Today’s episode comes from Janet ,who posted a comment and question on the Doc On The Run YouTube channel.
She said,
“I got a healed stress fracture, returned to running. I got into cross country and it started to flare up and hurt around the tibia again, is this normal or should I be concerned?”
Is returning pain normal when returning to running after a healed stress fracture?
Well, that’s what we’re talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast.
View Details »If you have ankle pain and you push around on that lump of bone on the outside of your ankle, you may realize that you have pain on the bone specifically.
If so, you might become worried that you have a thing called a fibular stress fracture.
If you start trying to figure out what to do, one of the first things you may find is a lot of discussion about something called a “stress reaction” instead of just a “stress fracture”.
What’s the difference between a fibular stress reaction and a stress fracture in a runner?
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 named John, who wrote in with a question about nerve pain vs. peroneal tendon pain.
He said ”I’m experiencing discomfort in my fifth metatarsal/peroneal tendon below the ankle. There is no swelling. However, upon hamstring stretch, especially in a downward dog position, this area feels like it’s on fire. The fact that I cannot do downward dog right now, with my right heel down. I’m starting to think this may be a nerve. It’s been hurting for about 10 days.”
Could peroneal tendon pain really be a nerve problem?
Well, that’s what we’re 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 »Today I was on a call with an injured runner who was told she had plantar fasciitis.
She was confused and she started doing some research. She enrolled in the Runner’s Heel Pain Course because she was trying to figure out why her “diagnosis” didn’t seem to match her gut instinct.
She suspected her diagnosis was wrong.
If you have heel pain, and you call for a ride instead of finishing your run, it’s not plantar fasciitis.
And that’s what we’re talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast.
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!
View Details »When you get a stress fracture, you have to remember that it is a stress related injury.
That’s why it’s called a “stress” fracture.
It is not a “run-too-much” fracture. It is not a “ran-too-far” fracture. It is a “too-much-stress” fracture.
So, if you want to know whether or not you’re at risk of getting one as you ramp up your training, one of the simplest things you can do is look at your running shoes. More specifically, your running shoe insert.
How can your running shoe insert show you whether or not you’re at risk for a metatarsal stress fracture?
Well, that’s what we’re talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast.
View Details »What if you could be out on a run, sun on your face, running two weeks ahead of schedule, faster than what you thought, or what some doctor told you?
That would be amazing, right?
Let me tell you that neither me, nor anyone, can promise you that a bone stimulator, snake oil, or fairy dust is going to make that happen.
However, it is true that bone stimulators have been shown to actually speed up fracture healing significantly, particularly problematic fractures.
The question I get all the time from runners with metatarsal fractures is, “Well, okay, if a bone stimulator might help, will my insurance company pay for a bone stimulator to speed up a metatarsal fracture, stress fracture, or some other fracture that’s really inhibiting a quick return to running?”
When will an insurance company pay for my bone stimulator to help my metatarsal fracture?
Well, that’s what we’re talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast.
View Details »Last week I was lecturing at the International Foot & Ankle Foundation medical conference in Hawaii. Specifically, I had been asked to give a couple of talks on treating running injuries.
During the day I was moderating the surgery and sports medicine session, Dr. Gary Labianco was giving a lecture on Metatarsal Fractures.
He said something that led us to today’s episode. It was genius!
“If you want to heal a metatarsal fracture, you have to break bone faster than you break it down.”
What he means is that you have osteoclasts and osteoblasts, not just repairing bone, but also removing bone throughout the healing process.
That is true. But let’s think about the other side of that equation.
Not just physicians pulling your activity back to stop breaking bone down so fast, but all of the things you as a patient could do to make bone faster.
Wanna heal a stress fracture faster? Make bone faster than you break it down!
Well, that’s what we’re talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast.
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