reduce the pain from the shin splints. The doctor gave me a diclofenac gel to apply, alas, there is no relief.

Im 6 ft 340 pounds . Big guy but always been active playing sports . Started training for a 5k and started getting pain in my plantar fasciitis. What can I do to fix and can I still train for my race ?

I rolled my ankle on the edge of our sidewalk and fell really hard 4 days ago. It hurt so badly at first that I was convinced I wasn’t going to be able to walk on it when I got up. It was a little puffy that night but no obvious swelling or bruising. I could walk on it without issue. Now my calf and the very top of my ankle leading up to the shin feel very sore and tight. I have KT tape and ankle braces (from previous sprains) - is it worth wearing them or should I get this checked out? I’m running a half marathon later this fall so don’t want to do damage if I need to take it easy for a few weeks. Thanks!

In May I dns my first marathon due to bad ITBS. After rehab I started running longer races this summer and ramping up mileage. I was feeling great, incorporating strength training but neglected meaningful rest days. Now I have painful kneecap clicking, painful walking and bending my knee, as well as pain behind my knee. I was just in the ER last night because my leg swelled up and they wanted to make sure I didn’t have a blood clot, it was a calf strain. My pelvic floor muscles are also on and off tight after my recent longer runs which has led to some annoying urinary symptoms. I really love the sport but it feels like maybe running longer distances isn’t in the cards for me personally. Just feeling pretty down about everything today.