Doc On The Run Podcast

Can I do leg presses with a plantar plate sprain?

This episode comes from a question actually from a YouTube comment on one of the plantar plate videos in there, on the Doc On The Run channel and the question was, "Can I do leg presses with a plantar plate sprain?"

This is actually a great question. It seems really simple, but it's not that straight forward.

It's really key that you maintain your running fitness when you get an injury that takes a long time to heal like a plantar plate sprain.

Today on the Doc On The Run podcast, we're talking about whether or not you can do leg presses with a plantar plate sprain.

Podcast Question

This episode comes from a podcast listener who is training for the High Lonesome 100 mile race.

Kate wrote in to ask:  

I rolled my foot at my child's field day. I heard a crunch and immediately saw swelling and discoloration on the lateral midfoot area of my left foot. An x-ray was negative. A week later there is no change. I have not run but it is not healing. Could it be broken?

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

Is this treatment bad for runners?

I was speaking with a runner who had an over-training injury and she wanted a second opinion. And the reason she called was that she went to see a doctor and the doctor recommended a specific treatment for her.

So she went home and she started doing some online research, and she started thinking that maybe this treatment might actually be bad for her as a runner.

Everything in medicine is about risk versus benefit.

We take every treatment that we offer to a patient that we recommend to someone who has an injury or an illness and we have to decide, is this treatment actually going to make the person better as a whole, or could potentially make them worse?

Today on the Doc on the Run podcast, we're talking about whether or not this treatment is bad for runners.

Running with heel bursitis should I do Achilles wedge stretches for Haglunds?

This episode comes from a house call I just did with a runner who actually has some heel pain. It wasn't plantar fasciitis. 

Haglund's is a problem where you get inflammation and irritation at the back of the heel. There is a little bursa in between the Achilles tendon, where it attaches on the back of the heel, and that little part of the heel bone that can protrude on the back.

He had a really great question.

If I have bursitis of the heel, should I do aggressive Achilles tendon stretches with wedges for my Haglund's deformity? 

That's what we're talking about on the Doc On The Run podcast.

Do I need crutches after PRP for plantar plate injury?

I was just doing a telemedicine visit for a second opinion with a runner who's had a longstanding plantar plate sprain. These can be very frustrating injuries because if you don't treat them appropriately or you ramp up your activity too early, well, it can recur and they can go on for a really long time.

It had been a long time since he's running, he needed a second opinion, he wanted to know whether or not the PRP injection, or a stem cell injection, or dry needling, or some other procedure might actually help him.

I've had one myself I was very cautious about reducing the stress and strain to the plantar plate ligament while I continued to maintain my running fitness as I recovered from that injury.

Today on the Doc On The Run Podcast, we're talking about whether or not you might need crutches after a PRP injection for a plantar plate injury.

Running shoe selection based on foot type

What does Goldilocks and the Three Bears have to do with running shoes? 

This morning I was doing an interview for a television program explaining some basics about running shoe selection based on your foot type.

There are really three things you need to think about.

It's a lot like Goldilocks and the Three Bears. You don't want it to be too hard. You don't want it to be too soft. You want it to be just right for you, and that depends upon your foot type.

Well, you're going to find out because today we're talking about running shoe selection basics and your foot type on the Doc on the Run podcast.

Pain measurement points of runners

When you're recovering from a running injury, the most important thing you can track is your pain.

Changes in pain level is what tells you whether or not you should move from one activity level to the next.

Although many doctors will ask you in your initial interview, "What is your pain on a scale of one to 10? How much does it hurt?" They very rarely ask you many more specifics about that pain.

Today on the Doc On the Run Podcast, we're talking about pain point measurements that are crucial for recovering runners.

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.

Why I do not tell runners whether or not they can run over social media

The number one question I get on social media from runners, whether it's a direct message or an email, or even a comment on a YouTube video is:

"My doctor said I can't run. Is it okay for me to run my race this weekend?" 

And I'll always scratch my head a little bit and wonder, "Does this person really think it makes sense to ask a complete stranger, who has absolutely no idea about what's going on with them, whether or not it's okay for them to run, particularly when their doctor told them to not run?"

Today on the Doc on the Run Podcast, we're talking about why I don't tell runners whether or not they can run over social media.

Top 5 Heel Pain Takeaways from IFAF Sonoma

This episode comes from a medical conference last week.

I was asked to give a couple of different lectures on running injuries at the International Foot and Ankle Foundation meeting in Sonoma, California. 

One of the sessions was about runner's heel pain and the differences between normal everyday patients and runners.

Today on the Doc On The Run Podcast, we're talking about the top five differences between normal patients with heel pain and runners.