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Click on one of the links to take you directly to the area you are interested in: safety tips; general health; warm up, stretch and cool down and aches and pains

Safety

When possible avoid running alone, but when you do:

Exercise in familiar areas where there are people. Avoid running in unsighted or unpopulated areas, especially when it is dark and on an unfamiliar route.
Before leaving for your run, tell someone where you are going, the route and when you expect to return.
Always carry some form of identification in case of an accident or medical emergency.
In case of accident or injury, carry money with you to make a telephone call or for public transport. Paper money is better, as it is convenient and can easily be concealed.
Avoid wearing jewelry as it can attract unwanted attention.

When running in a group there are a few rules to follow as well:

Select a group whose pace matches your own. Bear in mind that your capabilities may vary with the type of session. If you struggle or feel unwell ask someone to run with you.
Be considerate to other runners, allow them enough space and be cautious when crossing in front or behind them.
Make sure individual group members do not fall behind alone or take an alternative route. We strongly recommend this if they are injured or feeling unwell.
Check on how your fellow runners are feeling.

When running in darkness, choose a well-lit route and make sure you wear light colored and/or reflective clothing, it might not look 'cool' but looks a lot better than plaster and bandages!

In winter hypothermia can affect even the youngest and fittest of runners, affecting judgement and reaction times, which is particularly important in dealing with traffic. In remote areas it can be fatal. So make sure you are dressed appropriately especially on hill runs or on longer runs. Wear warm breathable clothes that cover your body. On the hills you should always carry a 'bum bag' with full body cover, light water proofs and perhaps a mobile phone. Finally: wear a hat - the body loses thirty per cent of its heat from the head.

pic: Sensibly dressed runners!

Avoid running with a personal music-player and earphones as it reduces your level of awareness of traffic and those around you.

In town, where possible, run on pavements. If you are running on a road always run on the side and in the direction facing oncoming traffic. Be especially cautious on bends or on the brow of a hill. If a vehicle is approaching without taking a wide berth, give way and when crossing a road, use the green cross code.

A very obvious one, make sure your laces are securely tied prior to starting your run, particularly a race; there's nothing more irritating than having to re-tie your lace, while the runners you've just spent an hour overtaking swan past!

General Health

If you have not been exercising regularly, it is recommended that you get a medical check-up prior to starting a running program.

When returning from an injury take it easy in your first few training sessions and make sure you follow the physio or doctor's advice, otherwise you could be visiting them again a lot sooner than you would like!

Never exercise if you feel unwell or are recovering from illness (including colds and flu!).

If you experience pain or discomfort during a run then stop or at least ease up. Let someone in your training group know you have a problem.

If aches and pains continue after stopping running, or you feel unwell, consult a doctor do not rely on the diagnosis a fellow runner!

Eat in moderation prior to running (it's never pleasant seeing someone re-visit their dinner during a training session!) but make sure you take in carbohydrates within 30 minutes of completing a vigorous run to assist recovery.

Drink plenty of water to prevent dehydration, on longer training runs make sure you carry some water or an isotonic drink with you (at least 1 litre).

Avoid drinking alcohol prior to running as it accelerates dehydration, reduces performance, impairs judgment and increases willingness to take risks.

Warm Up, Stretch and Cooldown

Runners are notorious for having really poor flexibility and often neglecting their warm up. So here are a few tips to get you flexible and hopefully avoid those injuries!

Warm-up and stretch for at least 10 minutes before training or racing and make sure you cool down after each run to prevent strains and sprains. Stretching can alert you to a pull or a strain, which will affect your run. Start slowly and gradually build up to a sustained level of performance.

pic: Taking it a bit too far!

A warm up, stretching and cooldown regime and some basic stretches are described below (sources: www.coolrunning.com, www.thestretchinghandbook.com):

Warm Up
The general warm up should consist of a light physical activity. Both the intensity and duration of the general warm up (or how hard and how long), should be governed by the fitness level of the participating athlete. Although a correct general warm up for the average person should take about five to ten minutes and result in a light sweat.

