Best exercise for plantar plate sprain in runners

The plantar plate ligament is a little ligament on the bottom of the ball of the foot, right where the toe attaches to the foot. The function of the plantar plate ligament is to reinforce the joint and support the toe by helping to hold it down against the ground.
Anatomically, the plantar plate ligament resists the motion doctors call “dorsiflexion,” where the toe gets pulled up away from the ground.
Even though the plantar plate ligament is really small, its function is vital.
Doing exercises to help support the plantar plate, can help to decrease some load on the ligament.
Today on the Doc On The Run Podcast, we’re talking about the single most effective exercise to support the plantar plate in runners.

[@AllisonButler-bz2fn]

Could you please show a video of the actual exercise?

[@poen4565]

It would be helpful if you could demo the exercise with an actual foot.

[@sibbles53]

Excellent !!! I wish my podiatrist had explained this and given me this exercise 5 years ago !!! I’m almost back to normal now although can’t run so will work on this now + Thank you !

[@DocOnTheRun]

Glad you found it helpful!

[@Kelly_Ben]

Holy crap, every video I've seen with the towel toe scrunch shows to buckle the knuckle, that's how I've been doing it. I've recovered a lot, but my progress seems to have stopped. Thanks for the tip!

[@DocOnTheRun]

Glad you found it helpful. Thank you for your comment and sharing your experience with others!

[@themovingdance2744]

This is so important. I have the 2nd hammertoe and pain in the joint. I also have loose ligaments and the 2 nd toe is drifting towards the big toe. I checked I can tape the toe down as well as buddy tape. The 3 rd toe joint is soooo painful as a physio got me doing calf raises and flexion on a metal step. No rational to that and I strained my plantar plate. It s now sore so I ve been resting it. The nhs surgeon I saw argued with me and said it was metatarsalgia. I went to a sport physio - he said plantar plate instability and he found the pain in the toe joint not the forefoot. I was so angry with the nhs surgeon, the orthotist and podiatrist as they didn’t t listen to - gave me the wrong exercises and damaged my foot. I complained- will they learn - probably not - they said they did nothing wrong. Have I got confidence in them - NO !!!

[@veganjess94062]

Thank you for this helpful content! I really appreciated your precise explanation. I am changing my exercises because of it.

[@DocOnTheRun]

So glad you found it helpful! Thank you for watching and for commenting.

[@raylenwilliams5036]

Thank you for this!

[@DocOnTheRun]

My pleasure! thank you for watching and commenting.

[@johnmccormack471]

How to strengthen plater plate by not buckling toes hammer toe

[@anniwilson2534]

I believe this is exercise is known as making a short foot … but why can’t you show this with an actual foot?!

[@emmaehrlich6135]

Oh no…I have both a plantar plate injury and a hammertoe. Is this exercise safe to do?

[@DocOnTheRun]

Thanks for watching and commenting! I can't say whether or not it is safe for you to do, without talking to you and discussing in detail. We could get on webcam call or phone call today or tomorrow to help you figure out. But you also might get a lot out of the Plantar Plate Masterclass (its about half an hour) so you can get a much better understanding of plantar plate injuries. You can get it here: www.docontherun.com/plantarplatemasterclass/

[@emmaehrlich6135]

Thanks, I’ll check out the masterclass! I have a podiatrist appt next week, but if I still have questions I’ll make an appointment with you. Much appreciated!

[@jeremygeorge2935]

This would be so much more helpful if you could show what your foot is supposed to look like in the exercise.

[@DocOnTheRun]

Hey Jeremy, thank you for watching and for commenting! Thank you also for the suggestion.

[@shanes.9089]

Agreed. I have a small plantar plate tear and my podiatrist told me along with dozens of videos on youtube ive seen from doctors to do the pull the paper towel exercise which seems to me buckles the knuckle so without having a demonstration of the actual exercise hes talking about this video is not good.

[@heymrguitarman7637]

Damn this video had so much potential to help people but failed miserably due to not showing the actual foot exercise. I've no doubt the info is 100% correct but without a proper demonstration it's 100% useless and potentially even dangerous if people interpret it wrong 🙃🙃

[@DocOnTheRun]

Thank you for watching and I'm sorry you didn't find it helpful.

[@simont6439]

Unwise to do this video without an actual demonstration of the exercise. Specially since it's such an un-common one.

[@DocOnTheRun]

Thanks for your comments.

[@themovingdance2744]

It is called tenting or doming. It is a standard exercise