Alright, so today I’m gonna walk you through my experience with, uh, figuring out what exactly “stone bruises” are. Sounds weird, right? Like, you got hit by a rock or something?
It all started last week. I started feeling this sharp pain in the ball of my foot. Like, right under my big toe. At first, I thought I just stepped on something weird, but it didn’t go away. It actually got worse. Walking became a real pain, literally!
So, first thing I did? Google, of course! I typed in “pain in ball of foot” and a bunch of stuff popped up. “Plantar fasciitis,” “Morton’s neuroma,”… and then “stone bruise.” I clicked on that ’cause it sounded kinda dramatic.
What I learned was that a stone bruise isn’t actually a bruise from a stone! It’s more like a deep tissue bruise. Apparently, it’s inflammation of the periosteum, which is the membrane surrounding the bones in your foot. Can happen from repetitive impact or just wearing bad shoes.
Okay, so now I know what it is. Time to figure out why I got it. I thought back to what I’d been doing lately. Hmm… Well, I did start trying to get back into running. Nothing crazy, just a mile or two a few times a week. And, yeah, my running shoes are kinda old. They’ve seen better days, that’s for sure.
My next step was to try and fix it. Everything I read online suggested the same thing: R.I.C.E. – Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation.
- Rest: This was the hard part. I had to actually stop running. I switched to walking instead, and even that I tried to minimize.
- Ice: I grabbed a bag of frozen peas (classic!) and iced my foot for about 20 minutes, a few times a day. Felt pretty good, actually.
- Compression: I wrapped my foot with an Ace bandage. Not too tight, just enough to give it some support.
- Elevation: I propped my foot up whenever I was sitting or lying down. Makes watching TV a little more comfortable, I gotta admit.
I also took some ibuprofen to help with the pain and inflammation. Didn’t wanna overdo it, but it definitely took the edge off.
And, you know what? It actually worked! After about a week of R.I.C.E., the pain started to subside. It’s not completely gone, but it’s way better. I even went and bought some new running shoes with better cushioning. Should’ve done that a long time ago!
So, yeah, that’s my stone bruise story. Turns out it wasn’t a rock, but it still hurt like one! The lesson here? Listen to your body, don’t ignore pain, and maybe, just maybe, invest in decent shoes. Hope this helps someone out there!
