#412 Runner with a stress fracture that was never broken

How is it that a runner can actually have a stress fracture that was never even broken in the first place?

Well, this is a real-world situation that I had with a runner who called me for a second opinion.

It was a runner who thought he had a stress fracture, who even had an MRI that showed a stress fracture. The doctor said it was a stress fracture. But it wasn’t actually a stress fracture at all.

Today, on the Doc On The Run podcast, we’re talking about a runner with a stress fracture that was never broken.

#408 Top 3 Stress Fracture Takeaways from IFAF Sonoma

This episode comes from a lecture I was giving at a medical conference just last week.

One of the lectures was on the differences between stress response, stress reaction, and stress fractures in athletes.

There are really just a few main points doctors need to understand when treating runners with stress fractures.

Today on the Doc On The Run Podcast, we’re talking about the top three stress fracture takeaways from the International Foot and Ankle Foundation meeting in Sonoma, California.

#406 Can I run if MRI shows stress fracture but no pain?

This question comes up a lot. In fact, in the last week I had this question twice from different runners with different types of stress fractures during telemedicine calls.
You’ve got to understand that with stress fractures, it’s really confusing when it comes to classification of those injuries when you’re talking about imaging.
Can I run if my MRI shows a stress fracture, but I don’t have any pain? That’s what we’re going to talk about today on the Doc On The Run podcast.

#389 Runner with stress fracture but doctor found plantar plate fraying on MRI

I just got off a telemedicine second opinion call with a runner who thought she had a stress fracture. She got and MRI. Then her doctor said she has “fraying” of several plantar plate ligaments. She wanted to know if this was serious.
Part of the difficulty lies in determining the severity of plantar plate injury and making the call on when you can run. Most runners want a clear answer. Often times an MRI is performed in the hopes of getting a clear picture of the plantar plate damage.
Sometimes the MRI report not only suggests damaged to the plantar plate that hurts, but may mention “fraying” of other plantar plate ligaments that don’t hurt at all.
This often creates even more confusion and more frustration in recovering runners.
Today on the Doc On The Run Podcast, we’re talking about plantar plate fraying on an MRI a runner with a stress fracture.

#388 Proof you do not have to stop running with metatarsal stress response

Is there any proof that you don’t have to stop running when you get a metatarsal stress response in your foot? 

A lot of doctors and patients are really confused about the differences between a stress fracture and a stress reaction and a stress response in runners.

A stress response is a normal physiologic response when you stress any tissue as a component of training. The goal of your running workout is to stress the tissue, get it, to react, and rebuild in a way that makes it stronger. 

Today on the Doc On The Run Podcast, we’re talking about the evidence you really don’t have to stop training when you’re a runner who gets a metatarsal stress response.