Doc On The Run Podcast

Which is better: soft or hard trail running shoes?

The other day I was doing a telemedicine visit with a trail runner who asked me, "Which is better, soft or hard trail running shoes?"

If you're thinking about getting some new trail running shoes, you have to really think about what's going to be best for you. 

When comes to how stiff or how soft the shoes should be depends upon three variables:

1. Your foot type. 
2. How hard or soft is the trail.
3. How steep is the trail.

If you keep these 3 variable in mind the you go to your local running shoe store, you are much more likely to end up with a very best trail running shoes for you.

Today on the Doc On The Run Podcast, we're talking about which is better: soft or hard trail running shoes.

What are sesamoid bones in the foot?

A runner with pain under the big toe joint said she was told she had a problem with the sesamoid bones in her foot. 

The doctor said maybe it was sesamoiditis, or a sesamoid stress reaction or possibly even a sesamoid stress fracture. 

Her question was, “What exactly are the sesamoid bones in the foot?”

Today on the Doc On The Run Podcast, we're talking about these weird little things called the sesamoid bones in the foot. 

Does plantar plate sprain cause tight calves in runners?

A plantar plate ligament sprain can cause aching pain in the ball of the foot when you run. 

Plantar plate sprains are caused by excess stress applied to the ligament at the base of the toe. 

If you want to heal it and keep running, you have to decrease the stress and strain on the plantar plate, and address the root cause of the injury.

A runner with a plantar plate sprain, and tight calf muscles, had a great question: 

Does the plantar plate ligament cause tight calf muscles, or can a tight calf muscle cause a plantar plate sprain? 

Today on the Doc On The Run Podcast, we're talking about whether a plantar plate sprain causes tight calf muscles in runners, or other way around. 

Different types of tibial stress fractures in runners

Shin splints and tibial stress fractures can feel similar when you run.

Most runners understand there is a huge difference between shin splints and a tibial stress fractures. 

I recently did a telemedicine second opinion call with a runner who had a tibial stress fracture. 

What she did not understand, and what her doctor had not explained is why some tibial stress fractures are very low risk of breaking, and another is very high risk of landing a runner in the operating room. 

Today on the Doc On The Run Podcast, we're talking about different types of tibial stress fractures in runners.

Can it be a stress fracture with no crack?

I was just doing a telemedicine call with a runner with a stress fracture, and he had a really interesting question. 

He said, "Look, I just really want to know if I really have a stress fracture because my doctor took an x-ray and there was no crack in the bone. I looked it up myself and the definition of a fracture is a visible crack." 

Do I really have a stress fracture, or not?

This is a great question, it brings up a really interesting point.

Today on the Doc On The Run Podcast, we're talking about whether or not a runner can have a stress fracture, if there is no crack in the bone.

Can you see Raynauds Phenomenon on an MRI in a runner?

Raynaud’s Phenomenon is an interesting condition in which spasms of small blood vessels cause changes in the skin color of the hands and feet. Raynaud’s phenomenon can also cause pain in the feet. Foot pain is also very common in runners. 

Raynauds is one of those conditions that isn’t typically diagnosed with a blood test or and x-ray. The diagnosis is typically made “clinically” meaning the doctor hears your story, listens to your history and decides you probably have the condition, because nothing else fits.

The question is whether or not a runner who gets an MRI because of foot pain, might have something show up on the MRI images that can indicate Raynaud's is contributing to the runner’s trouble.

Today on the Doc On The Run Podcast, we're talking about wether or not you can see Raynaud’s Phenomenon on an MRI in a runner.

How stress can help your Achilles tendon recover faster and get stronger

When you get any stage of Achilles injury and you're a runner, you're trying to figure out what you can do to get it to heal as quickly as possible. 

The biggest concern with runners when they have an Achilles tendon injury is that the tendon is going to continue to degenerate, turn into Achilles tendinosis, and then potentially even rupture.

But the good news is that stress, when actually applied in the right way, can help your Achilles tendon recover faster, become stronger, so you can get back to running, possibly even with less risk of re-injury.

Today on the Doc On The Run Podcast, we're talking about how stress can actually help your Achilles tendon recover faster. 

The 3 forms of stress when you start running after injury

There are the three forms of stress that can affect you and the injured tissue when you actually get back to running after you've been injured and you feel like you've recovered.

I was just recently doing a telemedicine visit with someone who had an injury and was getting better. She was told to start running, but she wasn't really given any specific instructions. 

She was told, "You can go and just kind of run a little bit and see how it feels." 

If you're a runner and you haven't been running for weeks because of an injury, you're probably going to feel so good when you start running that you're going to do too much. If you do too much, and then you start having pain, you're going to completely freak out because you're going to be worried that you've completely set back your injury.

Today on the Doc On The Run podcast, we're talking about the three forms of stress when you start running after injury.

What is thinning of the plantar plate ligament on MRI?

Just a couple of days ago I was doing a telemedicine call with a runner who wanted to know what it meant to have “thinning of the plantar plate ligament on his MRI.

He asked, "What does ‘thinning’ really mean? Do I really have a plantar plate tear? Is it a problem? Will I be able to continue to run?" 

“What is the issue with this idea of thinning of the plantar plate ligament, and why does it happen?”

Today on the Doc On The Run Podcast we're talking about thinning of the plantar plate ligament on an MRI in a runner.

3 key elements of marathon training and running injury recovery

When you break down the goal of running a marathon, it really only has 3 key elements. 

You are crystal clear on the distance, the starting point and the end point. 

All you have to do to compete the marathon successfully is break your training down into the daily and weekly stages of growth to establish the fitness required of your body on race day.

Running injuries are difficult because they lack the clarity and simplicity of training for a marathon. But make no mistake. The process is just the same. 

Today on the Doc On The Run Podcast we're talking about the 3 key elements of marathon training and running injury recovery.