I recently got a question from a runner with a partial tear of the plantar fascia who asked, "I am struggling with a partial tear - going on 6 months of pain with running.I’ve tried everything - PT, rest, PRP, and most recently embryonic membrane injections. This injection was four weeks ago - with crutches for 5 days after and boot for two weeks. I’ve also had four weeks of no running at all and still have the pain. I would love to know what your “standard routine” is for this condition." Today...
Oct 25, 2019•6 min•Ep. 228
Is there a difference in healing time when there is a crack in the bone visible on x-ray, compared to when a runner has a “stress fracture” with no visible crack on x-rays. What do you think? Would it take less time to return to running if you have a stress fracture with no crack visible on an x-ray than if you do actually have a crack visible on an x-ray? The answer surprised many doctors a medical conference where I as just lecturing and it may surprise you, too. Today on the Doc On The Run Po...
Oct 23, 2019•6 min•Ep. 227
Today on the Doc On The Run Podcast, we're talking about surgery for a sesamoid stress fracture in runners. If you're a runner and you start having pain under the big toe joint and you develop this thing called a sesamoid stress fracture, you may get really worried. In fact, if you go to see a doctor, you're probably going to get a lot more worried because the doctor's probably going to tell you these things can be very, very difficult to heal. Well, it is true. For years I've been lecturing to ...
Oct 21, 2019•6 min•Ep. 226
Oxidative stress is something that normally occurs in all runners. But we know free radicals and the consequences of an imbalance of oxidative stressors can delay tissue healing. Anytime you have an overtraining injury and you are trying to get back to running, you have to make sure you are healing as quickly as possible. The big question is whether or not exercise, such as running, has a positive or negative affect on oxidative stress. Today on the Doc On The Run Podcast, we're talking about wh...
Oct 18, 2019•6 min•Ep. 225
When you decide to sign up for a race, you start training. You follow a specific plan that you know will get you stronger and stronger, day-by-day. You make a plan to get to your race, prepared to achieve your goal time. But what happens when you get injured? You basically do something completely opposite, completely different, and not at all in alignment with the strengthening process that you know works when you're training. Today on the Doc On The Run podcast, we're talking about why you need...
Oct 16, 2019•4 min•Ep. 224
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 yo...
Oct 14, 2019•4 min•Ep. 223
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.
Oct 11, 2019•6 min•Ep. 222
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 ...
Oct 09, 2019•8 min•Ep. 221
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.
Oct 07, 2019•5 min•Ep. 220
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 podc...
Oct 04, 2019•5 min•Ep. 219
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 reduc...
Oct 02, 2019•5 min•Ep. 218
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 i...
Sep 30, 2019•7 min•Ep. 217
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.
Sep 27, 2019•6 min•Ep. 216
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 podca...
Sep 25, 2019•9 min•Ep. 215
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 podcas...
Sep 23, 2019•28 min•Ep. 214
Ingrown toenails can be painful. Particularly if you're getting ready to run a marathon or some other goal race. I recently got a call from a runner who called and asked… “Can I run my race with an ingrown toenail?” It seems like wanting to know whether or not she should wait until after her race to have her ingrown toenail removed, was a reasonable question. But the answer may surprise you. Today on the Doc On The Run podcast, we're talking about whether or not you should wait until after your ...
Sep 20, 2019•8 min•Ep. 213
Plantar fasciitis is by far the most common cause of arch pain in runners. Not surprisingly, most runners who get heel pain or arch pain think they have plantar fasciitis. But sometimes runners have a more serious injury where there is actually a rip, a tear or what doctors referred to as a partial rupture of the plantar fascia ligament. The problem with this more serious injury is that it doesn't get better with the same treatments that will help plantar fasciitis. Today on the Doc On the Run P...
Sep 18, 2019•8 min•Ep. 212
Today was on a consultation call with a runner who is had a long history of Achilles tendon problems. She's recently tried some new things that made an improvement. But the problem is she's not really certain the improvement is from the new treatments she's been doing. Because she simultaneously decreased her activity a bit. So now she's in this place where she is trying to figure out what to do next. Should she continue with some simple conservative treatments that aren't very risky? Or should ...
Sep 16, 2019•12 min•Ep. 211
Some runners become concerned that if they run in custom orthotics they may become weaker and unable to run without the custom orthotics working as a sort of crutch. Theoretically, if you have been running for a long time with custom orthotics support your feet may be accustomed to, or in some sense even dependent upon that external stability and support. The question is…do orthotics provide relief from symptoms only, or do they support you so much you could actually get weaker? Today on the Doc...
