Doc On The Run Podcast

How can I tell if plate and screws on my calcaneal fracture broke?

This episode comes from one of the YouTube viewers on the Doc On The Run YouTube channel and he posted a question as a comment on one of the videos, and he wanted to know, how can I tell if I broke the plate and screws on my calcaneal fracture.

But number one, my number one question here is, what is it that this guy could have done that would have made him think that he applied enough force to the broken heel bone that he then could have broken the plate after the surgery?

How can I tell if the plate and screws on my calcaneal fracture broke? 

Well, great question and that is what we're talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast.

I dropped a piano on my foot. Will I run again?

Today's episode actually comes from a comment posted on one of the Doc On The Run YouTube videos.

The viewer asked, and he said exactly, “I dropped a piano on my foot. Will I run again?”

Well, that depends. If you drop a piano on your foot, maybe it would break your pinky toe. Maybe it would completely crush your foot.

I dropped a piano on my foot. Will I run again? 

That is s a great question and that is what we're talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast.

Treadmill vs Running outside after injury

A runner who has been recovering from a plantar plate sprain was on a webcam call just to follow up and ask me some questions about her first runs now that she is returning to running.
 
She wanted to know whether or not she should be running on a treadmill or running outside if there was any advantage or disadvantage to either. 

Which is better when you are returning to running after an injury, running on a treadmill or just running outside? 

Well, that is a great question and that is what we're talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast. 

Jones fracture in a runner. Is surgery better?

This episode is a really good example of the confusion that comes from Jones fractures, and this was hosted as a comment on the Doc On The Run YouTube channel on a video that was entitled, “What is a displaced versus a non-displaced fracture?”

The viewer who posted the comment said, 

“My daughter's a D1 athlete in soccer. She fractured her foot on September 1st, so that would have been just over a couple of weeks ago. It was a non-displaced Jones fracture. What does that mean?“

“She's gotten three opinions so far. The first one was surgery that was advised by the school surgeon. The second was conservative therapy, meaning non-surgical treatment by an external surgeon and they also saw a foot doctor.”

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. 

Method for modifying cadence after injury

I was recently on a follow-up call with a runner who is recovering from a calcaneal stress fracture.

She was doing really well, the stress fracture was healing, and her heel pain had completely resolved. So it was time to start ramping up her running. 

Since she wanted strategies to decrease stress on the stress fracture, we talked about increasing her running cadence. 

She asked me specifically about the difference between pace and cadence, as she wanted to be absolutely clear on what they were.

What is a method you can use to alter your cadence when you have been recovering from a running injury? 

Well, that is what we're talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast. 

 

Should I take NSAIDs when I have a 4th metatarsal stress reaction?

If you get a metatarsal stress reaction, you might be confused for a number of reasons. First You are probably trying to figure out whether or not it is really just a subtle stress fracture or, if it is something more ominous? 

Second, you are also probably trying to figure out how to make the pain go away as fast as possible so you can get back to running. 

Last night I was talking to a physician who referred a runner who had a fourth metatarsal stress reaction. 

She wanted to know if it really was a good idea or a bad idea for her to take something like ibuprofen or some other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug which we call NSAIDs.

Should I take NSAIDs when I have a fourth metatarsal stress reaction? 

Well, that is a great question and that is what we're talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast. 

Tibialis Anterior Tendon Transfer for Chronic 5th Metatarsal Stress Fracture

I just got a really obscure question from a runner suffering from chronic stress fractures. 

She was asking about a surgical procedure called a tibialis anterior tendon lengthening in order to address a situation where she had the same kind of 5th metatarsal stress fracture, again.  

Today on the Doc on the Run podcast, we're talking about tibialis anterior tendon lengthening for chronic fifth metatarsal stress fractures.

What size compression socks should I get after a bad ankle sprain?

If you sprain your ankle, you know that you need to protect it. 

The old treatment algorithm used to be R.I.C.E.: rest, ice, compression and elevation.

The newer protocol is P.R.I.C.E.: protection, rest, ice, compression and elevation. 

Compression is one of the main things you need to do when you get an ankle sprain. When you sprain the ankle, it swells a lot and it's not going to get better, and you are not going to get back to running until sometime after that swelling goes away. 
 
The point of this episode is that when your ankle is swollen, it is a different size from your non-swollen ankle. 

What size compression socks should I get after a bad ankle sprain? 

Well, that is a great question and that is what we're talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast. 

Sesamoidectomy vs 1st Metatarsal Osteotomy for big toe joint pain

Sometimes runners have to do a whole lot of digging trying to figure out the difference between a couple of different surgical solutions for a recurring injury. 

Pain under the big toe joint can be because you are getting a stress reaction or a stress fracture in one of the two little sesamoid bones. It is pressure to that bone that is causing all the trouble. 

How can a doctor surgically reduce that pressure? 

What is the difference between a sesamoidectomy and a first metatarsal osteotomy for pain under the big toe joint? 

Well, if you are wondering, that is what we're talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast. 

What is Metatarsal Stress Fracture Displacement?

I got a call from a worried runner who had a stress fracture. 

The fracture was not healing so he called for a second opinion. 

One of the things that he did not understand was this x-ray report that he got. The x-ray report and it said that he had "two millimeters of displacement of the fractured metatarsal bone without angulation."

So, in this episode, I am going to try to explain to you (the same way I explained to him) what "fracture displacement" really means and how it shows up on the x-ray in a runner. 

What is metatarsal stress fracture displacement on an x-ray? 

Well, that is a great question, and that is what we're talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast.