If you are a runner struggling with a plantar plate sprain, it is probably going to be extremely frustrating trying to get it to heal so you can get back to running.
The plantar plate a very small ligament. It does not have a great blood supply. Every time you take a step, you put pressure on the plantar plate. Every time your heel comes up off the ground when you walk, you stretch the plantar plate.
Because it is so difficult to heal, runners typically have frustrating setbacks.
That state of discouragement makes it pretty easy for a doctor to talk you into plantar plate surgery.
When should a runner just give up and have plantar plate surgery for a plantar plate sprain?
Well, that’s what we’re talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast.
View Details »Plantar plate injuries are one of the most difficult injuries for runners.
The reason is that they can take a long time to get better. Every time you take a step, you’re applying direct pressure to the plantar plate ligament.
Every time your heel comes up off the ground, you bend the toes, and you’re stretching the plantar plate ligament.
The plantar plate ligament doesn’t really have a great blood supply, and they can be extremely frustrating for runners. So the big question is:
When can I start working out if I have a plantar plate sprain?
Well, that’s what we’re talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast.
View Details »If you have been told you have a plantar plate sprain, you’re probably already really frustrated.
Even minor plantar plate tears can be nagging injuries that are very difficult to get better while you’re running on them.
The bottom line is, you’ve got to make sure that the plantar plate ligament improves because (in general) plantar plate sprains are either getting worse or they’re getting better.
One of the questions I get all the time from runners is what is really the best study for a plantar plate injury.
What’s the best imaging study for a runner who is suspected of having a plantar plate injury?
Well, that’s what we’re talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast.
View Details »There are times when you might have a suspected stress fracture in your foot. If so, your doctor may order an X-ray.
There are other times when it’s extremely unlikely that you have a broken bone at all, but it is almost certainly just a soft tissue injury.
One of the questions I get a lot from runners with plantar plate sprains is how to make sure the pain is not from a stress fracture.
I have only seen one case where somebody had fracture pain in the exact same spot you would have pain when you had a plantar plate injury.
Can a fracture in the metatarsal seem like a plantar plate sprain?
Well, that’s what we’re talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast.
View Details »I was recently doing a second opinion consultation with a runner over a webcam to review the MRI of his foot.
What we found was that he had what looked to be attenuation and a partial tear in the plantar plate ligament on his MRI.
There was a lot of inflammation in the foot around the ligament, not just within the ligament itself.
He asked me was really good question:
“Could my plantar plate ligament been have injured long before I ever got an MRI?”
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 »You’re out on a run, and you suddenly start having extremely sharp heel pain.
You think it’s plantar fasciitis.
But when you look at your foot, you see a huge bruise.
That’s not plantar fasciitis. That’s where you ripped something.
Is there always bruising with a partial rupture or a tear in the plantar fascia?
Well, that’s what we’re talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast.
View Details »Plantar plate ligament sprains are a tough injury for runners. Plantar plate tears can cause a lot of pain in the ball of the foot. Unless you treat them correctly, that pain can persist for a long time. As a result plantar plate injuries can be super frustrating.
Unfortunately, plantar plate tears are often diagnosed when you get an MRI of the foot. I often get questions from runners asking me whether or not they have to wait for another MRI before they can run.
Does the plantar plate ligament need to heal on an MRI before I can run?
Well, that’s what we’re talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast.
View Details »An interesting runner called me for a second opinion. He had a couple of things going on that created a pretty confusing picture.
He had a plantar plate sprains (at least he was told he had plantar plate injuries) because his MRI showed evidence of injuries to the plantar plate ligaments of toes two, three, and four.
He also had some nerve type symptoms. But on the bottom of the foot, he also had this very interesting ridge of callus.
So what was REALLY causing all of his trouble when he ran?
Today, on the Doc On The Run Podcast, we’re talking about a runner with a plantar plate injury and deep perineal neuritis.
View Details »I just got a great question from a runner who had been using a thing called a dancer’s pad.
A dancer’s pad is sometimes used to help an injury to these little bones under the big toe joint called the “sesamoid bones.”
If one of the sesamoids is painful and irritated and you’re trying to take the pressure off of it, an easy way to do that is to place a dancer’s pad in your shoe.
How can a dancer’s pad lead to a plantar plate sprain?
Well, that’s what we’re talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast.
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