What to do about pain in my foot?

[KingGheedora]

I have been running and doing boxing training since the last week of January. Around 4 weeks ago I started feeling a pain in my left foot. It's on the top of the foot, on the bone that runs from the big toe to the ankle. The pain is mainly at the part of the foot where that bone is closest to the ankle (but not in the ankle at all), and it's towards the area in between that bone and the bone next to it (the one running from ankle to second toe) rather than directly on top of the foot.

And I can't tell if the pain is coming from the bone itself or if it's from a muscle or tendon that's close to that bone. There is no swelling, and it only hurts if I stand up and put pressure on the ball of the foot (that is directly behind the big toe), or if I run my fingers perpendicular to the tendon/bone, moving that tendon back and forth. It doesn't seem to be coming from the bone but I can't be 100% sure.

In any case, I've been biking instead of running, and have stopped jumping rope, but the pain hasn't gotten any better, hasn't gotten any worse. The pain isn't that bad and I can actually run without problems (I think the pain may have come from jumping rope while wearing boxing shoes that are too tight). I think it's time to have a doctor take a look, but I don't know what kind of doctor to go see. Are there specialists I should go to for this kind of thing? I have health insurance from my work which I've never used before so I'm not sure how to go about making an appointment or choosing a doctor, so any advice is appreciated.

Thanks,
KingGheedora

 

[Kipper]

Speak to a primary care doctor who can refer you to a specialist if necessary...you should be going in once a year for a physical/blood test anyway, IMO. Most policies require going through a particular doctor before you are referred out to specialists.

Your employer should have somebody in charge of the insurance benefit - speak to them, or call the phone# on your insurance card to ask questions for a in-network physician. Navigating the insurance system is insane, yet another argument for a more streamlined single-payer system.