#793 When should I give in and have plantar plate surgery?

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.

#750 Best imaging study for plantar plate injury in runners

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.

#748 Fracture that seemed like a plantar plate sprain

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.

#744 Was the plantar plate ligament injured before my MRI?

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.

#741 Worst imaging study for plantar plate injury in runners

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.

#736 Is there always bruising with a plantar fascia partial rupture in a runner?

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.

#705 Does the plantar plate need to “heal” on MRI before I can run?

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.

#559 Does a crooked toe mean plantar plate surgery in a runner?

A great question I got from someone recently who had a plantar plate injury and the toe was a little bit crooked. His question was, “Do I really need to have surgery if my toe is crooked? Is that a good indicator of whether or not I need plantar plate surgery just because the toe is sitting out of position a little bit?” I thought it might be helpful to explain when it might actually be necessary to have surgery and when it might not be necessary to have surgery. Does a crooked toe mean you have to have surgery for a plantar plate injury? That’s what we’re talking about today on the Doc On The Run podcast.

#549 What is primary repair plantar plate ligament surgery?

What exactly is primary repair of the planter plate? Well, that’s a surgery where we actually go in and sew it back together. We fix it. We repair it. We do something to actually make it strong and hopefully heal again, so you can get back to running. But we’re going to talk about three different methods for actually doing that and some of them are kind of similar. They’re different approaches and they have different risks and benefits. Today on the Doc On The Run podcast, we’re talking about three different techniques for primary repair plantar plate ligament surgery.

#524 3 Ways Plantar Plate Injuries occur in runners

Today’s episode actually comes from a question sent in by Shay. She said, “I have a plantar plate complete tear and I had surgery on my left foot in October 2019. So that was a couple years ago. I’m running with some new issues in the right calf, but the main thing I want to learn is how this injury occurs. I’m really afraid of it happening to my right foot. “I talk to injured runners all the time. I lecture at medical conferences, teaching doctors what I do with runners who have these plantar plate injuries and Shay is reasonable to be concerned about this. Today on the Doc On the Run podcast, we’re talking about the three ways plantar plate injuries occur in runners.