Any advice on foot pain?

[SpinQuark]

I find I am getting an aching pain in the sole/arch of my right foot which I have been getting on and off for the last 3 months or so. I think this is perhaps an injury of some sort from playing table tennis around 7-10 hours a week. I have a tendency to lunge onto my right foot when playing wide to the forehand side and suspect this has not been doing my foot much good. I have high arches and am wondering if I need to invest in some different shoes or some special insoles of some sort.

Does anyone have experience of this type of foot problem and the benefits of different shoes/insoles or recommendations?

 

[Wiseman]

Iam working as physioterapist, 20 years experience. Working quite a alot with athletes. Its quite typical that a tt-player has problems with feet. If you are righthanded , you´ll get often problem with right foot. Almost impossible to say exact what is your problem without examination. I am using very often tape to stabilize foot better.
Find out a good physiotherapist, good experience with sportinjury.

 

[Der_Echte]

You could have a number of things going on, but I would say the time you have spent exerting pressure there combined with footwear that is not 100% form fitted is having a high chance of giving you issues. You could be developing Plantar Fasciitis, but who knows from the short description. Those with P.F. often have some sharp pain in the AM trying to walk, it is like being on eggshells. You catch that early enough and get proper fitted inserts, whether they are custom molded plastic, oven molded corn husk, of pre-shaped plastic (after trying a bunch of different sizes) and often in a few weeks that problem disappears. Germans do a lot of walking and many of them go to a foot specialty place, get their foot measured and custom inserts made and also get custom shoes made. Those are life savers.

I wear boots for 12 hours at a time in the military and when I was in my 30s, I could no longer get away with wearing just anything that wasn't form fitted properly. One month, I slowly started getting pain and it kept getting worse and worse and worse until I learned what was causing it. Plastic inserts hot molded to my feet (done in a combat zone!) did the trick. Those were designed to last 6 months and I got 4 years wear out of them. Total life saver they were.

Now, I wear inserts only in my boots. My TT footwear fits close enough to my feet and give enough support to avoid the problem from popping back up.

 

[redonix76]

If you have low arch then it's easy to over extend your arch and hurt it while playing table tennis. I would have it check out to see if you do have low arch then get proper insoles for your shoes to support the arch. I myself have flat foot, like really flat and even standing still for over 30 minutes my heels will start to hurt and my feet will feel tired. I have insoles that really helps but went through about 10 - 15 different ones to find the right match that actually works. Good luck!

PS: custom orthotics is way too expensive if you get it from a Podiatrist!!

 

[SpinQuark]

Thanks for replies guys.

I havn't done anything yet, mostly because it seems to have got a lot better recently. I am not sure why it is better, I am guessing that either my technique is improving a bit and I am lunging onto my right foot far less, or I am just moving less, or the few pounds I have lost have reduced the pressure on my foot, or some combination of these factors.

 

[zap man]

Sports insoles

My son had the same problem as you, with getting pains in his feet and also knees when playing basketball. like you he has high arches in his feet, he brought Insoles to cater for his high arches and that sorted the problem for him. even though he has expensive basketball shoes with lots of cushioning the insoles inside are made to suit everyone, by putting in the insoles it created support which the original insoles didn't provide. He picked up his insoles from FOOTLOCKER in Bristol, they cost £12.99 but have last years, they are a blue colour and for him done the job perfectly. I would also recommend going to a running shop as they can look at your feet and determine where your body weight is being distributed on your feet, also provide half sizes which can also help a great deal to stop your feet moving in the shoe which can also cause aches and pains as more pressure is used to stop and pivot. My Son works at a sport shoe retailer if you have any more questions just drop me a message. I Didn't Realize you had this problem, perhaps are team should being a foot spa to use in-between games

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

If it is plantar fasciitis, which is the first thing I thought from the description, stretching your calves can actually help too.

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

The reason stretching your calves helps plantar fasciitis is that, while you stretch your calves, you also stretch the bottom of your foot which includes the fascia on the sole of your foot. Any calf stretches help. But the position in Yoga known as Downward Facing Dog is particularly good for stretching the sole of your foot.



It does not have to look like that. But, if you are lifting your hips up and reaching your heels back and down, you will stretch your calves and the bottom of your foot. That can really help for those of you who do have plantar fasciitis.