Doc On The Run Podcast

I just got off of a Stress Fracture Strategy call with a real runner who has been suffering from a stress fracture for 47 days. 

Over the past five weeks she has been getting worse, not better.

And she hasn’t even been running for more than a month!

If you have a stress fracture, or a stress reaction and you are:

1. worried about canceling race because of a stress fracture 2. your stress fracture is not getting better fast enough ...

Today on the Doc On The Run Podcast we are talking with Alexandre Dufresne about his journey and getting back to running after having suffered 2 metatarsal stress fractures at same time!

If you think back about your training leading up to the 2 stress fractures, if you could go back in time, do you think there's any one thing you could have changed in your training routine that might have prevented it fr...

Today on the Doc On The Run Podcast we are talking with Patrick Durante about Automatic Negative Thoughts and how they affect runners.

Many years ago I was having a discussion about daily stressors with a friend of mine name Maury. He said something I have never forgotten.

“It's not the lions and tigers that will get you. It's the ants and mosquitoes because ...

If you're a runner with a stress fracture you're probably trying to figure out everything you can do right now this going to speed up healing of the injured bone, so you can get back to running as soon as possible.

If you have been thinking about bone broth or nutritional supplements like vitamin D and calcium you already know how important it is to get the nutritional building blocks int...

No matter what injury you have, it could be a stress fracture or it could be tendinitis or it could be a sprained ligament, but whatever you do you have to sure you don't get re-injured, because that could be brutally demoralizing!

Because most runners think jogging is a lot easier than “real running” you might presume it's a lot safer for you to just start jogging to test out your state of recovery.

Hussein asked me an interesting question. He said, 

“I fractured my tibia and fibula. Is it normal after 50 days the fracture is still visible under x-ray, but I am walking with crutches and putting partial weight bearing without any pain or discomfort? My treatment was with a fiberglass cast without any surgery since the bones were not displaced.”

Is it normal for a fracture to be visible on my x-ray after 50 days? 

Well, that is ...

If you have a high arched foot that is prone to getting stress fractures, a podiatrist may have told you that you need cushy running shoes.

I got a question from someone who was given that advice. She said,

“I am so confused, I thought stress fractures were from pounding. I got a stress fracture, and my doc said it was my cushy shoes. I do not understand how this is true.”

How do cushy running shoes cause stress fractures in the fo...

I talk to lots of runners who have been given very bad advice. 

If you are reading this, you are probably a runner, and you have probably had to deal with some kind of injury that interfered with your running.

If you have seen a doctor, I am very curious to know what advice you got.

Sometimes I am curious if the "bad advice" is what the doctor said, or if it is just a misinterpretation of what the doctor said to the runner. 

Today ...

Today's episode comes from Jordan, who was watching a video called “Proof you do not have to stop running with a metatarsal stress response”.

Jordan wanted to know, “Do you think treadmill at a 5% incline will take some of the stress off the tibia?”

Can a 5% incline on your treadmill reduce the stress on a tibial stress fracture? 

Well, that is a great question, and that is what we're talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podca...

Today's question comes from Priscilla, after she watched the video “Proof you do not have to stop running with a metatarsal stress response.” 

She says:

“I am a distance runner, I got a fourth metatarsal stress fracture, I was in the boot 3 months. X-ray is showing some healing but not 100%. I have been walking but I fear it will open up again. Is pain and fear of putting full pressure without the boot normal? I want to run, it is ...

I have heard lots of different things that runners tell me their doctors said...,

"You are not built like a runner."

"You cannot run with your foot type."

"Running just does not work for you. 

Decades ago, an orthopedic surgeon who did my reconstructive knee surgery said to me, 

"If you ever run, you will have to have a total knee replacement within 10 years."

My knee is still good. And I have been running for decades. I did my fir...

Today's episode comes from a question on the Doc On The Run YouTube channel regarding the video entitled “Proof you do not have to stop running with a metatarsal stress response.” 

Brian was clearly frustrated. He commented:

“I wish… I have a big swollen reason under the second metatarsal. It tingles a bit while running. Slight burning. I have to alter my landing to not irritate it. I'm finished. Rest in peace to my running VO2 max...

Just this morning I was on a coaching call with a runner who is recovering from a stress fracture.

Almost every runner I talk to can immediately start exercising and start doing stuff to maintain their running fitness if they understand how severe the injury is, and they don't have to just take time off. 

It is heartbreaking to me truthfully when I talk to somebody who has been completely off of their foot and on crutches in a frac...

I got a question from an injured runner, and she wants to know about the amount of time it takes to heal a stress reaction in the sesamoid bone in your foot.

She said:

“I have had a stress reaction in my tibial sesamoid that led to a lot of pain and swelling. I am reading mixed reviews on healing time. I have been off it for three weeks now, either on crutches and taping the toe to immobilize it or in a walking boot with tape on th...

Today's question comes from someone who watched the YouTube video on the Doc On The Run YouTube channel called “How long before I can run with a stress fracture.”

The comment was:

“Thank you so much for this video. I want to ask if resting for three weeks, complete bed rest and I can afford to do this because I am a student, and it is summer holiday then I can walk to my college to do daily normal tasks. I do not do any physical tr...

There is nothing worse than being told to stop running, especially when you have no idea how long you're not going to be able to run. 

You like your doctor. She is nice. She is smart and helpful. She seems to really care about your running, and even listens to you talk about your last run. 

But when she tells you, that you cannot run, there are three questions that you need to ask.

Today on the Doc On The Run Podcast, we're talking...

When you get a stress fracture, the main thing you are trying to do is figure out how bad it is.

How much does it hurt?

How can you get it to heal as quickly as possible?

Although inflammation is an important part of the healing process, it can be very disruptive to two parts of your process of getting back to running.    What are the two worst things about inflammation when you have a stress fracture? 

Well, that is what we're t...

When you get a stress fracture, the main thing you are trying to do is figure out how bad it is.

How much does it hurt?

How can you get it to heal as quickly as possible?

Although inflammation is an important part of the healing process, it can be very disruptive to two parts of your process of getting back to running.    What are the two worst things about inflammation when you have a stress fracture? 

Well, that is what we're t...

One of the most useless obsessions I witness in runners is to focus on the grade a doctor uses to label the stress fracture. 

You should care if you can run, you should care if you can work out, you should care if you have to sit around in a fracture walking boot and do nothing.

Most of the time runners call me and they are trying to get an answer from me on what they can do, I know their stress fracture grading is useless. 

The re...