RehabFAQs

how to rehab a plantar tear

by Mr. Louvenia Rosenbaum Jr. Published 2 years ago Updated 1 year ago
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Treatment of a plantar fascial tear generally includes two to three weeks of rest and the use of a supportive boot. Physical therapy is also an important part of recovery. Such a treatment plan usually leads to a favorable outcome, including a return to normal activities.

Exercises for Treating Plantar Plate Tears
  1. While in a standing position, place your leg flat on the floor keeping your feet in contact with the floor.
  2. Slowly glide up your greater toes, increasing your medial foot arch in the process.
  3. Repeat as much as 200 - 300 times daily.
Nov 30, 2021

Full Answer

What is the recovery time for plantar plate surgery?

The best conservative treatment for both plantar fasciitis and plantar fascia tear is R.I.C.E. (Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation). you should apply the R.I.C.E. method immediately after the injury to reduce swelling and inflammation. Immobilizing the foot with a cast, splint or sleeve is a good idea as well.

How to recover from plantar fasciitis surgery?

What is the Best Treatment for a Plantar Fascia Tear and Plantar Fasciitis? Your first step is to reduce pain and inflammation. Plantar fasciitis home remedies include rolling the foot on a frozen water bottle. Initially, ice should be applied daily. Physical therapy offers a vast array of treatment interventions to calm the inflammation.

How do you repair a plantar plate?

Plantar Plate Tear Treatment In the early stages of ligament disruption, nonsurgical care can be effective. This entails identifying and eliminating the deforming activity or force. For acute cases, we may need to prescribe a boot or special shoe to keep weight off the front of the foot.

How to tape toes for plantar plate tear?

If plantar plate tear is slowing you down and causing dull aches and pains, you might need: Simple Treatment Options If you catch the tearing early on before it requires surgery to fix, treatment is simple. Icing the joint and staying off your feet (resting) can help relieve the pain and begin the healing process.

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Can a plantar plate tear heal on its own?

Tears in the plantar plate can heal on their own, if small. Studies using MRI imaging have demonstrated plantar plate healing (8) Healing can take months and up to a year.

How long does a plantar tear take to heal?

Taping may be required. By 4-6 weeks you can begin wearing wide or open shoes and should be comfortable walking around your house. By 3 months you should be back to most activities and wearing your normal shoes. Swelling can take up to 6 months to resolve.

How do you treat a plantar tear?

Evaluating Non-Surgical Approaches To Plantar Plate Tears For acute pain less than three months in duration, patients may respond to plantarflexory strapping of the toe and the use of a stiff shoe or boot to prevent strain. Physical therapy and oral steroids are also options.

Can you walk on a torn plantar fascia?

Can You Walk on a Torn Plantar Fascia? The quick answer is yes, but it hurts! Pain with walking is usually worse when you first get out of bed. The pain usually improves as you take a few steps.

How serious is a plantar tear?

A plantar plate tear is very serious. If left untreated the metatarsal phalangeal joint can become completely dislocated and with time progress to DJD or degenerative joint disease.

What exercises can you do with plantar plate tear?

Some of the exercises that are effective for plantar plate tears are:Toe Push-ups This exercise will strengthen the intrinsic foot muscles. ... Lesser Toes Flexion Exercise Like the toe push-up, the lesser toes flexion exercises strengthen the intrinsic foot muscles too.More items...•Nov 30, 2021

Can you walk with a torn ligament in your foot?

The quick answer is yes, typically you can walk with a torn ligament or tendon in the foot. Walking may be painful but you can typically still walk.

Is a plantar plate tear painful?

The main symptoms of a plantar plate injury include; the toe changing position, which occurs gradually as the tear increases, usually to the side or upwards; pain, which is usually a sharp pain located in the ball of the foot, or a dull ache, which can make it feels like there is no cushion between the ground and the ...

What happens if you don't treat a plantar plate tear?

If the plantar plate tear is not treated properly, the condition becomes chronic and the deformity can be greater. As the deformity progresses, the cartilage in the joint capsule can become eroded, leading to arthritis and increased pain.

What causes plantar plate tears?

