One of the most common injuries I see in runners is a stress fracture. 

All overtraining injuries in runners are stress induced injuries and a stress fracture of course implies too much stress applied to the bone. 

A stress fracture is not a problem that you get not because you ran too much, not because you ran too far, or too soon. 

Stress fractures only result when your training exceeds the bone's threshold to recover before your next workout. If you keep doing that, it could get much worse. 

What are the three ways a stress fracture can turn into a non-union in a runner? 

Well, that is what we're talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast.

Anything the runners does to heal faster will get the runner back to running faster.

Even simple things you can do at home can help change the course of an injury.

On of the oldest treatments for musculoskeletal injury, and one any runner can do themselves,  is massage.

A runner on webcam just asked me whether or not it might help her plantar plate injury recover faster. The short answer is:

Yes, massage can help as along as you do not injure the plantar plate ligament further in the process.

How does massage really help when you have an injury? Yes, there are a couple of ways massage can help, as long as that massage does not make the injury worse.

Today on the Doc On The Run Podcast, we’re talking about the good and bad, or the risk vs benefits of massage with a plantar plate sprain.

Runners who have rolled their ankle often have trouble figuring out when to get back to running. 

Mostly they seem to be worried about a subtle fracture or delayed ligament healing.

If you think it is no big deal when you roll your ankle, you might be right, and you might be wrong. 

What is the number one most important action you can take when you roll your ankle running?

Well, that is what we're talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast. 

I know if you call me for a consultation, it is not because you want to talk to me because you watched a YouTube video or listened to a podcast, it is because you have a race and everybody else is telling you there is no way you can do it. 

Well, that may be my specialty, but today I am going to help you understand how you can figure this out yourself. 

It is not really that complicated, it is just that other doctors do not want to tell you how to do it, so I am going to try to explain it to you.

How can you calculate the amount of rest you really need between your running injury and your race? 

Well, that is what we're talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast. 

I recently posted an episode that was talking about four different kinds of stress and strain that can be applied to the plantar plate ligament that might slow down the healing of that little bitty ligament in runners. 

I got a couple of questions about that and one of them was specifically about how to tell whether or not that is really a problem and one person wanted to know if they had a dropped metatarsal if that might be contributing to this issue of compressive stress. 

Today on the Doc On The Run Podcast, we're talking a little bit more about compressive stress on the plantar plate ligament in runners.

If you have a pain in the ball of the foot, underneath the base of the toes, that is right where your fat pad cushioning is located. 

There is a lot of misunderstanding about what fat pad atrophy really is, particularly when it is related to something like a plantar plate injury.

Sometimes runners have true fat pad atrophy, but that is rare. 

More often runners have fat pad displacement that feels like atrophy. 

I think that fat pad displacement is more common than atrophy, and I am going to try to explain why. 

What is the difference between fat pad atrophy and fat pad displacement in runners? 

Well, that is what we're talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast.

I know I talk a lot about how necessary it is to reduce the stress and strain on the plantar plate ligament when you are a runner, especially if you are trying to get ready for a race while healing.  

It is really difficult to do, but not impossible. 

What are the four forms of stress and strain that can affect runners with plantar plate injuries? 

Well, that is what we're talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast.

I am going to make a statement and see if you agree with me. 

“Rest is bad, and exercise is good.” 

Do you agree? 

Almost every runner who calls me for a second  opinion consultation has been injured, has been told they have to rest, and they have been told they cannot exercise in order to get better.

Sometimes that is true. But 100% rest is rarely the case in runners. Unless you fell off the roof and broke your back and both, then you can probably use one of your legs to exercise and maintain some of your running fitness while your other foot that is injured is resting and recovering. 

Today on the Doc On The Run Podcast, we're talking about single leg exercise benefits for injured runners. 

I was just on a call with an injured runner who has been healing from a plantar plate sprain. If you have had one of these, you know they're problematic. 

The thing was that he asked me a question that really made me stop and think.

What he asked was, “Is stress good or bad for the plantar plate ligament?”

Well, that is what we're talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast. 

Let me ask you to read 4 words and see how they land on you.

Skinny, weak, atrophy, neglect. 

As a runner, would you want any of those words used to describe you?

When the fat pad cushion between the bones and the skin under the heel or the ball of the foot gets thinner, doctors call it “atrophy.”  But don’t take it as an insult. 

What really causes more atrophy of the fat pad cushion under the ball the foot in runners…inactivity, or too much activity?

Well, that’s what we are talking about today on the Doc On the Run Podcast!