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The Most Common Foot Injuries from Running a Marathon

By Dr Andrew Schneider

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Published: 18Nov2009
Word count: 436
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Many podiatrists take the opportunity to volunteer in the medical tent after a local marathon. After the race, participants were filtered into the post-race area where they get food, water and have the option of stopping in the medical or podiatry tents for any assistance they may need. Hundreds of people come in looking for medical assistance, but the surprising thing is that 99% of the complaints consisted of the same 3 problems. The following medical problems are what I would consider to be the most common foot injuries based on my experience in the marathon medical tents:

1) Blisters - By far the most common problem that people face when running is blisters. You can wear moisture wicking socks, by the perfect shoes, and try and keep you feet as dry as possible but sometimes it is just impossible to prevent blisters from developing. One thing that many people don't realize is that blisters come in different forms depending on what is inside of the blister. Most commonly blisters are either filled with a clear fluid or with blood. Runners can be freaked out to look down at their shoes at the end of a race and see blood but it may just have been a blood blister that popped while running. Blisters come in all shapes, sizes and locations.

2) Subungual Hematoma - This is a medical term for blood under the nail. This commonly occurs to runners from repeated pounding of their nail against the front of their shoe. It also commonly occurs when patients have a little piece of bone that protrudes up into their nail bed that irritates the nail when pressure is applied.

3) Plantar Fasciitis - This is a very common problem that occurs not only in runners but also in non-runners. Plantar fasciitis is irritation and swelling of the thick tissue on the bottom of the foot. This is usually a chronic condition, so runners will usually have this throughout their training but this can become extremely painful after a race. If you get a flare up of this after a race don't hesitate to stop in a podiatry tent so that they can ice and tape up your foot.

Although there are many aliments that runners face from running the most common injuries that are seen are blisters, subungual hematomas and plantar fasciitis. The important thing to remember is that these are common injuries that can be fixed and alleviated by medical attention. Don't hesitate to stop in a podiatry tent after a race or to visit a local podiatrist if your aliments get worse or if you have questions.

Dr. Andrew Schneider is a podiatrist in private practice in Houston, TX. He is dedicated to maintaining the health and safety of the feet of athletes and return them to their sport as soon as possible after injury. For more information about foot health in sports, informative videos, and to order Dr. Schneider's FREE book, visit his website and his blog "The Houston Running Chronicles"

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