What are the four times a navicular fracture might need surgery? Well, that is what we’re talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast. I have recently had for some reason a rash of patients that have navicular fractures and navicular fractures are bad. The navicular is a bone that is […]
View Details »Can a doctor really do a hammer toe surgery using nothing but a needle? Well, that is what we’re talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast. Today’s question comes from a runner who asked me a very interesting question. This was during a surgical second opinion where we were doing […]
View Details »When a runner has a Jones fracture, is it better to have surgery to fix the broken bone? Well, that is a great question and that is what we’re talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast. Now, one of the worst types of fractures in your foot is a thing […]
View Details »There are three ways that a doctor might convince you that it’s really time to have surgery and fix that plantar plate ligament that’s been making you miserable when you’ve been trying to run.
To you, it may not seem that bad. It kind of aches. It kind of swells. It kind of bugs you. But then the doctor suddenly says, “Look, it’s not getting better, let’s have surgery.”
Well, how does the doctor convince you that it’s time for surgery? What are the things a doctor does, that might actually lead you to believe that it really is time to have surgery?
What are the three ways that a doctor might convince you that you need surgery if you’re a runner with a plantar plate injury?
Well, that’s what we’re talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast.
View Details »If you get a fracture in your big toe joint it can be easy to get talked into surgery. Especially if you see fragments on an X-ray.
Your doctor may call old broken bone pieces by a number of terms:
“Osteophytes”
“Fracture fragments”
“Loose bodies”
“Surgical targets”
If your doctor points them out and starts talking about surgery, the chances are good that you’re going to want to have them removed. But there are times when surgery is totally unnecessary.
How can I tell if I really need to have surgery to remove a fracture fragment in my big toe joint?
Well, that’s what we’re talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast.
View Details »Today’s episode applies to any injured running pondering surgery.
I just spoke to a runner who was told she might need surgery to fix a non-union of a metatarsal fracture.
I said, “Look, you have two choices. You can have surgery or not have surgery.”
We talked about what it meant if she did have surgery in terms of her recovery. And we also talked about how she could potentially get it to heal without having all the risk associated with surgery.
What is the very last option you can do as a runner to avoid surgery?
Well, that’s what we’re talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast.
View Details »Every runner who has heel pain wants it fixed.
A lot of us think about this in the way that we fix automobiles. The alternator goes out in your car, you go get a new one put in. Your battery dies, you go get a new battery. But your foot doesn’t work this way. So unfortunately, when you have surgery, you’re trading one problem for another.
I have done endoscopic plantar fascia release surgeries, but not on any runners for more than a decade. Why do you think that is?
Can an endoscopic plantar fascia release surgery get me back to running faster?
Well, that’s a great question and that’s what we’re talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast.
View Details »If you have a condition called “hallux rigidus” or “hallux limitus,” the name tells you what’s wrong.
“Hallux” means big toe.
“Rigidus” means the big toe joint doesn’t move at all.
“Limitus” just means the big toe joint movement is limited and stiff.
There are three problems with hallux rigidus, which are: 1) damage to the cartilage, 2) bone spurs around the joint and 3) restriction of the soft tissues such that the toe doesn’t move up and down the way it should.
Those three reasons that cause the condition are the same reasons that can fail if you have a cheilectomy surgery.
Today on the Doc On The Run Podcast we’re talking about three reasons for cheilectomy failure after hallux rigidus surgery.
View Details »Let’s say you have a nagging tendon injury that’s really been painful. It’s been bugging you a lot when you run.
You have had persistent pain either on the side of the ankle that just won’t seem to go away, even if you run less.
You see the doctor and she says, “Look, we tried everything. We should do surgery. Your tendon is not really torn, but we should do this surgical procedure called a “synovectomy” to get it to calm down so it will finally stop hurting.”
What is a tendon synovectomy surgery?
Well, that’s what we’re talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast.
View Details »What would be worse than not being able to run because you had foot pain that didn’t get better for a year or two?
I know one thing that would be worse… Having foot surgery to treat a problem that was not actually even located in the foot.
Think about that. You had pain in your foot for two years. Then some doctor convinces you to have surgery, only to find out there was no problem with the tendon.
You stop running. You have surgery. You wait for your stitches to heal. You have to stay off your feet until the incision is all healed.
And your foot pain does not change at all.
Sounds crazy, but this can happen. And it’s most likely to occur when you have something called referred pain. The pain in your foot might be actually caused by nerve compression deep to your glues maximus…that’ right…in your butt.
Today on the Doc On the Run Podcast we are talking about foot pain that is truly a pain in the butt!
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