Edit for TLDR:
Not finding enough info about Plantar Plate Tears and experiences online. Read my experience below or scroll for helpful links. I will be updating this as I go through the treatment / recovery process. Please comment to contribute your experience if you can as I suspect if you found this thread, youāre also scouring the internet for information.
Hi All!
Hope everyone is well, healthy and doing the activities they love. Iām here unfortunately because I am not doing the activity that I love, which is running. Pardon the long post, Iām sharing this as Iāve had a hard time finding information on the internet and I am looking for people to commiserate and share their experiences, as maybe it will help (me) and other internet crawlers to feel more informed (and less alone) when it comes to this injury.
Most of the patient stories / details Iāve read for plantar plate tear have been in a forum called Slow Twitch or a blog called The Joyful Miles. Iām surprised not to see more in Reddit r/running.
Iāve been suffering foot pain in my metatarsal area since October ā21 (itās now December) and was going to a podiatrist who, for whatever reason did not order imaging despite repeated visits and worsening pain. He diagnosed me with Mortonās Neuroma as I was having trouble walking, feeling like there was a pebble in my shoe. He also administered a cortisone shot, probably a mistake.
My real concern, outside of pain, grew when I noticed upon bending my toe, that my second toe was bending/drifting slightly to the right vs straight down, and my third toe was not bending at all. My doctor told me this was due to swelling, which was clearly incorrect, and I became skeptical of his guidance when he suggested this.
I went to my physiatrist who called for an X-Ray (looking for stress fracture), and later an MRI, which determined the following:
No evidence of Morton's neuroma. There is mild 2nd and 3rd intermetatarsal bursitis. There is a 2 mm plantar plate tear along the medial aspect of the 2nd MTP joint (series 3, image 24 and series 7, image 20. Suspected small, 1 mm, plantar plate tear along the lateral aspect of the 3rd MTP joint (series 3, image 23). Small 2nd through 5th MTP joint effusions. Normal visualized plantar fascia. There are no fibromas.
Normal phalanges and interphalangeal joints.
Normal visualized extensor tendons. Normal visualized flexor tendons.
Bone marrow signals are normal. There are no fractures or lesions.
Normal intrinsic muscles of the forefoot.
While I have been running (though at a reduced frequency and mileage) the diagnosis and pain, particularly trouble and essentially inability now, to walk barefoot are more than a clear indicator to hit the bike while I recover.
I am now in a CAM boot while I wait for more information, but will be switching from Brooks Adrenaline to Hokaās Carbon X as my go to sneaker, as Iāve read good things. I am also waiting to be fitted with orthotics.
Next Steps:
Would love for anyone with similar experiences to share:
Additional Helpful Links:
Update 12/10/21:
Not finding enough info about Plantar Plate Tears and experiences online. Read my experience below or scroll for helpful links. I will be updating this as I go through the treatment / recovery process. Please comment to contribute your experience if you can as I suspect if you found this thread, youāre also scouring the internet for information.
Hi All!
Hope everyone is well, healthy and doing the activities they love. Iām here unfortunately because I am not doing the activity that I love, which is running. Pardon the long post, Iām sharing this as Iāve had a hard time finding information on the internet and I am looking for people to commiserate and share their experiences, as maybe it will help (me) and other internet crawlers to feel more informed (and less alone) when it comes to this injury.
Most of the patient stories / details Iāve read for plantar plate tear have been in a forum called Slow Twitch or a blog called The Joyful Miles. Iām surprised not to see more in Reddit r/running.
Iāve been suffering foot pain in my metatarsal area since October ā21 (itās now December) and was going to a podiatrist who, for whatever reason did not order imaging despite repeated visits and worsening pain. He diagnosed me with Mortonās Neuroma as I was having trouble walking, feeling like there was a pebble in my shoe. He also administered a cortisone shot, probably a mistake.
My real concern, outside of pain, grew when I noticed upon bending my toe, that my second toe was bending/drifting slightly to the right vs straight down, and my third toe was not bending at all. My doctor told me this was due to swelling, which was clearly incorrect, and I became skeptical of his guidance when he suggested this.