The aim of the general warm up is simply to elevate the heart rate and respiratory rate. This in turn increases the blood flow and helps with the transportation of oxygen and nutrients to the working muscles. This also helps to increase the muscle temperature, allowing for a more effective static stretch.

Stretching
A good and consistent stretching program can save you a lot of trouble and keep you running when you might otherwise become injured. Along with training gently and choosing the right shoes, stretching is the most important thing you can do to protect your body from the rigors of the road. You'll also find that the benefits of stretching include reduced muscle soreness after running and even better athletic performance.

That said, you should be careful about how you stretch. If not done properly, stretching can actually cause injury rather than prevent it. Rule number one in stretching: do not bounce. It's a common mistake, but bouncing risks pulling or tearing the muscle you're trying to stretch and relax. Muscles must be stretched gradually. If a stretch is applied too quickly, the muscle responds with a strong contraction, increasing tension. If the stretch is applied slowly, however, this contraction reflex is avoided, muscle tension falls, and you may stretch the muscle further. The lesson here: stretch slowly and hold the stretch for 30 to 40 seconds.

Do not stretch beyond the point where you begin to feel tightness in the muscle. Do not push through muscle resistance, and never stretch to the point of discomfort or pain.

Wall pushup 1: Stand about three feet from a wall, feet at shoulder width and flat on the ground. Put your hands on the wall with your arms straight for support. Lean your hips forward and bend your knees slightly to stretch your calves.

Wall pushup 2: From the previous position, bend forward to lower your body to waist height. Bring one foot forward with your knee slightly bent. Lift the toes of the front foot to stretch the muscle under the calf. Stretch both legs.

Wall pushup 3: Put your feet together, rocking back on your heels with your hands on the wall and your arms straight to form a jackknife with your body. This stretches your hips, shoulders, and lower back.

Upper back: Grab your elbow with the opposite hand and gently push the elbow up and across your body until your hand reaches down to "scratch" your back. Gently push on your elbow to guide your hand down your back as far as it will comfortably go, stretching your triceps and shoulders. Stretch both arms.

Hamstrings: Lie down with one leg straight up in the air, the other bent with foot flat on the ground. Loop a towel over the arch of the lifted foot, and gently pull on the towel as you push against it with your foot. Push only to the point where your muscles contract. Stretch both legs.

Quadraceps: Kneel on your knees (without resting back on your heels). Lean back with your body erect and your arms to the side. Hold for 15 seconds.

Heel to buttock: Stand on one foot, with one hand on a wall for balance. Hold the other foot with the opposite hand and raise the heel of the lifted foot to the buttocks (or as close as comfortably possible), stretching your quadriceps. Keep your body upright throughout. Change legs and repeat.

Hips and lower back: Sit on the ground with your legs crossed. Lift your right leg and cross it over the left, which should remain bent. Hug the right leg to your chest and twist the trunk of your body to look over your right shoulder. Change legs and repeat (i.e. looking over your left shoulder).

llitobial band: Lie on your side with both legs bent in running position. Bring the bottom leg toward your chest and then bring the top one back toward your buttocks, so that the running position of your legs is exaggerated as possible. Hold for 30 seconds then flip sides and repeat. repeat.

Hamstring and back: Lie on your back with your knees bent. Hug your shins to your chest to stretch your hamstrings and lower back.

Bridge: Lie on your back and, with your feet flat on the ground, lift your hips up until your body forms a flat plane. Repeat this one ten times for 30 seconds each to stretch your quads and lower back. Repeat.

Groin: Seated, put the soles of your feet together. With your elbows on the inside of your knees, gradually lean forward and gently press your knees toward the ground.

There are three key elements, or parts, to an effective cool down. They are;

Gentle exercise;
Stretching; and
Re-fuel.

Cool Down
Many people dismiss the cool down as a waste of time, or simply unimportant. In reality the cool down is just as important as the warm up, and if you want to stay injury free, it's vital. Although the warm up and cool down are just as important as each other, they are important for different reasons. While the main purpose of warming up is to prepare the body and mind for strenuous activity, cooling down plays a different role.

