I was just on a call with a runner who has had this condition called “hallux rigidus.” and it’s where your big toe joint starts to get stiff, becomes rigid, and it doesn’t move as much.
Hallux rigidus is a progressive condition, especially if you continue to irritate the joint. You can damage the joint cartilage. The stiffer the big toe joint gets, the more pressure on the cartilage when the big toe is trying to fight that stiffness. Sometimes that movement hurts.
He was asking me about the options on different injections.
What are the risks between an injection like a PRP or platelet rich plasma injection versus something like a cortisone injection when you have hallux rigidus?
Well, that’s what we’re talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast.
View Details »If you are a runner with a painful tendon or ligament issue like chronic plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendonitis or plantar plate sprain that just won’t get better, you might have done some research into injections and found a thing called a PRP or “platelet-rich plasma injection.”
The way that PRP injections are marketed by some doctors, you might think that it’s mostly unicorns and fairy dust, but there is some actual science behind platelet-rich plasma. and the effect that it can have on these tendons and ligaments that aren’t healing very well.
Corticosteroid injections have also been around for a much longer time.
Both types of injections can be used as treatments for tendon and ligament sprains in runners.
The question is whether or not there is any real scientific evidence to support Platelet Rich Plasma injection or Corticosteroid injections for chronic tendon or ligament injuries. Is one injection any better than the other?
PRP science explained. Is there a difference between PRP injections, corticosteroid injections, and placebo?
That’s what we’re talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast.
View Details »Let’s consider you are a runner with a painful neuroma.
The more you run, the more painful the foot becomes.
But it only started with some weird little sensations.
Eventually it starts to get more numb. You notice more tingling, then more burning pain. Now your doctor wants to talk you into surgery.
You just want the problem fixed. So you go to the operating room and then you’re shocked to find out that you still have pain later.
By the way…that’s not malpractice. It just means you had a bad outcome.
But if you’re the runner, you’ve got to figure out what to do.
Today on the Doc On The Run podcast we’re talking about two different types of injections your doctor might offer you after a failed neuroma surgery.
View Details »If you get a plantar plate sprain, the first thing you may notice is pain and irritation at the ball of the foot, right where the second toe attaches to the foot. If the foot feels swollen, puffy or sore in that spot, it could be a plantar plate sprain.
A one common injection performed for plantar plate ligament sprains is a corticosteroid injection.
I just spoke with a runner who thought the doctor did the injection in the wrong part of the foot.
She saw a podiatrist, and the doctor did a corticosteroid injection for the plantar plate sprain. She was confused afterward and asked me if the doctor did the injection with the right or wrong technique. I’ll explain why she was confused.
I think my doctor did the wrong injection for the plantar plate ligament.
Well, that’s what we’re talking about today on the Doc On The Run podcast.
View Details »If you are a runner with a plantar plate sprain, you may be really frustrated. Unfortunately, plantar plate sprains are difficult injuries to get better quickly. One key is to make sure it doesn’t come back once you’re running. When I do second opinions for runners with plantar plate sprains, they ask…Should I have a cortisone injection? The short answer is there are only two times when it makes sense to get a cortizone injection around the plantar plate. Today on the Doc On The Run podcast, we’re talking about the only two times a cortisone injection makes sense for an injured runner with a plantar plate sprain.
View Details »This episode actually comes from a question I got during the live question and answer period at the end of a talk I was giving at the International Foot and Ankle Foundation meeting in Hawaii.
The question was about one of the conditions that can often be misdiagnosed as plantar fasciitis, and that’s a condition called medial calcaneal neuritis.
With this condition a nerve on the inside of the heel becomes inflamed and painful.
In short, the patient had alcohol injection under ultrasound guidance by another doctor, but the condition dod not get any better.
The question from the doctor in the audience was basically asking me what my opinion about that procedure using ultrasound.
Today on the Doc On The Run Podcast, we’re talking about heel neuritis in a situation where a doctor did an alcohol injection with ultrasound and another doctor wanted to know if that was a scam.
View Details »This episode actually comes from one of the live Q&As I did with course members who are actually enrolled in courses like the Plantar Plate Sprain Course for Runners or the Metatarsal Stress Fracture Course.
“One of my friends said that I could get an injection to help my planter plates sprain heal faster. What is that injection?”
Today on the Doc on the Run podcast, we’re talking about what kind of injections might help a plantar plate injury.
View Details »A runner just asked a great question about when runners should get a plantar fasciitis injection so she can run.
If you’ve signed up for the Runner’s Heel Pain Course, or you’ve listened to the podcasts on Runner’s Heel Pain about plantar fasciitis in runners, you’ve probably heard me say that I don’t inject most runners with cortisone when they have plantar fasciitis.
The way I break it down is that it depends on one of three different scenarios.
“Should I get a plantar fascia injection so I can run?”
That’s what we’re talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast.
View Details »Just today I got an interesting question from Victoria, who has been suffering with a bad case of sesamoiditis which has been keeping her from running.
She saw an orthopedic surgeon who who thinks there is scar tissue around the sesamoid bone restricting the range of motion and causing the pain under the big toe joint.
The doctor explained to her that one other conservative option, which might help her avoid sesamoid surgery would be a corticosteroid injection which is sometimes also called a Cortizone injection.
So her question was:
“How exactly do steroid injections help? Do they break up scar tissue? The orthopedic surgeon told me to be cautious about doing steroid injections, but I never got a clear explanation as to why.”
Today on the Doc On The Run podcast, we’re talking about the good and bad of cortizone injections for sesamoiditis in runners.
If you’re a runner who gets tightness in your calves and develops Achilles tendinosis it can be very difficult to get it to heal and it can be very frustrating. Some runners fail multiple treatments including stretching, home exercises, physical therapy, braces, PRP injections and many other treatments. You just have to figure what it will take to get the Achilles tendon to heal so you can get back to running.
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