Doc On The Run Podcast

What is the fastest way to calm down extensor tenosynovitis when you are a runner trying to keep training?

In this episode of the Doc On The Run Podcast, Dr. Christopher Segler explains his personal “secret weapon” for reducing inflammation in extensor tenosynovitis and helping runners get back to training faster.

Extensor tenosynovitis happens when the tendon sheaths on the top of the foot become irritated and inflamed. It can become painful with every step, every toe movement, and every run.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What extensor tenosynovitis actually is
•...

If you have a stress fracture and you’re trying to figure out whether it is safe to run again, should you get an MRI or a CT scan?

Many runners assume there is one perfect imaging test that can tell them exactly when they are cleared to run.

Unfortunately, it is not that simple.

In this episode of the Doc On The Run Podcast, Dr. Christopher Segler explains the real difference between MRI scans and CT scans for stress fractures, what each test actually shows, and why imaging alone often does not gi...

What happens when a former professional triathlete and endurance coach suddenly develops a painful plantar plate sprain?

In this episode of the Doc On The Run Podcast, Dr. Christopher Segler speaks with Marcus, a former professional triathlete and current triathlon coach from Brazil, during a real running injury strategy call focused on plantar plate injuries in runners and triathletes.

Marcus had to cancel an upcoming 45K trail race after developing sudden pain under the ball of the foot consistent with a plantar plate sprain. During the call, they discuss how plantar plate injuries develop, why...

If you have popping or clicking around the outside of your ankle, do you actually need peroneal tendon surgery?

Not necessarily.

In this episode of the Doc On The Run Podcast, Dr. Christopher Segler explains the 5 reasons runners might actually consider surgery for painful popping peroneal tendons—and why many runners may not need surgery at all.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What the peroneal tendons actually do
• Why peroneal tendons pop or click
• When popping is actually dangerous
• The difference between painful instability and harmless clicking
• Why so...

How do you know if your stress reaction just turned into a stress fracture?

That’s one of the most important questions a runner can ask—because once there’s a crack in the bone, everything changes.

In this episode of the Doc On The Run Podcast, Dr. Christopher Segler explains the 5 key signs that indicate your stress reaction may have progressed into a true stress fracture.

Understanding these signs can help you avoid making the injury worse and make smarter decisions about training and recovery.

In this episode, you’ll learn:<...

If you have plantar fasciitis and you’re trying to keep running, you’ve probably been told to stretch, rest, or stop running altogether.

But what if the solution is much simpler?

In this episode of the Doc On The Run Podcast, Dr. Christopher Segler explains the one simple trick he personally used to fix his plantar fasciitis while training for Ironman races—without stopping running.

This episode breaks down how small biomechanical changes can dramatically reduce stress on the plantar fascia and allow healing while maintaining fitness.

In this episode, you’ll...

If you have a calcaneal stress fracture and a 100-mile race on your calendar, the question is simple…

Can you still run it?

In this episode of the Doc On The Run Podcast, Dr. Christopher Segler lets you listen in on a real strategy call with an ultrarunner trying to decide whether he can complete a 100-mile race in just over two months after being diagnosed with a calcaneal stress fracture.

This episode breaks down the real risks, the real decisions, and the exact strategy needed to balance healing with maintaining fitness.

...

What do you do if you’ve been training for months and suddenly get a stress fracture right before your race?

In this episode, I explain the four real options runners have when they don’t want to cancel—and how to think about risk, recovery, and still crossing the finish line.

If you want a clearer way to assess your injury, get the free Stress Fracture or Injury Self-Assessment Worksheet at:
https://www.stressfracturesecrets.com/mistake

If you have been out of running for weeks with a fibular stress fracture and the pain is gone, but you still feel a little pressure at the injury site, should you wait until you are 100% symptom-free before trying to jog again?

That is the question in this episode of the Doc On The Run Podcast.

In this episode, Dr. Christopher Segler explains why the answer is not based on time alone. Just because you have stopped running for four to six weeks does not automatically mean the bone is ready for impact. What matters...

If your doctor told you that you have a plantar plate injury, did they mean stress, strain, or sprain?

Those terms sound similar, but they mean very different things when you are trying to heal and still run.

In this episode of the Doc On The Run Podcast, Dr. Christopher Segler explains the biomechanical difference between plantar plate stress, plantar plate strain, and plantar plate sprain, and why understanding those terms can help you avoid delayed healing, unnecessary time off, and long-term toe instability.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

If you have peroneal tendon pain and one doctor says your MRI shows a tear while another says it is just post-surgical change, what are you supposed to do?

That kind of conflicting advice can leave runners completely stuck. You do not want unnecessary surgery, but you also do not want to keep training on a tendon that may actually be torn.

In this episode of the Doc On The Run Podcast, Dr. Christopher Segler explains a practical framework runners can use when MRI findings and medical opinions do not match.

In this...

When is it actually safe to start loading a stress fracture again?

