Plantar Plate Tear? Never heard the term but realized I’d cured it naturally years ago!
I’m a curious woman, so when I learned that Joyce was diagnosed with Plantar Plate Tear and that she was having issues with both the pain and the treatment, I decided to check it out.
“Plantar” refers to the sole (bottom) of the foot. The “plate” is a ligament on the sole. A ligament is tough, strong tissue that holds bones together.
And, a “tear” or rip means the ligament was detached from bone.
When the ligament is not holding the toe bones in the foot in their correct place, those bones can shift. When they’re not where they’re supposed to be, it causes pain or discomfort.
So, now we know basically what Plantar Plate Tear is.
What are the symptoms of PPT?
I discovered that the symptoms are EXACTLY those that I had about twenty years ago on a vacation!
While the symptoms of Plantar Plate Tear can vary, they’re all in the same area of the foot and include pain, swelling, toe drift or movement of the second toe upward or toward the big toe, pain when walking or putting your foot on the floor as though there’s a marble below the ball of your foot…
My eyes were getting big! I didn’t have a diagnosis but I had been to my primary doctor because it hurt so badly to walk. I wanted a referral to a podiatrist but instead she gave me this (bad) advice:
“Buy a pad with a hole in it for the bottom of your foot and put the hole under the bone that sticks out.”
I’m a logical woman and I knew that if I did this it would simply allow the protruding bone on the bottom of my foot TO KEEP PROTRUDING. And keep hurting!
We don’t want to support dysfunction. We want to eliminate it.
So, I was on my own. What to do?
What was my solution that cured Plantar Plate Tear Naturally?
It was the OPPOSITE of what the doctor recommended!
I did buy pads for the bottom of my foot.
I taped them to the ball of my foot and I created extra thick padding under the “dropped bone” that felt like a marble.
I PUSHED THE BONE UP, BACK WHERE IT BELONGED!
My goal was to NOT have pain when I walked. That meant getting rid of the dysfunction in my foot. This was the natural solution that cured my Plantar Plate Tear!
How long did it take to naturally cure the Plantar Plate Tear?
I kept the thick padding under the ball of my foot, pushing the bone back into place, for about seven or eight weeks.
By that time, the ligament and surrounding tissues had healed and were doing their job again.
Ok, remember, I didn’t have a diagnosis. I didn’t know I had a tear in my plantar plate. I didn’t know WHY it felt like a painful marble under the ball of my foot and hobbled when I walked.
But sometimes we have to be our own diagnostician and therapist.
I’m fortunate that I have the background in manual therapy that I do and that I know as much about bodies and how they function.
In Joyce’s case, and the case of others who seek out medical help hoping for relief, they may or may not have that relief. There are many variables but I always believe we have to look for the CAUSE of the pain or dysfunction and treat that. So, it all depends on the training, personal history and outlook of the doctor providing care.
There are devices that medical people created to try to help with PPT. I heard that Joyce is trying to use one but it’s causing a blister and isn’t comfortable.
As you can see in my foot photo, my second toe still drifts toward my big toe. Sometimes, I do nice, gentle stretches away from the big toe. But, no pain. And that’s the goal. No pain from Plantar Plate Tear.
This is for Joyce. You deserve to feel better!
2 replies on “How to Heal Plantar Plate Tear Naturally”
This makes sense to me, and I always exhaust natural options first.
I’d love to get more details:
The padding used, how it was fashioned and affixed. Did she take it off to shower? Did she do anything besides the padding, like if she felt the bone going back up, did she apply any manual pressure? How has it been since the “cure”? Does she now wear any special shoes?
Does she have any idea as to why it happened in the first place?
Hi El, All good questions about the plantar plate tear/bone “drop” on the ball of the foot!
The padding is called mole skin. It’s a thicker type of bandage that can be cut to size, and can be built up by layering to be as thick as you want. You want it to actually push the bone/joint slightly higher than the surrounding joints. It’s self-stick. Wear it in or out of shoes. If it unsticks in shower, just apply fresh mole skin layers. You may also tape it into place.
It’s also fine to roll the foot on a tennis ball or golf ball or apply pressure manually to help press back “up”.
It’s been probably 15 years or more since this problem occurred and the joint/bone has never dropped again.
No special shoes but always comfortable athletic type shoes are preferred. Flip flops with built in arch supports are also worn sometimes.
A problem with orthotic devices that are custom made is often that they are designed to allow the dysfunction to continue, rather than to correct. As the doctor suggested, to create a depression to take the pressure off rather than move the bone back into place. That was literally a Band-Aid rather than a cure.
I’m guessing that in the first place, the Plantar Plate Tear may have happened from uneven pressure on the sole of the foot, perhaps from walking barefoot on uneven surfaces or from twisting the foot accidentally. When it first happened, it was noticeable because of the discomfort.
I always exhaust natural options first, also! Makes good sense.
Thank you for your questions!