Doc On The Run Podcast

I had a recent group coaching call for recovering runners, and the main point of this episode is that you've got to do more frequent follow-up. Even if you manage that follow-up recovery process on your own, it needs to be frequent. This particular runner was someone who was having an improvement in her injury. She was actually running, but she still had some foot pain when running and she had one...

This episode comes from a live group coaching call where recovering runners get to ask me anything they want. Today on the doc on the run podcast we're talking about whether or not you can get a stress response in your good foot when you're wearing a fracture walking boot on your bad foot to treat a stress fracture.

Today's episode comes from a live Q&A. We hold these sessions for runners enrolled in the self-diagnosis courses, and those in group coaching sessions, who just want to make sure that they're staying on track and getting back to running as quickly as possible. We were talking about why injured runners should ask better questions.  Today on the Doc On The Run podcast, we're talking about how to ask...

This episode actually comes from a recent live Q&A I did with recovering injured runners and during these calls you can come on and you can ask me anything that you want about your specific situation.    This was a really great question that came from one of the runners on the call and he was concerned about this discomfort he was getting in his foot a full year after he had a metatarsal stress fr...

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 s...

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 go...

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 th...

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.   

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 wheth...

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...

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 Th...

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 abou...

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...

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 t...

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...

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...

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.

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.

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 Pod...

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...

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...

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 ri...

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 g...

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 whe...

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 b...