Why Cool Down? The main aim of the cool down is to promote recovery and return the body to a pre exercise, or pre work out level. During a strenuous work out your body goes through a number of stressful processes. Muscle fibres, tendons and ligaments get damaged, and waste products build up within your body. There are three part to an effective cool down, all are equally important and any one part should not be neglected or thought of as not necessary. All three elements work together to repair and replenish the body after exercise:

Cool down with easy jogging or walking, including some deep breathing as part of your easy exercise to help oxygenate your system.
Follow with about 10 to 15 minutes of stretching. Static stretching and PNF stretching is usually best.
Re-fuel. Both fluid and food are important. Drink plenty of water, plus a good quality sports drink. The best type of food to eat straight after a work out is that which is easily digestible. Fruit is a good example.

Aches and Pains
The following common problems and potential remedies are discussed in this section:

Foot Pain: blisters, corns, black toenail, thick toenail, sore big toe, bunions, hammer toes, pain in small toes, neuromas, metatarsil fracture, top of foot pain, plantar faciitis, heel spurs, flat feet, heel pain.

Remember that this page is for information only and always follow the Golden Rule: if you have a problem see a doctor!

Foot Pain

General Foot Problems

Blisters
Likely causes:
Blisters are caused by rubbing and irritation of the skin. Your shoes are almost certainly the culprit -- they either don't fit properly, or you have run too far in them without breaking them in adequately.

Remedy:
If the blister isn't causing any pain, leave it alone. But if it's interfering with your running, you should feel free to "operate" as long as you're careful to avoid infection. Sterilize a razor blade (boil it for 10 minutes), wash the area of the blister (preferably using an antiseptic like alcohol or Betadine), and make a small slit in the blister. Don't be squeamish -- because the skin of the blister "bubble" is dead, you won't feel any pain. Press the fluid out. Carefully clean the area, again using an antiseptic. Let the blister dry, without putting on any ointment, and cover the blister with gauze or a Band-Aid. Problem solved.

To avoid blisters in the future, there are four things you might do. First, make sure that your shoes fit. They should be snug so that your foot does not rattle around inside, rubbing against the shoe and causing blisters. Make sure that you have laced your shoes tightly enough that they form to your foot. They should not, however, be too tight -- particularly not too narrow or too short.

Second, some manufacturers, such as Thorlo, sell "blister-proof" socks. Give these socks a try, and in general keep in mind that nylon socks tend to be more abrasive than cotton.

Third, feel free to lubricate your feet to cut down on the friction that causes blisters. Rubbing some vaseline on your feet before runs can do the trick, but if you find that too goopy, talcum powder is a good substitute.

Fourth, if you are aware of specific blister problem areas, try protecting those ahead of time. Moleskin may work, but it often doesn't stick very well to sweaty feet. Duct tape, believe it or not, is often more reliable. Put it on before your foot becomes moist, and it won't come off until you want it to.

Corns
Description:
Hard, painful lumps on the skin.

Likely causes:
Constant rubbing and pressure from shoes that are too tight.

Remedy:
First off, get shoes that fit better. Very likely, the shoes you have are either too short, too narrow or both. Take some of the pressure off the corn by putting a doughnut pad on it. You can find doughnut pads at most drugstores; they're small pads with a hole in them that eases friction when fitted over the corn. With the right shoes and the pressure relieved, the corn will disappear in a few weeks. You can speed this process by giving the corn a few strokes with an emery board a couple times a week.

Toes and the Front of the Foot

Black Toenail
Description:
Your toenail is, well, black. It may be painful.

Likely causes:
Repeated pressure and impact on your toenail. It could be from running downhill, when your shoe stops short and your toe keeps slamming into the end of the shoe. Or the toebox of your shoe could be too large, and your toe keeps banging against the top (over long distances the cumulative effect of this can be miserable on the nail). Whatever the specific cause, the result is bleeding under the nail, thus the blackness.

