I recently did an episode where I was talking about the causes of black toenails in runners after long runs, and I got a lot of comments and questions about, "Well, what should I do?" We did talk about a couple of different things during that episode, where I was telling you how to check and make sure that you have sufficient space at the end of the shoes, that your running shoes aren't just too small or how to make sure that if you do have a lot of room in the shoes or if it seems like they're ...
Jul 26, 2021•5 min•Ep. 435
I just had a discussion with a runner during a telemedicine second opinion. She rolled her ankle and went to the emergency room. They gave her a brace to stabilize the ankle and an ACE wrap to compress it. She started some rehab exercises, and frankly she improved a lot. But when she got back to running, she had intermittent pain in the back of her ankle. This was not the same spot where she got the sprain. She called because this pain has now been going on for a long time, and when she got an x...
Jul 23, 2021•6 min•Ep. 434
Today's episode comes from a discussion during a recent television fitness segment interview where I was actually asked about black toenails in runners. If you've been running for a long time, undoubtedly you've had this happen at least once. I've had it happen multiple times. I realized, after many years of racing, that if I did any run longer than about 20 miles, and I didn't do some specific things to really provide care for my nails and protect them, I would wind up with one of my second toe...
Jul 21, 2021•8 min•Ep. 433
This was a great question from a runner enrolled in the metatarsal stress fracture course. She wanted to know whether or not a bone stimulator would really be helpful. Can a bone stimulator help a stress fracture? Well, that's what we're talking about today on the Doc On The Run podcast.
Jul 19, 2021•5 min•Ep. 432
I was just on a telemedicine call with a recovering runner. He asked me about different forms of training that he could do to maintain his running fitness, while he fully healed the injury. He asked a question I get all the time, "Is cycling really helpful or not?" Well, the short answer is yes, it is very helpful for several reasons. Today on the Doc On The Run podcast, we're talking about whether or not cycling will help maintain your running fitness while you're injured and recovering....
Jul 16, 2021•5 min•Ep. 431
This episode actually comes from one of the live Q&As I did with course members who are actually enrolled in courses like the Plantar Plate Sprain Course for Runners or the Metatarsal Stress Fracture Course. "One of my friends said that I could get an injection to help my planter plates sprain heal faster. What is that injection?" Today on the Doc on the Run podcast, we're talking about what kind of injections might help a plantar plate injury.
Jul 14, 2021•6 min•Ep. 430
This is a question sent in by a listener to the Doc On The Run Podcast and this is someone who's had a stress fracture, and it's now turned into what the doctor called a delayed union. She said, "My doctor has told me that my stress fracture is now a delayed union. What does that really mean? What is a non-union? What's a delayed union?" Well, that's what we're talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast.
Jul 12, 2021•7 min•Ep. 429
The anti-inflammatory medications you can get over the counter at the pharmacy do a great job at decreasing musculoskeletal healing, but there is a little bit of a problem. There's some research that actually shows that some anti-inflammatories, particularly non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, may slow down healing of tendon to bone junctions. Today on the Doc On The Run podcast, we're talking about should I take ibuprofen when I have a plantar plate injury?
Jul 09, 2021•5 min•Ep. 428
I was just having a discussion with a runner about the things that she could do to accelerate her running injury recovery. She has been yo-yoing through a cycle or workouts and short runs when she feels good, then does a little bit too much. That's when she gets re-injured. She is aggravating the injury over and over. The real problem isn't her injury. She's just pushing her recovery too fast. Today on the Doc On The Run Podcast, we're talking about how you have to slow down if you want to speed...
Jul 07, 2021•6 min•Ep. 427
A runner just asked a great question about when runners should get a plantar fasciitis injection so she can run. If you've signed up for the Runner's Heel Pain Course, or you've listened to the podcasts on Runner's Heel Pain about plantar fasciitis in runners, you've probably heard me say that I don't inject most runners with cortisone when they have plantar fasciitis. The way I break it down is that it depends on one of three different scenarios. "Should I get a plantar fascia injection so I ca...
Jul 05, 2021•8 min•Ep. 426
Look, if you get injured, you're going to need help and if you want to maintain your running fitness and you really want to get back to running as quickly as possible, sometimes you've got to talk to an expert. I'm an expert on running entries. I do telemedicine visits, but telemedicine does not work for everything or everybody. You don't have to talk to me. You can find somebody else and there's several ways to figure out whether or not that might be a good person. Today on the Doc On The Run P...
