I've had pain in my 2nd metatarsal and 2nd/3rd toes for about 4 months now and I suspect I have a minor plantar plate tear because it looks like my 2nd and 3rd toes have separated more (the classic V shape symptom).
I will be getting an MRI shortly but just wondering if other runners have dealt with this and whether they were able to overcome it.
Bump.
Got the MRI and I was correct, a high-grade partial tear of the plantar plate in the 2nd metatarsal and an intermediate grade tear in the 3rd metatarsal.
The podiatrist says to wear a boot for 6-8 weeks, no elliptical but cycling is OK. I'm not really in much pain walking around.
Anyone ever experienced an injury like this? Can it heal without surgery?
I had a different foot issue, but my advice is avoid surgery like the plague. Most surgeons figure you are cured after the wound heals up in 6 weeks and never see you again. However, you will be left with a problem as bad or worse than the original problem. You will have non pliable scar tissue that impinges nerves. You will atrophy from non use. You will need a year of GOOD physical therapy to get back to normal.
I wish I had tried a boot. I tore my PF at the rear of the heel. Several docs said it was really a metatarsal problem and I was compensating. Surgery did not fix the metatarsal issue (it is worse) and the heel is still a bundle of scar tissue 2 years later, mostly from inactivity. Now that I can finally walk and run up to 20min, it is starting to get better.
So first try 2 weeks always in a very supportive shoe, maybe with a Plantar / compression sock. If minimal improvement, try the boot and maybe get a knee scooter or crutches to really give it rest. If that does not work, then find a good sports Physical Therapist. If the PT says you need surgery, then consider it.
In 2007, I was diagnosed with a plantar plate rupture on my 2nd toe. The rupture allowed my 2nd toe to "float" or cross over my big toe. It wasn't terribly painful when I taped the 2nd and 3d toes together before I ran. But I ended up getting surgery. My second toe is now rigid. The knuckle was fused and the result is the toe is permanently rigid. I was in a cast for 8 weeks and a walking boot for another 4 weeks. The surgery did work. I've never had a problem since. But the down time was not fun. If you have a tear and not a rupture, maybe immobilizing it is all you need. But don't let it get worse. Once it's ruptured, there's no cure other than surgery.
I had plantar plate repair surgery in my second and third metatarsal that started out as partial tear that went into a full rupture. I tried everything from taping, EPAT and my final mistake was getting a cortisone shot which is what ultimately ruptured it. I had surgery early February and by the beginning of May I was running. The surgeon came in from the top of my foot and reattached the tendons and put some small screws in there. All in all, it really wasn’t that bad of a come back. I will say though it was my last resort but 8 months after surgery I was better than before because I wasn’t compensating. If they tell you to wear a boot, do it and don’t run on it.
OMG. I never really understood why my second and third toes (left foot) did that. They have the v-shape as well.
I have had various injuries over the years and usually jogged through them in pain. I am running pain-free now, so if that means anything, this kind of thing can heal on its own.
p.s. When I inured that foot, it felt like I had a stress fracture in the top of the foot where the toes insert into the foot, not a torn plantar fasciitis-type pain in the arch of the foot (I've had that as well).
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Hi,
Just found this forum. Did you end up getting surgery? What’s your journey been like since this post?
Could you share how long ago this was? was it 2023 or earlier when you got the surgery? Just trying to get a sense of long term prognosis after the surgery.