Remedy:
The blood must be released to relieve the pressure. Some people will tell you that you can do this yourself with a razor blade or a hot needle, which you poke through the skin. That takes guts; you're probably better off seeing a doctor to take care of it. If you don't take care of it in the first couple of weeks, the nail will probably start to come off, and several weeks later it will ultimately drop off. Not to worry, while this is not a particularly attractive process, it's not painful or unhealthy either.

Thick Toenail
Description:
The nail is noticeably thicker than normal -- perhaps up to 1/2-inch or 3/4-inch thick. The pressure of the shoe probably makes the nail quite painful.

Likely causes:
A thick toenail is often the result of repeated trauma to the nail -- injury after injury. Maybe it's from constant pressure and impact within your running shoes, or maybe you've just dropped stuff on your toe a few times too many.

Remedy:
File the top of the nail, using an emery board to smooth it down. You'll likely find that the nail will grow back and thicken again, and you may have to file it again. NOTE: If your nail is also discolored and mottled with yellow and white, this may be fungus nail instead of a mere thick toenail. See a podiatrist about applying a fungicide.

Soreness Under the Ball of the Big Toe
(Bruised or broken sesamoids)
Description:
Tiny bones called sesamoids are located under the ball of your big toe (where the toe connects to your foot). These bones sometimes bruise -- it's a hassle, but it's also a warning system; they start aching before you damage the bones of your big toe. To see if you've bruised these little guys, press hard on the head of your big toe with your thumb. If you're howling in pain, that pretty much confirms that you've bruised, maybe even broken, your sesamoids.

Likely Causes:
Increased mileage, maybe new hillwork or speedwork. Whatever the cause, you are running too much on the balls of your feet. Also, it is possible that your running surface is responsible -- too much hard pavement. A final possibility is that you are doing nothing wrong at all, but you may have been betrayed by your own bone structure (i.e. you have bony feet without much fat padding).

Remedy:
Ice your foot, putting it on ice for ten minutes, off for ten minutes, and repeat. Do this often, maybe four times per day. This, of course, only treats the symptoms. You also have to treat the root cause and stop pounding the balls of your feet into pulp. Reduce hillwork and speedwork, and also take a look at your stride. Your heel should hit the ground first, rolling through the middle of your foot and then springing off from your toes. You should not be landing on the balls of your feet.

The problem can further be avoided in the future by padding around the ball of your foot to take pressure off of it. Get a piece of felt or foam rubber (try using a Dr. Scholl's heel pad, for example). It should be 1/4" thick and about 2" square. Cut a shallow "U" out of the pad so that it fits snugly behind (not over) the ball of your foot. Behind, incidentally, means on the heel side, not the toe side. The pad should fit right behind the painful area. You'll know you've got it right when you try it out and walk around -- the pressure will be off the bone, and the pain will be far reduced. Tape the padding to your foot and wear it in your daytime shoes as well as your running shoes.

You should be able to hit the road immediately, and the pain will likely disappear in about two weeks. If it does not, you may need custom orthotics. See a podiatrist, preferably one who is also a runner.

Bunions
Description:
A bunion is a swelling near the bone connecting to the big toe that sticks out at the side. Having a bunion is not necessarily a problem unless it begins to be tender and painful.

Likely causes:
Bunions may become enlarged if too much weight or shoe pressure is applied to them. If this has happened to you, your big toe is probably angled in and overlaps your second toe, causing a problem of weight distribution. As a result, extra weight is getting put on the ball of your big toe, possibly aggravated by the pounding of running. The ball has responded by growing larger in an attempt to handle the weight better.

Remedy:
Unfortunately, you can't undo this, with the exception of going under the knife to trim it down. You can, however, ease the discomfort. First, be sure that you are not wearing shoes that are too tight. Second, try to take pressure off the bunion. Your local drugstore probably sells bunion pads which will cover the bunion and pad the area around it to help take the pressure off the bunion itself. (You can also make your own out of foam rubber. Try a 1/4"-thick piece, and cut a hole to match the size and shape of the bunion). Finally, an arch support (available at most drug stores and running stores) may help to take some of the pressure off of the bunion. If you still have trouble, visit a podiatrist.