Sep 13, 2019•8 min•Ep. 210
Running injuries only happen in two scenarios: 1. We do something stupid. We do something we know that was foolhardy and we shouldn't have done it. 2. We sustain an injury while pushing for progress. We are getting stronger. We are pushing ourselves to the limit. And we just push a little too far. But anyone can get injured. In fact, for those athletes who do experience rapid success, it can even be more difficult to restrain yourself when you are getting subtle clues from your body that you may...
Sep 11, 2019•51 min•Ep. 209
All overtraining injuries are the result of too much tissue damage, without enough recovery to fully heal, before the next workout “causes” a running injury. My personal belief is that most running injuries are the result of failing to trust your training plan and your coach. You need a coach to help you stay on track. I think a coach is someone who can quiet your fears when its time to push the limits. Someone who truly know the difference between fear, pain and real danger. But you have to tru...
Sep 09, 2019•7 min•Ep. 208
No one trains for long distance events, nor successfully completes a long distance event without a great deal of discipline. Most experienced runners can run a long way, regardless of footwear. And it is mostly highly experienced runners to start investigating the idea of barefoot running or running in minimalist running shoes. There are many reasons minimalist running shoes appeal to endurance runners. But running in minimalist running shoes requires an advanced level of discipline. Today on th...
Sep 06, 2019•7 min•Ep. 207
When a runner’s joint wears out, one option is to remove the damaged cartilage and replace the joint through artificial joint surgery. The problem is, artificial joints typically wear out a lot faster than normal joints. The base assumption is the running will wear out an artificial total joint replacement. More than 25 years ago an orthopedic surgeon told me that I should stop running. He said if I didn't stop running I would have to have an artificial joint replacement. He also said if I ran o...
Sep 04, 2019•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 206
Most runners wear running shoes when they run. And the type of shoes you choose can help protect you from the forces of running. If you have high arches, in general at your feet are more stable and more rigid. A rigid foot type generally translates to higher peak forces when you run, and particularly when you land as a heel striker. Cushioning type running shoes can help protect your feet from the pounding forces of running, if you have high arches. Today on the Doc On The Run Podcast we're talk...
Sep 02, 2019•5 min•Ep. 205
If the running shoes are perfect for you, they will help provide support and cushioning to protect you from the pounding forces of running.In theory, running shoes should protect you from overloading structures in a way that could lead to an over training injury. If you are a runner and your have flat feet, you need “motion control” running shoes. Motion control running shoes, pronation control running shoes, and stability running shoes are all basically the same thing. These are all shoes desig...
Aug 31, 2019•5 min•Ep. 204
Very few things are worse to a runner than a running injury. When you run, pain is mandatory, but running injuries are optional. If you have ever been injured it is devastating. To add salt to the wound, while you sit on the couch recovering, but getting weaker, you realize it is preventable. Today we talking with the RunRx founder Valerie Hunt about the importance of developing better running form and strength for runners to prevent running injuries.
Aug 29, 2019•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 203
Every cloud has a silver lining. If you're injured right now, you need to look for the value in the discomfort right in front of you. If you have pain when you are exercising there is a risk you will do damage to the healing tissue. That's why doctors tell you to stop running. Doctors don't necessarily want you to lose all of your fitness, but they don't want you to make the injury worse. If you have been injured you have probably done some exercises in the past few days or weeks that cause pain...
Aug 28, 2019•5 min•Ep. 202
“All in moderation.” I'm not sure who said that, but it definitely was not an endurance athlete. Unfortunately the idea of training in moderation, treatment of running injuries in moderation and everything in between has infected the recovering runner's world. We do our speed work too slow and our base training too fast. As a consequence of that moderation of our workouts we do not reap the full benefit nor the intended purpose of either of those workout sessions. Today on the Doc On The Run Pod...
Aug 25, 2019•6 min•Ep. 201
"If you’re not training, you’re not getting more fit." - Mark Allen The very best way to lose all of your running fitness is to get injured and be forced to stop training. Today on the Doc On The Run Podcast we are talking with 6-Time Ironman World Champion Mark Allen about the importance of preventing preventable running injuries. In this episode Mark is going to share with you three and truly useful ideas: 1. The keys to competing at a high-level for decades - and never have a serious injury. ...
Aug 24, 2019•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 200
A runner who was listening to the Doc On The Run Podcast asked about the association between low aerobic fitness and running injuries. Any runner who gets an injury does so simply because the tissue has not performed the way it should. The harder your tissues work when you exercise, the more oxygen they require. When you are working hard and simultaneously depriving your tissues of oxygen, you're putting yourself at risk in a number of ways. Today on the Doc On The Run Podcast we're talking abou...
Aug 21, 2019•5 min•Ep. 199
