Doc On The Run Podcast

#248 Every step is a Win when recovering from running injury

If you're a runner and you get injured, you're certainly going to be bummed out, and it is really, really easy to get frustrated.

In my experience when working with injured runners when I do consultation calls, is that most runners beat themselves up unnecessarily.

You have to look for every possible opportunity to view something as a success, as a victory, as a win when you are recovering from an injury and trying to get back to running.

You have to look for the wins when you're training and you're working toward a goal. 

The same holds true for when you have a running injury.

Today on the Doc On The Run podcast, we're talking about why every step is a win when recovering from running injury.

#247 Which stress fractures are low risk in runners?

Stress fractures are a common overtraining injury in runners.

But if you want to run on a stress fracture, you better be sure that choice is not going to ruin your ability to run in the future.

You have to figure out whether or not your stress fracture is low risk, or high-risk.

Today on the Doc On The Run podcast, we're talking about which stress fractures are low risk for a runner.

#246 What makes a stress fracture high risk for a runner?

If you get a stress fracture your first question is probably whether not you can just keep running.

Before you can answer that question, you have to figure out whether or not the particular stress fracture you got as a consequence of over training is a high risk stress fracture or a low risk stress fracture.

If there's a high risk your stress fracture is going to break, you may not want to run on it.

If there is a high risk your stress fracture just won't heal if you run on it, and you probably want to back off.

Today on the Doc On The Run podcast, we're talking about what makes a stress fracture high risk for a runner.

#245 Is it risky to keep running with shin splints?

Shin splints are a common overtraining injury among runners. That aching pain in the front of the leg can be really annoying.

Some common questions from runners with shin splints are…

Can I run with shinsplints?

Will I get a tibial stress fracture if I run the shinsplints?

Is it really risky to keep running if I just have shin splints?

Today on the Doc On The Run podcast, we're talking about whether or not it risky to keep running with shin splints.

#244 There is no shame in a running injury unless you make it shameful

It is widely accepted among athletes that our mindset, visualizing a specific outcome and working toward that specific outcome are all interconnected.  

No one wins a race without believing they can win.  

And I believe no one heals unless they believe they can heal.

Whether you have a metatarsal stress fracture or an Achilles tendon injury, you have to understand that your mindset will either help or hinder your recovery. 

Being injured is not always the worst thing.

Today on the Doc On The Run podcast, we're talking about how there is no shame in a running injury unless you make it shameful.

#243 Do I need a fracture boot for a tibial stress fracture?

Shin splints are common among runners your ramping up their mileage.

Unfortunately, stress fractures are also common.

If you have an aching pain in the front of your leg you may be misdiagnosed with shinsplints and later find out you have a tibial stress fracture.

If that happens, your doctor might panic and want to put you in a fracture walking boot.

But it may help you to understand why of fracture walking boot help some fractures and how a fracture walking boot might (or might not) help reduce the stress in your shinbone when you have a tibial stress fracture.

Today on the Doc On The Run podcast, we're talking about whether or not you really need a fracture boot for a tibial stress fracture.

#242 Why did my doctor NOT have the right answer?

One time I saw a guy who actually flew all the way from New York to San Francisco to see me. 

He had seen a bunch of doctors, he'd seen very qualified people. 

He had gotten an MRI, a CT scan, some x-rays, all kinds of different tests. 

He had a number of different evaluations and none of his doctors made the correct diagnosis.

After I watched him run on a treadmill and did a couple of diagnostic injection, I easily made the correct diagnosis. 

He became really upset and said, "Why can't my doctor in New York figure this out?"

Today on the Doc On The Run podcast, we're talking about why your doctor didn't have the right answer.

#241 When a runner should and shouldn't do the hop test for a stress fracture

I was recently lecturing at The International Foot & Ankle Foundation's annual scientific meeting in Las Vegas, and that conference is all for podiatrists, foot and ankle surgeons, and sports medicine doctors, to figure out how to treat foot and ankle injuries better. I was doing a lecture on stress response, stress reaction and stress fractures in athletes, and one of the main points of that talk, one of the take home points for physicians, was about the hop test.

#240 How doctors classify stress fractures in runners

Some of those stress fracture classification systems use MRI, some use CT scans and some use X-rays to try to determine how bad your injury happens to be. 

Of course, the point of a classification system is to help you decide when and how to get back to activity quickly by helping your doctor make decisions.

Is this stress fracture going to heal quickly? 

Is this stress fracture going to heal slowly? 

Is this stress fracture something that's high risk, or low risk?

Today on the Doc On The Run podcast, we're talking about how doctors classify stress fractures in runners.

#239 When can I run with stitches?

If you have an accident and cut the front of your leg open, you may have to have stitches to sew the skin back together.

Of course, most doctors will probably tell you that you should avoid exercise until your skin fully heals and the stitches are removed.

Depending upon the location of the stitches, it could take two or three weeks for the skin to heal.

Most runners don't want to wait two or three weeks with no running while waiting for stitches to be removed.

Today on the Doc On The Run podcast, we're talking about when you can run if you have stitches.