Hammer Toes
Description: Your toes, or maybe just one of them, will not stay straight. With effort you might be able to get your toes to straighten, but they won't stay that way. The tops of the toes hurt when you run, probably from corns that have formed there (you may have also formed corns on the tips of the hammer toes). Any toe except the big toe can be a hammer toe.

Likely causes:
Your hammer toes are almost certainly caused by shoes that are too short. After extended use of ill-fitting shoes, the tendons on the bottom of your toes have actually shortened and now they won't stretch out again.

Remedy:
Wear shoes that are looser in the toes. If you do have corns on the tops of your toes, wrap lamb's wool around them; you can find lamb's wool in the footcare section of your local drugstore. It lasts for three or four days of straight use. If you have a corn on the tips of your toes, try putting some padding in the arch beneath the toes to lift them up. This should stop the tips of your toes from pounding into the sole of your shoe.

Pain Under Your Three Smallest Toes
Description:
Pain under your three small toes. If you press with your fingers between the toes and balls of your feet, you feel pain.

Likely causes:
Too much pounding. You're probably coming down too hard on this area of your foot when you run. As a result bursitis may have developed, with your foot building a cushion called a bursa to protect the area. The pain you feel is the bursa getting irritated.

Remedy:
Take the pressure off of this area with some foot pads. You can probably find some metatarsal pads in the footcare section of your drug store, but a piece of felt or foam rubber will do the trick, too -- about 1/4" thick, two or three inches long. The idea is to put padding behind the balls of your feet so that you won't pound them so hard. Bend your toes back and press until you find the spots that hurt; tape the padding to the area just behind (that's on the heel side of the pain, not the toe side). This should take care of the symptoms, but the cause itself is probably due to an imbalance in your foot. Visit a podiatrist, preferably a runner, to see if orthotics may help.

Neuromas
(burning between the toes)
Description:
A neuroma is a bundle of nerve endings whose covering has become inflamed. Probably between the third and fourth toes, you feel a burning sensation, maybe more like an electric tingling or a shooting pain, possibly with some numbness. Whatever the exact sensation, it is no doubt excruciating. There is no swelling, no bumps. The pain may come on at odd times, even when you are not being particularly active.

Likely causes:
This problem is apparently fairly common for people with a "loose foot," where there is too much movement between the metatarsals, the bones that connect to the toes.

Remedy:
Ice the foot for ten minutes, then ten minutes off, and repeat five times to bring down the inflammation. Take pressure off of the neuroma by putting some padding right behind where the toes meet your foot. Bend your toes back and press on the bottom of your foot to find the most painful spot. Put the padding right behind that (that's on the heel side of the pain, not the toe side). Use some foam rubber or felt, about 1/4" thick. Tape the padding to your foot, or glue them into your shoes.

You will probably always have to use this padding to run since the source of the problem is in your foot structure. Rest assured, though, that even though the nerve bundles will always be there, they won't hurt so long as you're wearing the padding. If, however, you continue to have pain, it's time to see a podiatrist. Hopefully, she can fit you with appropriate padding, but surgery may be a necessity in the long run to remove the neuroma. (As surgery goes, this is said to be not terribly disabling; most can start running again two or three weeks afterward).

Body of the Foot

Metatarsal Stress Fracture
Description:
Pain in one of the long thin bones that run along the top of your foot and attach to your toes (the metatarsals). There may be a little redness or swelling, and if you touch this area the pain will practically knock you over. Press along the shaft of the bone toward the outside and then toward the inside, and you feel a stabbing pain.

Likely causes:
The metatarsals can be broken or bruised under the stress of running, particularly for long distances. You're running harder and longer than your feet are able to take.

Remedy:
This is not a do-it-yourselfer. Stop running and see a podiatrist or an orthopedist immediately. Under a doctor's care, you should be back to running in about six weeks.