Although plantar plate tears can occur suddenly, they most often develop slowly over time from progressive degeneration of the ligament from repetitive overuse or abnormalities including: 1 Biomechanical abnormalities include a short or elevated 1st metatarsal or a long second metatarsal. These put constant pressure on the plantar plate and contribute to its degeneration. 2 Bunions (hallux valgus) can also put increased pressure on the plantar plate. Large bunions that push on the 2nd toe can eventually under-lap the toe, causing it to dislocate. This dislocation is caused by the thinning and stretching of the plantar plate as a result of the pressure from the bunion. 3 Cortisone injections can occasionally cause weakening and thinning of the plantar plate ligament. Patients who have steroid injections to help relieve pain in the ball of the foot may have noticed increasing deviation of the affected toe after the injection

What is plantar plate injury?

Plantar plate injuries are often misdiagnosed as hammertoes, neuromas, or capsulitis (inflammation of the tendons that surround the toe joints). A misdiagnosis means the true underlying condition isn’t treated and the pain and deformity will continue to worsen.

What is the MTPJ?

So it stabilizes the metatarsophalangeal joints (MTPJ) and is also is an attachment site for the plantar fascia. Over the years many names have been used for plantar plate injuries and plantar plate tears including hammertoe, crossover toe deformity, metatarsophalangeal joint instability (also known as MPJ instability), metatarsalgia, ...

How long does it take for a plantar plate to heal?

Normally, the recovery after direct repair of the plantar plate (when you will be back in normal shoes again) is usually four to eight weeks. The plantar plate is a very strong ligament and it simply takes time to heal, but when it does, you will be pain-free!

Where is the plantar plate located?

The plantar plate is a strong ligament on the bottom of the foot , a fibrous structure that starts at the metatarsal head and attaches to the proximal phalanx through the joint capsule within the forefoot. Its job is to keeps the toes in place and stops them from over-extending or drifting.

What are biomechanical abnormalities?

Biomechanical abnormalities include a short or elevated 1st metatarsal or a long second metatarsal. These put constant pressure on the plantar plate and contribute to its degeneration. Bunions (hallux valgus) can also put increased pressure on the plantar plate.

What happens if you tear your plantar fascia?

After a plantar fascial tear, a large bruise and swelling can develop at the site of the tear , which is most often near the heel. Walking with a torn plantar fascia can be very painful, changing the natural stride.

Is physical therapy a part of recovery?

Physical therapy is also an important part of recovery . Such a treatment plan usually leads to a favorable outcome, including a return to normal activities. Rarely, the conservative approach is less than completely successful and surgical repair is required.

Can plantar fasciitis tear?

Although plantar fasciitis can be associated with minor tears of the planta r fascia, a plantar fascial tear is clinically more significant and often occurs abruptly.

What is a tear in the plantaris called?

Commonly called Tennis leg , a tear or rupture of the plantaris involves the plantaris muscle and possibly the medial head or inside of the gastrocnemius muscle which is the larger of the two calf muscles. Injuries are usually the result of a sudden muscular action such as reaching out for a tennis shot.

Where is the plantaris located?

The plantaris starts just above the lateral head of the gastrocnemius muscle and runs beneath the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles located near the inner (medial border) of the Achilles tendon and attaches to the medial side of the Calcaneus (heel bone).

How to treat a ruptured Achilles tendon?

Once the diagnosis is confirmed and Achilles tendon rupture ruled out, the following treatments are effective for reducing pain and swelling, and speeding recovery: 1 Ice and compression. 2 Soft tissue manipulation and massage to directly stimulate repair. 3 Elastic support (e.g., ACE, TEDs stocking, Tubigrip) from foot to knee. 4 Patient can use crutches in the early phase if weight bearing is painful. 5 Physical therapy with range of motion exercises and soft tissue manipulation followed by a gradual strengthening program is an important aspect of management.

How long does it take for a plantar plate to heal?

Plantar Plate Surgery Recovery. Typically recovery after direct repair of the plantar plate is about 4-8 weeks in healthy people. The plantar plate is strong ligament that takes time to heal, and there is no way dramatically expedite the healing process.

What is plantar plate injury?