In this episode, Dr. Christopher Segler explains how runners can think about progressive bone loading without making the injury worse. He covers why “just rest” is incomplete advice, why pain relief does not equal full healing, the 3 phases of stress fracture recovery, and the biggest mistake runners make when they try to return too soon.

If you have a stress fracture and your doctor starts talking about X-ray grading systems, you may think that grading is the key to deciding whether you can run, cross-train, or still make it to your race.

But for runners, X-ray grading is often not the most useful thing at all.

In this episode, Dr. Christopher Segler explains the two things that matter more than X-ray grading of a stress fracture:

Your goal, and the true severity of the injury.

He explains why most imaging reports do not actually answer the...

If you feel an unusual ache in your foot during marathon or triathlon training, you might worry that you have a stress fracture. But many runners actually develop a stress reaction before a true stress fracture occurs.

The problem is that runners often ignore the early warning signs. They experiment with shorter runs, slower workouts, or simply hope the discomfort goes away.

In this episode of the Doc On The Run Podcast, Dr. Christopher Segler explains three critical first aid steps runners should take immediately when they suspect a stress reaction in the foot.

If you suspect a metatarsal stress fracture but your most important marathon is on the calendar, you need a plan—not panic. In this episode, Dr. Christopher Segler explains the only two questions that determine whether you can keep training (or even race) without making the stress fracture worse, plus what you should measure and track starting today.

If you think you have a stress fracture, you’re probably wondering how long it will take to heal — and when you can run again.

In this episode, Dr. Christopher Segler explains the three stages of bone healing, why early protection matters, why pain can disappear before the bone is strong, and how to safely apply stress at the right time so you don’t restart the healing clock.

If you want to heal faster and protect your race, this episode is for you.

If you’re a runner dealing with a stress fracture, you’ve probably been told to “just stop running” and come back in six to eight weeks. But that advice completely ignores the way runners think. In this episode, Dr. Christopher Segler is going to walk you through the crucial questions every runner with a stress fracture should be asking—but that most doctors never do. We’re talking about what might actually be slowing your healing down, what you could be doing right now to maintain your running fitness, and what objective metrics you should be tracking so you know exa...

When does a metatarsal stress reaction actually show up on imaging? In this episode of the Doc On The Run Podcast, Dr. Christopher Segler explains the difference between a stress response, stress reaction, and true stress fracture—and why timing matters when choosing X-rays, MRI, ultrasound, or CT scans. Learn how early imaging can help you make smarter race decisions, avoid false reassurance from a “normal” X-ray, and protect your fitness without turning a minor stress reaction into a full fracture.

Can you still run a race if you have a stress fracture—or will it permanently set you back? In this episode of Doc On The Run, Dr. Christopher Segler answers the most urgent question injured runners ask when a big event is approaching: can I still run my race with a stress fracture? You’ll learn how to assess risk, distinguish pain from damage, and make a clear decision without sabotaging your long-term recovery.

How much walking is too much when you have a tibial stress fracture? In this episode of Doc On The Run, Dr. Christopher Segler breaks down how runners can safely stay active while healing, explains the key differences between Fredrickson Grade 1 and Grade 2 tibial stress fractures, and outlines the two critical factors that determine how fast you can recover—without making the injury worse.

Today I was on a strategy call with an injured, but recovering runner who is trying to figure out how to organize his workouts to get strong quickly, without re-injuring his stress fracture.

He was headed in the right direction, but was making a critical mistake when trying to do more with split workouts. It’s not about splitting workouts. 

It's all about the stressors that are applied to the stress out bone. But this also applies to other overtrain injuries like Achilles tendinitis, perennial, tendinitis, or plantar plate sprains.

 <...

The Walk-Run Routine is likely the most overprescribed and least understood plan for returning to running after an overtraining injury like a metatarsal stress fracture for a plantar plate sprain. 

But the commutative forces that result from that specific routine may put your foot at unnecessary risk of re-injury. Understanding how and why those unique stresses happen may help you make better decisions about your first few runs after you feel your stress fracture or plantar plate sprain has healed enough to resume running. 

Today on the Doc On The Run podc...

Kettlebell workouts can be a great way to maintaining strength, even if you have a running injury. 

If you are a runner who has an overtraining injury like a metatarsal stress fracture or a plantar plate sprain, you are probably doing everything you can to keep the rest of your running body strong, while that one injured part heals. 

Kettlebell training can help, as long as you don’t let those kettlebell workouts overload that injury to the ball of the foot.

You have to pay close attenti...

This morning I was on a webcam call with a runner who had healed a fracture and started running again. He has been running every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with cross-training in between.  

Now he is ready to add a fourth running workout to his weekly training schedule. 

The question is: 

“What day of the week is best to add an additional run, because I want to make sure I don’t overload the healing tissue and re-injure it.”

Today on the Doc On The Run po...

