Many of our active patients have noticed that running changes the appearance of their toenails. If you've been running regularly, and one of your toenails appears to be black, check out this post for info on preventing, treating and resolving runners toe:
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Prevent and Treat Runners Toe
Runners toe describes an injury that affects your toenail, most often on the big toe. People who run regularly, especially for long distances, may notice that their toenail turns purple or black, or even begins to fall off. But what causes this injury, can it be prevented, and what are the treatment options once you've got a runners toe? This post provides all the information you need to stay safe!
What is Runners Toe?
Runners toe injuries mostly affect your toenail, changing its color and appearance. But this condition may also create pain or pressure under the nail; pus or blood blisters may develop, the skin around the nail can swell, and your nail may even fall off.
The problems begin when blood pools beneath your nail. It gets there because you subject that nail to repeated trauma, usually by hitting it against the front of your shoe. Over and over and over again. In turn, that force damages blood vessels, allowing blood to leak out and get trapped beneath the nail.
This is a common issue treated by a sports injury podiatrist, especially in athletes who frequently experience repetitive stress to their feet.
Can You Prevent Runners Toe?
There are several ways to prevent this injury. First, buy a sneaker that leaves you just a bit of wiggle room in the toe, without letting your feet slide around. This can help prevent the trauma of toenails slamming into your shoe end.
Next, make sure to keep your nails trimmed closely. Just be sure to leave a little bit of white nail visible, since cutting nails too far down makes you more likely to develop an ingrown toenail.
Finally, take a break from running if you notice little changes in the appearance of your nail, or if your nails feel sore after a run. At that time, check the fit of your sneakers, to make sure they're not contributing to a runners toe injury,
When to Seek Care for Black Toenails
If you've already developed runners toe, don't worry: you don't need to spend the rest of your days staring down a discolored toenail. Now, if your injury isn't painful, we may decide to watch the toenail and make sure it is healing, without any intervention. But if you experience pain or find it hard to walk or run, you may need an intervention. In that case, we may suggest a procedure to drain the blood from beneath your nail, relieving your pain and speeding up the healing process.
While many cases of runners toe won't need treatment, it's still important to come into the office when you notice changes in your nail appearance. Why is that the case? Some runners toe injuries can damage your nail matrix, meaning you'll never regrow a healthy nail. To prevent that from happening, it's important that you seek medical care right away. That way, we can watch your injury and intervene before you suffer permanent damage.
Is Runners Toe Permanent?
This injury should not be permanent, as long as you seek prompt treatment. Then, once you have addressed the injury, and your nail has grown out, the injury should be resolved. Just be sure to protect your toes once you return to training, to keep black toenails from coming back.
How Long Does it Take for a Runners Toe to Heal?
When you seek treatment for a black toenail in our Marietta podiatry practice, we can provide immediate pain relief. With a procedure that drains built-up blood beneath the nail, we can relieve the pressure right away. In turn, you should experience immediate pain relief, though some discomfort may persist for several more days.
However, the appearance of your nail will not change immediately. For that to happen, you will need to wait for a new, healthy nail to grow out. And that process could take up to a year to complete.
Is it OK to Run with a Runners Toe?
If your pain is mild, and you've taken steps to prevent black toenails from developing or getting worse, running with a black toenail should be fine. However, before running, you should have the injury assessed to rule out additional concerns, such as toe fractures. You should also adjust your footwear, choosing to train in pairs with roomier toe boxes. (That will help keep your nail from slamming into the shoe end when you run.) And if pain persists or worsens, or the toenail's appearance worsens, contact runner's podiatrist Dr. Alvin Cowans to request a consultation.