I went to my physiatrist who called for an X-Ray (looking for stress fracture), and later an MRI, which determined the following:
Quote:
No bone marrow signal abnormality is identified to suggest stress fracture or stress reaction. Normal first metatarsophalangeal joint. Normal sesamoid bones and hallux sesamoid complex. Normal first interphalangeal joint. No evidence of Morton's neuroma. There is mild 2nd and 3rd intermetatarsal bursitis. There is a 2 mm plantar plate tear along the medial aspect of the 2nd MTP joint (series 3, image 24 and series 7, image 20. Suspected small, 1 mm, plantar plate tear along the lateral aspect of the 3rd MTP joint (series 3, image 23). Small 2nd through 5th MTP joint effusions. Normal visualized plantar fascia. There are no fibromas.
Normal phalanges and interphalangeal joints.
Normal visualized extensor tendons. Normal visualized flexor tendons.
Bone marrow signals are normal. There are no fractures or lesions.
Normal intrinsic muscles of the forefoot.
While I have been running (though at a reduced frequency and mileage) the diagnosis and pain, particularly trouble and essentially inability now, to walk barefoot are more than a clear indicator to hit the bike while I recover.
I am now in a CAM boot while I wait for more information, but will be switching from Brooks Adrenaline to Hokaās Carbon X as my go to sneaker, as Iāve read good things. I am also waiting to be fitted with orthotics.
Next Steps:
- I am meeting back with my physiatrist tomorrow, an orthopedic surgeon next week, and a recommended podiatrist in January, which was the soonest appointment I could get.
- Waiting to be fitted for orthotics and will take time off of running and continue on taking anti inflammatories and staying in my cam boot for any walking to see if I can alleviate some of the pain.
- I would also like to begin taping my toe to prevent any further dislocating or drifting.
Would love for anyone with similar experiences to share:
- Their sport / activity and how they identified their injury
- Symptoms
- Methods of treatment; did you undergo surgery, or treat with orthotics / some other method?
- Are you back to your activity / load? If yes or no, how long have you been at treatment?
- Any helpful links!
- Also, any doctors here with insight?
Additional Helpful Links:
- Adding a link to Pacers player Myles Turnerās recovery timeline as he suffered a plantar plate tear / turf toe that sidelined him for a year. No surgery required.
- Found this video helpful, it details how to tape your toes to stabilize metatarsal joint and proper application of metatarsal pad along with recommended shoe types for the condition. Hokas come up again here as they have a rocker.
- Detailed āconservativeā recovery story (aka no surgery) The Joyful Miles
- Per my Orthopedist, a Budin Splint may be helpful to recovery; they make them for both one and two toes.
Update 12/10/21:
- Saw physiatrist and while she made the initial diagnosis, Iām at the end of the road in terms of the recommendations and guidance she can provide.
- Sheās told me to see either a podiatrist or a conservative orthopedic surgeon.
- She has suggested living in my CAM boot for 2 weeks minimum to reduce inflammation and sensitivity, so I will cut out running beginning today. The rest should help me to identify what pain is caused by my bursitis (which sounds to be self resolving) vs my plantar plate tear.
- She mentioned thereās no need to tape my toes when wearing the cam boot, but Iāll inquire with the Orthopedist.
- Bursitis sounds like with rest (which I havenāt properly allowed yet) my foot will heal. Plantar plate tear sounds resolvable as well, though I need to go through the proper steps. This will be a patience process.
- Purchased Hoka Carbon X and the shoe is in fact comfortable to me, and built in such a way that my weight is off of my plantar plate
- Next stop orthopedic surgeon on Monday.
- Met with Orthopedic Surgeon today and kicked it off with a weight bearing x-ray (I got the impression that he has all first time patients doing x rays)
- Doctor was encouraging, especially as my symptoms have already reduced significantly since beginning to wear the CAM boot. I'm still skeptical that I could start running again without a flare, but again, it sounds like patience is of the essence when dealing with this injury.
- Recommendation is to continue wearing cam boot for 2-3 more weeks, then get into custom orthotics. Following that, and using pain as a guide, begin easing into running.
- I made an appointment with the Orthopedic Surgeon again for about a month out, just to have it on the calendar, as I'm not optimistic about avoiding a flare if I get back to activity...
- With that said, I'm resigned to a month long pause on running, and I am going to look at this as a good time to begin working with a trainer and focusing on strength. Hopefully when I get back to running, I can do a gait analysis and work on my running from a more technical perspective. Just going to take this forced downtime as an opportunity to build a better/stronger base.
- I'll continue to keep you apprised of progress in terms of CAM Boot / pain reduction, and will certainly be back here when I begin to run again, in the meantime, please keep this group apprised of your progress as well!
Last edited by:
metatarunner: Dec 13, 21 7:27