What Is A Plantar Plate Injury Of The Toe? A plantar plate injury refers to damage to the strong supporting ligament of a toe, located on ball of foot. The plantar plate is not an ordinary ligament as it’s a thick structure that provides significant stability to the toe.

Where is the pain on the bottom of the foot?

In a peer-reviewed article published by Dr. Blitz in the Journal of Foot & Ankle Surgery, he indicates that the pain is often located closer to the toe on the bottom of the foot, rather than directly on the ball of the foot. This is because the plantar plate tear or injury occurs very close to where the ligament attaches to the bone on the toe.

Can plantar plate tears be repaired?

Plantar plate tears can be repaired with surgery. Both acute and chronic injuries can be fixed. The method of repair mainly depends on extent of injury to plantar plate ligament, cause of tear, time from injury, the presence of a toe contracture (hammer toe), and overall biomechanical foot structure.

Can a plantar plate tear cause a hammer toe?

A plantar plate tear can render the toe unstable, and if not treated develop into hammer toe problem. Chronic Injury: A chronic plantar plate injury is very different than an acute injury. Here the plantar plate (ligament) will have micro-tears and stretch out over time.

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Cause

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The main cause is usually abnormally high amount of pressure on the associated metatarsophalangeal joint (MPJ region). This causes strain and eventually tears the plantar plate region. That results in the instability and pain in the joint that most patients report. Although plantar plate tears can occur suddenl…
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Symptoms

  • Pain can be described as a dull ache or a sharp pain in the ball of the foot and it may feel as though there is not enough cushion between the bone and the ground
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Diagnosis

  • Your doctor will move and manipulate the troubled toe joint into several different positions to evaluate the amount of deformity and the location of the pain. Often there's inflammation and pain at the plantar aspect of the sulcus distal to the metatarsal head and pain at the base of the proximal phalanx. There is a way to test the integrity of the ligament, called the Lachmans test o…
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Treatment

  • In the early stages of the plantar plate injury, conservative treatments can be successful. The first step is to identify and stop the activity that is causing the injury. Treatment initially consists of icing, NSAIDs, relative rest, plantarflexion strapping of the digit and accommodative padding to reduce loads under the affected metatarsophalangeal joint. In acute cases, your doctor may pre…
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Results

  • Because plantar plate repair surgery rarely requires operating only on the plantar plate, the HAT-TRICK takes an innovative approach to the three distinct portions of the surgery. The result is a significant increase in success rates. While we always exhaust conservative treatment options first, should surgery be needed, you will be in the best hands. Our physicians worked directly wit…
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Purpose

  • The HAT-TRICK device not only allows for effective repair of the plantar plate and realignment of the toe, but also allows for collateral ligament repair. In many cases of plantar plate tear, the collateral ligaments on the sides of the toes have torn as an adjunct to the plantar plate and proper repair of these ligaments is essential.
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Clinical significance

  • Occasionally, the plantar plate may be very badly damaged and not reparable. In such cases, the flexor tendon from the bottom of the toe is wrapped around the top of the toe to hold the toe in joint. No loss of function is noted with this flexor tendon transfer. No pin is used in order to avoid arthritis and allow early physical therapy. With proper care, patients return to full activity with littl…
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Prognosis

  • If signs and symptoms of a plantar plate irritation are caught early, the prognosis of conservative treatment is improved with things such as:
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Prevention

  • Patients with certain biomechanical factors that put additional pressure in the forefoot should have an orthotic to distribute pressure away from the problem area. Increased pressure on the forefoot from biomechanical factors such as a long 2nd metatarsal, elevated 1st metatarsal, or short 1st metatarsal, can be minimized with the proper orthotics. Athletes and runners should h…
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Risks

  • Certain shoes will cause increased pressure on the forefoot. Many running shoes will have a rocker forefoot that offloads pressure away from the ball of the foot. Flexible shoes, such as shoes used for barefoot running, will often put additional pressure on the forefoot, placing the patient at risk for developing a plantar plate tear.
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Facilities

  • In addition to our on-site imaging, we have our own brace and orthotic manufacturing, on-site physical therapy clinic and state-of-the-art operating rooms. This allows us to coordinate all services and specialties for our patients in a single location and allows for your team of doctors and therapists to communicate directly and regularly about your treatment plan. We have treate…
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