Jul 02, 2021•7 min•Ep. 425
I got a question during a telemedicine second opinion consultation with a runner over webcam. He was worried that he had some fat pad atrophy in his foot and was getting heel pain as a consequence of that. The fat pad atrophying in itself does not cause pain, but since the plantar calcaneal fat pad that cushions your skin under the heel bone really does prevent the skin from getting squished. Well, yes, you can definitely get pain if your fat pad gets atrophied. Does calcaneal fat pad atrophy ca...
Jun 30, 2021•7 min•Ep. 424
This is a great question from one of the people I was just working with on a telemedicine visit. Does running really make me nicer? She actually said, "It's been really tough being injured, because it seems like when I can't run, I'm not nearly as nice as I usually am." Well, if you're anything like me, it probably does and that's what we're talking about today on the Doc On The Run podcast.
Jun 28, 2021•7 min•Ep. 423
This is a great question from one of the YouTube viewers. Can I do calf raises with hallux rigidus? He wanted to know whether or not calf raises might cause more damage to the big toe joint. He wants to make sure that condition does not get worse. This runner wanted to know whether or not it was safe. And that's what we're talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast.
Jun 25, 2021•6 min•Ep. 422
This morning I was interviewed as a guest expert on a television program for a health and fitness segment. We were talking about how running shoes are really your only piece of injury protection equipment as a runner. The only thing between you and the ground is your running shoe. When you are training in them just a little bit too long, they start to get worn out. Today on the Doc On The Run Podcast, we're talking about the best three ways to tell when to replace your running shoes....
Jun 23, 2021•8 min•Ep. 421
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 ...
Jun 21, 2021•6 min•Ep. 419
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!...
Jun 18, 2021•8 min•Ep. 420
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 w...
Jun 16, 2021•7 min•Ep. 418
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 ...
Jun 14, 2021•5 min•Ep. 417
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 mi...
Jun 11, 2021•8 min•Ep. 416
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 to...
Jun 09, 2021•9 min•Ep. 415
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...
Jun 07, 2021•6 min•Ep. 414
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 ...
Jun 04, 2021•5 min•Ep. 413
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 no...
Jun 02, 2021•7 min•Ep. 412
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.
May 31, 2021•9 min•Ep. 411
No runner wants pain. However, when injured and trying to recover, pain is actually one of the most useful tools at your disposal. I often tell injured runners and doctors at medical conferences something you should think about: Pain is the most abundant and most underutilized evaluation tool available to runners when they're trying to get back to running. Today on the Doc On The Run Podcast, we're talking about how pain is the most underutilized tool for recovering runners....
May 28, 2021•4 min•Ep. 410
This episode comes from a lecture I was giving at a medical conference just last week. One of the lectures was on the differences between stress response, stress reaction, and stress fractures in athletes. There are really just a few main points doctors need to understand when treating runners with stress fractures. Today on the Doc On The Run Podcast, we're talking about the top three stress fracture takeaways from the International Foot and Ankle Foundation meeting in Sonoma, California....
May 26, 2021•8 min•Ep. 409
There is no hope on a downward slope. I know that sounds really negative and terrible, but it's true. A recovering runner recently called for a called me for a second opinion telemedicine visit. Her doctor had told her to wait...to wait to get better. In fact, she waited for 12 weeks and she did exactly what she was told: nothing. She did no exercise for 12 weeks. If you just think about the last time you were really fit, and if you just stopped exercising completely, right then for three months...
May 24, 2021•5 min•Ep. 408
In the last week alone I had telemedicine calls with two different runners with different types of stress fractures who asked what it means when they have no pain, but an MRI that "shows a stress fracture, but no crack in the bone." It gets really confusing when it comes to classifying stress fractures based only on medical imaging like x-rays or MRI. If you wonder... Can I run if my MRI shows a stress fracture, but I don't have any pain? That's what we're going to talk about today on the Doc On...
May 21, 2021•5 min•Ep. 407
This episode comes from a discussion I had recently with a recovering runner during a telemedicine visit. She was asking me what to do. She is stuck in a cycle of getting frustrated, she gets better, and then gets injured again when she actually gets back to running. She seems to have a tendency to get re-injured, with different injuries. To recover from injury, you have to make sure you don't rot while you wait. Today on the Doc on the Run Podcast, we're talking about how to make sure you recov...
May 19, 2021•4 min•Ep. 406