Pain on Top of Foot
Likely causes:
If your symptoms do not match those listed above for a metatarsal stress fracture, the pain is probably caused by either a bone spur or simply shoes that are too tight. A bone spur is an enlarged bone; you'll see it as a bump on top of the foot. The bone has probably grown as a result of pressure being applied to it.

Remedy:
Try wearing larger shoes and don't tie your shoe laces quite so tight. (Remember when buying shoes that your feet swell when you run, especially over long distances). In the case of a bone spur, try taking some of the pressure off of the bone. Cut a piece of foam rubber (about 1/4" thick) to make a doughnut-shaped pad that fits over the bone spur. Either put it on before running or glue it to the tongue of your running shoe.

Arch and Heel

Plantar Fasciitis
(pronounced fa-shee-eye-tiss)
Description:
This is among the most common of foot injuries and is signaled by pain on the front of the heel or all along the arch. You probably have a lot of pain when you first get out of bed -- it's probably murder just to walk out of your bedroom. Ditto on standing up after a long time of being seated. The pain may range anywhere from a vague pull along the arch to the impression that your arch is ripping in half (don't worry, it's not actually doing that). To make sure it's plantar fasciitis, as opposed to a heel spur (see below), press your thumb up hard on the middle of your heel. If you feel pain, it's plantar fasciitis.

Likely causes:
Fascia is the stuff your body uses either to separate muscle groups or to connect separate parts. In your foot, fascia form the arch, connecting your heel bone to the balls of your feet. In the ideal foot with the ideal stride, your weight during your stride rolls efficiently from your heel, through your arch, and off of the ball of your foot. The arch flattens a little bit to absorb your weight and then springs back. Of course for most of us, it's a bit much to ask for both an ideal foot AND an ideal stride. Plantar fasciitis is the all too common result of your weight moving improperly through your arch so that it is overstretched. In more extreme cases, the arch loses its flexibility altogether so that it no longer springs back (in which case you have a fallen arch, see flat feet below). The injury is aggravated, like most injuries, by running too much. It also doesn't help much to run on hard surfaces or run on the balls of your feet (for example, when running hills or doing trackwork).

Remedy:
First, ease off on the miles and cut out the hills and speedwork. When you do run, make sure your calves and hamstrings are well stretched.

Plantar fasciitis is essentially an inflammation of the fascia. Give it ice immediately after running -- ten minutes on ice, ten minutes off, and repeat. Take anti-inflammatories to reduce the swelling. For that early-morning pain, avoid getting out of bed barefot. Put on some thick socks or slippers first.

To get at the source of the problem, you have to give your arch some help and support. Try wearing an arch strapping. This will add support to your arch. If the strapping does not provide enough relief, pick up some arch supports. You should be able to find them (probably by Dr. Scholls) at a drug store. They raise the arch and shift burden off the heel. By wearing these you also give the fascia a little slack -- the arch doesn't have to stretch as far. If the strapping and the arch supports together are not enough, try adding heel pads. You can buy these, or just use make-up sponges (you're looking for 1/2-inch sponge rubber).

Also, tight calves can add strain to the fascia. Spend some extra time stretching your calves with wall pushups.

This kind of home treatment is usually fairly successful for plantar fasciitis. Give it a try, it's a lot cheaper than orthotics. But if after two weeks you still have pain, see a podiatrist who treats athletes (and who is preferably a runner herself). Orthotics may be necessary. If so, they should solve the problem for good.

Heel Spurs
Description:
The symptoms of heel spurs are nearly identical to those for plantar fasciitis (above). There is pain in the front of the heel and possibly in the arch. The pain probably seems particularly acute when taking your first steps of the day or walking after a long period of sitting down. When you have a heel spur, unlike with plantar fasciitis, you will feel pain when you press the front of the heel, at the intersection of the heel and the arch, pressing up and backward toward the heel. This is where the heel spur has formed -- it's a pointy extension of the heel bone.

