I just saw a runner who sprained her ankle. It’s been about a month and she’s still having pain. Pain and swelling persisting a month later, are not good. There are a couple of reasons that that can happen.
Anytime doctors see persistent swelling and pain after an ankle injury, they become concerned there might be a fracture.
When should a runner who rolled an ankle be concerned that there might be a fracture like a lateral process fracture?
Well, that’s what we’re talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast.
View Details »If you are a runner with pain in the ball of the foot at the base of the second toe and start researching online, you may become concerned you have a thing called a plantar plate injury.
If so, you may be wondering whether X-rays or MRI imaging may be needed to tell what is wrong. Before seeing a doctor, it may be helpful to understand which are helpful, and which imaging studies are a waste of time.
What is the worst possible medical imaging study you could get if you’re a runner with a suspected plantar plate injury?
Well, that’s what we’re talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast.
View Details »Today’s episode comes from a YouTube viewer who posted a question,
“I have a low risk grade stress reaction in my posterior tibia. Interestingly, there is some research discussing the benefits of weight bearing bone building exercise once tolerated pain free, like hops jumps and step ups. Do you have any advice on when and how to integrate these types of exercises into a rehabilitation program?”
When is it okay to add weight bearing exercises when you’ve had a bone injury like a stress reaction?
That is what we are talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast.
View Details »Today’s question comes from one of the YouTube viewers. Tasnim, wrote in and wanted to know whether or not “stress reaction” is the same terminology that is used in the UK for the term “metatarsalgia”.
This question points out how confusing these two terms can be when you have forefoot pain that might be a stress fracture, might be a plantar plate sprain, or could even be a neuroma.
Are stress “reaction” and “metatarsalgia” the same terms?
Well, that’s what we’re talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast.
View Details »I just had a discussion with a really interesting patient. He was a pro triathlete. He had some difficulty getting past a particular injury.
We were talking about all of the ways that you can encounter barriers to healing. And how you can start making progress in spite of them.
We were talking about two different things, logical and psychological barriers.
What’s the difference between logical versus psychological barriers to healing injuries in runners?
Well, that’s what we’re talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast.
View Details »Every runner with a stress fracture wants to know “when can I run?”
How soon you can start running after a foot fracture really depends on when you have enough strength in the bone so that the healing fracture will withstand the forces applied during running without breaking the bone again.
It all depends on what you do to speed up (or slow down) the bone healing process. The rate of fracture healing depends on your physiology, and it depends on stages of bone healing.
But it does NOT depend entirely on generic timelines.
How long is each stage of fracture healing when you have a broken bone?
Well, that’s what we’re talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast.
View Details »If you are a runner and you get pain in the ball of the foot, particularly at the base of the second toe right. It could be a plantar plate sprain.
Whenever I see a runner on webcam who has pain that sounds like a plantar plate sprain, the first thing I do is look for any callus pattern in the skin that suggests they have too much pressure and friction at that area that could injure the plantar plate ligament underneath the skin.
This episode will help you understand how certain callus patterns relate to some basic foot mechanics when you’re trying to figure out what is causing your ball of foot pain.
Today on the Doc On The Run Podcast we’re talking about three callus patterns I often see that can suggest you have a risk for getting a plantar plate sprain if you are a runner.
View Details »If you have a condition called “hallux rigidus” or “hallux limitus,” the name tells you what’s wrong.
“Hallux” means big toe.
“Rigidus” means the big toe joint doesn’t move at all.
“Limitus” just means the big toe joint movement is limited and stiff.
There are three problems with hallux rigidus, which are: 1) damage to the cartilage, 2) bone spurs around the joint and 3) restriction of the soft tissues such that the toe doesn’t move up and down the way it should.
Those three reasons that cause the condition are the same reasons that can fail if you have a cheilectomy surgery.
Today on the Doc On The Run Podcast we’re talking about three reasons for cheilectomy failure after hallux rigidus surgery.
View Details »Today’s episode comes from a discussion I just had yesterday with an athlete. He had a metatarsal fracture non-union.
A “fracture non-union” can develop when there is a crack in the bone that moving a little bit too much and doesn’t completely heal.
Non-unions can happen if you get a stress fracture, and you keep running on it and you’re tough and you’re strong and it doesn’t really hurt that bad.
If you keep running and repeatedly stress that crack, it can’t heal.
Should I get a CT scan or should I test walking to see if my fracture is healed?
Well, that’s what we’re talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast.
View Details »When you get an injury to a bone like a metatarsal stress fracture, you can develop a thing called a “bone callus.”
You might even see it as a lump visible on the x-ray in your doctors office.
Whether the lump is made up of hard bone, fibrocartilage or something in between, it may help you to understand the significance of that lump in your foot.
When the bone callous appears, and the size of the bone callous itself, can tell your whole lot about your progression of healing, and whether or not you might get other problems in the future.
What is a bone callus in a metatarsal stress fracture? Well, that’s what we’re talking about today on the Doc On the Run Podcast!
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