Doc On The Run Podcast

How bad is Grade 3 Stress Fracture?

Today's episode actually comes from a podcast listener who had a question: 

"I got an MRI just to give me the green light to resume training and it showed a grade three stress reaction of the left tibia. Do you think I can run?" 

Deciding whether or not you can run with a stress fracture really depends on understanding how bad it was when it started, and how bad it is right now. 

How bad is a grade three stress fracture? Well, that's what we're talking about today on the Doc on the Run podcast. 

I don’t trust my doctor

Today’s episode comes from a podcast listener with a stress fracture and wants to get back to running.

Jennifer says, "I went to see my doctor again today for my MRI results.

He told me that I still have a stress fracture. 

I was a bit confused, because after 10 weeks without running I thought there would have been more signs of healing. 

So I asked if he could see a fracture line and he said, 'Yes and that I should stop running immediately!'

(I guess my doctor forgot that I had stopped a long time ago). 

I want to get back to running and I don’t believe my doctor is truly getting me there. Prior to this appointment, I was feeling confident  that I could continue with my walk/jog routine as long as there was no pain. 

However, now I am feeling scared because he could still see the fracture."

In short, it sounds like Jennoifer is saying, "I don't trust my doctor."

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

Torn Plantar Fascia: If I run can it heal it later?

I had a really great question from a patient on a second opinion webcam visit. 

“I have a partially torn plantar fascia. Can I keep running and let it heal later?”

He had purchased The Runner's Heel Pain course and based on his self-diagnosis, he concluded that he definitely did not just have plantar fasciitis. It was more likely plantar fasciosis with a small tear in the plantar fascia. 

Unfortunately, the treatment that we would normally do and normally recommend for somebody with a partial tear in the plantar fascia, well, he just cannot do right now. He does not have time to actually take off of his activity and stop running completely right now. 

Today on the Doc On the Run podcast, we’re talking about Torn Plantar Fascia: If I run can it heal it later?

Top 3 running injury secrets

It's no secret..I like to talk about running injuries!

But after so many years working with injured runners, helping runenrs race after they get an injury, and showing them how to maintain their running fitness while injured: I have uncovered a couple of "secrets" that really help injured runners most. 

If you have a running injury and you're trying to figure out what to do, if you're confused why the doctors are just telling you to sit around and wait, this episode may help you understand it.

Today on the Doc on the Run podcast, we're talking about the top three running injury recovery secrets.

3 Foot types prone to Extensor Tenosynovitis

Extensor tenosynovitis is one of the running injuries doctors don't often talk about simply because it's a relatively rare condition. 

But extensor tenosynovitis can be really painful when running. 

Sometimes it's actually misdiagnosed as a stress fracture, both by doctors or by the runners themselves. 

Any misdiagnosis can force you to take time off of running unnecessarily.

Today on the Doc On The Run Podcast, we're talking about three foot types that are prone to extensor tenosynovitis. 

Torn Achilles: Should I use crutches?

Just this weekend, I got a call from somebody who said that she was out on a run, she felt a pop in the back of her heel, she went to the emergency room and she was told that she has a partial tear in her Achilles tendon.

I'm not really sure if they did x-rays or an MRI or an ultrasound or anything to confirm that, but the doctor seemed very confident that she had torn her Achilles tendon.

And so, she said that all they did really was they gave her some crutches and they told her to see a specialist, which is why she called me.

She asked me “I just found out that I tore my Achilles tendon. The emergency room physician gave me crutches. What should I do?”

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

Why some runners should never pay for advice

Every day I talk to injured runners who ask me to help them recover faster so they can run sooner. Some runners call me for a one-time, one-hour consultation. Some runners call me and hire me to literally coach them day-by-day for a full month.

Others who don’t want to spend that kind of money, simply join a coaching group where they can get advice for an entire month and join group web-cam sessions every Monday Wednesday and Friday for 4 weeks in a row.

In those sessions recovering runners get to pick my brain to see what they might be able to do to recovery faster and get back on course sooner.

Today on the Doc On The Run podcast, we’re talking about why some runners should never pay for advice.

Should I take Lovenox after an ankle fracture?

Today's episode actually comes from a question that is a real-world situation.

Should I take Lovenox after an ankle fracture? I broke my ankle. The doctor gave me a prescription. Should I take this thing or not? Is this appropriate for me?

This is actually a great question and it points out a couple of things I think are worth hearing.

Today on the Doc On The Run podcast, we're talking about whether or not you should take Lovenox after an ankle fracture.

Pick your running coach wisely

Most of the runners who call me when they are inured have hired a running coach. Some of them don’t realize they have a running coach.

A coach is someone who one who instructs players in the fundamentals of a sport and directs strategy.

When you sign up for online coaching, and get a marathon training plan, you hired a coach.

When you go to the doctor and ask for help with a stress fracture you hired a coach.

Both of them are supposed to be helping you (in different ways) get to the finish line.

Today on the Don On The Run podcast, we’re talking about how to pick your running coach wisely.

A body at rest tends to remain at rest

A body at rest remains at rest.

Now that is a law of physics. That's not something I came up with, but it definitely applies to running injuries.

This is what I see happen over and over and over. Somebody gets a stress fracture, they go to the doctor, the doctor takes an X-ray, they don't see a crack. They don't see anything on the X-ray. And they say, "Well, I don't see anything, but you have a stress fracture." Here's a boot, wear it for four weeks, we'll see you in a month. Come back and we'll do another x-ray.

You leave there thinking, "Wait a minute, you didn't see a crack. You didn't see anything. In fact, I'm not even so sure that you know it's a stress fracture, because you said there was no crack on the X-ray yet you gave me a boot and you told me to sit around for a month and then do another X-ray. Like, what does that mean?"

Today on the Doc On The Run podcast, we're talking about running injury truth number five, a body at rest tends to remain at rest.