Likely causes:
As with plantar fasciitis, you may have strained the fascia that form the arch of your foot. In doing so, some of the fascia may have actually been yanked off of the heel bone, leaving some blood behind. Over time these little droplets, sitting on your heel bone, calcified and actually formed an extra little piece of bone, the heel spur. The pain you feel is not the spur itself (that's bone), but the flesh and fascia around it which are now taking an extra pounding from the new arrival in your skeletal neighborhood.

Remedy:
There are some things you can do to ease the discomfort and possibly even cure the problem. Keep in mind, though, that home treatment very rarely does much for these little guys but that your friendly neighborhood podiatrist can fix you up with very little fuss.

First the home treatment. Ice your heels (cool your jets, etc) right after running. Apply ice for ten minutes, take it off for ten, then repeat. This will help take down some of the swelling and ease the pain.

Try wearing heel pads when you run, too. You can buy commercial heel pads at the drugstore, or simply use makeup sponges or any piece of sponge rubber, about 1/2-inch thick. These will absorb shock and shift your weight somewhat away from the front of the heel where your heel spurs are. Arch supports (also found in many drugstores) may help, too. Try wearing an arch strapping to give your arch further support.

While there is a chance that doing these things will make your problem go away, don't count on it, it hardly ever happens. If your pain continues, and certainly if it increases, go to see an orthopedist or a podiatrist. She will likely fit you with orthotics which should take care of the problem, which is essentially a problem of weight distribution. She may, however, recommend surgery to remove the spur, though you will probably still have to wear orthotics anyway.

Flat Feet
(a.k.a. fallen arches, or weak foot syndrome)
Description:
There are a variety of symptoms for flat feet, and not everyone will experience all of them. Symptoms might include tired, sore feet (particularly on the bottom); lower back pain; pain in the arch; or tired legs. Your feet probably feel better when you roll your feet toward the outside. To confirm whether you have flat feet, press on the arch at the highest point. If you have weak foot, you will find this fairly painful. Another test is simply to look at your feet. When standing, you pronate; your weight falls toward the inside of your foot, and your arch almost disappears entirely.

Likely causes:
You may have simply been born with a very low arch (just because you are born with low arches, by the way, does not necessarily mean that you will ever have the symptoms of "flat feet"). On the other hand, your arches may have fallen. This happens when the flexible bands (the fascia) that form your arch become overstretched. This is usually the result of an imbalance in your foot. Your arch loses its flexibility and no longer springs back.

Remedy:
You need to give your arch some extra support. Wear an arch strapping until the pain is gone, probably about two weeks. You should also wear an arch support, both in your running shoes and your regular shoes. You can probably buy these supports in your local drugstore, and you should continue to wear them even after the pain goes away. If you do not, you run a serious risk of inviting back the pain. If these steps do not solve the problem, see a podiatrist to find out if orthotics might be necessary.

Pain in the back and bottom of the heel
(Apophycitis of the heel)
Description:
This injury happens to runners under twenty, most commonly to children around eleven. The pain dances up the back of your heel, and if you grab the heel and squeeze, you'll be howling in pain.

Likely causes:
Right through the teens, the heel bone is in two pieces which eventually fuse after adolescence. If you are under twenty and you have been running very long distances, you may have jarred and separated these bones.

Remedy:
Try a heel strapping, using 1-1/2 inch adhesive tape. It's easy to do: Put one piece around the bottom of the heel toward the front, then another around the back of the heel toward the top -- from the inner ankle bone to the outer ankle bone. Then put another piece at the bottom, just behind the first piece of tape and overlapping by 1/2 inch. Do the same with another piece of tape at the back of the heel. Continue to add pieces of tape alternating between the bottom and the back of the heel until the last tape around the back of the heel borders the sole of your foot.

Also be sure to wear heel pads -- try inserting makeup sponges in your running shoes. Be patient: the injury will probably take about six months to heal, and during this period you should avoid all running and jumping. It's tough medicine, but to do otherwise will risk making the injury worse.