The half-ass boot routine is no good. Slow improvement with unnecessarily increased risk of atrophy, weakness, stiffness, loss of neuromuscular connections, and destruction of your running form. Your running form, your strength, your flexibility, all protect you from another overtraining injury. 

When you wear a fracture walking boot for a long time inconsistently, or a long time walking on it, you're going to get more of those bad things. 

The other thing that is good, the sort of polar opposite of that, is a half-ass weight routine. 

Whaat is that...

The biggest enemy in the injured runner’s battle is your desire to run as fast or faster than you were right before you got injured.

This morning I was on a call with a recovering elite Masters athlete and she has been doing great, but she seems to be drifting into dangerous territory! 

During our call, I got worried about the way she was thinking about her upcoming workouts. But was thinking was very common, and very dangerous. And that is the reason I decided to record this episode.

Today on the Doc...

This morning I was on a consultation call with a runner at 4:30 a.m. and he's been suffering from a plantar plate injury.  But he's been doing pretty well. He actually just finished his first run!

Now, what I asked him about was his plan for his next run. What he said, made me uneasy. 

It seemed risky, and I started kind of squirming as he was describing his plan to me. It wasn't really a bad plan. It wasn't really a crazy plan. But based on all the experience I have working with injured ru...

Runners glorify the suffering needed to keep moving in spite of pain, and the payoff is almost always increased fitness, and improvements and mental fortitude needed for running endurance.

No pain, no gain is a terrible approach when you are an injured runner. If you really want to get back to training, racing in full return to running fitness as fast as possible after a running injury you have to stop causing pain in that one injured part. Do not confuse that with stopping running-related exercise. That's the lazy doctor's way. 

In this episode, we d...

Today on the Doc On The Run Podcast we are talking about Mental Rehab for Recovering Runners with Mental Skills Coach Carrie Jackson.

It may sound dramatic, but in reference to doctors casually telling runners they just cannot run a race (when maybe the runner could run), or worse…they may never run again, Carrie says, “These doctors have no idea the trauma they are causing to the runner by saying that.”

Carrie co-authored “Rebound: Train Your Mind to Bounce Back Stronger from Sports Injuries.” So, she is not just empathetic toward runners, she is 100% qualified...

Today on the Doc On The Run Podcast we are talking with Dr. Samantha Braun about training fro Ultra’s, running Hell’s Hills and how her training as a Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine Physician helps her avoid overtraining injuries. How do you think you're training in rehabilitation help you understand your own mechanics, physical training limits and overtraining injury prevention while training for Ultra’s?  During the 50 mile trail race, what did you do to restore a more positive mindset and keep running to your potential? Knowing what you know now, what would you do differently to prevent that in...

Over the past couple of months I have done a whole bunch of stress fracture strategy calls with runners who seem to be stuck. I take notes every time I do those calls and there're number of steps that all of them seem to be missing. Let's face it, if they weren't missing some critical steps, we would've never gotten on a call to try to figure out a strategy to get them back on the path to healing and running again.

In this episode I'm going to explain the five critical stress fracture steps every runner...

I just got off of a Stress Fracture Strategy call with a real runner who has been suffering from a stress fracture for 47 days. 

Over the past five weeks she has been getting worse, not better.

And she hasn’t even been running for more than a month!

If you have a stress fracture, or a stress reaction and you are:

1. worried about canceling race because of a stress fracture
2. your stress fracture is not getting better fast enough
3. worried you're going to lose your running fitness waiting for the...

Today on the Doc On The Run Podcast we are talking with Alexandre Dufresne about his journey and getting back to running after having suffered 2 metatarsal stress fractures at same time!

If you think back about your training leading up to the 2 stress fractures, if you could go back in time, do you think there's any one thing you could have changed in your training routine that might have prevented it from developing into such a serious problem? Listen up to find out!

Today on the Doc On The Run Podcast we are talking with Patrick Durante about Automatic Negative Thoughts and how they affect runners.

Many years ago I was having a discussion about daily stressors with a friend of mine name Maury. He said something I have never forgotten.

“It's not the lions and tigers that will get you. It's the ants and mosquitoes because problems.”

Every single over training injury that afflicts runners as a consequence of developing too much stress. The constant buzzing of mosquitoes and ants ma...

If you're a runner with a stress fracture you're probably trying to figure out everything you can do right now this going to speed up healing of the injured bone, so you can get back to running as soon as possible.

If you have been thinking about bone broth or nutritional supplements like vitamin D and calcium you already know how important it is to get the nutritional building blocks into your system so your osteoblast cells can't start repairing and rebuilding the crack in the bone.

Did you know there's ac...

No matter what injury you have, it could be a stress fracture or it could be tendinitis or it could be a sprained ligament, but whatever you do you have to sure you don't get re-injured, because that could be brutally demoralizing!

Because most runners think jogging is a lot easier than “real running” you might presume it's a lot safer for you to just start jogging to test out your state of recovery.

Today on the Doc On The Run Podcast, we’re talking about why jogging is a terrible way to test the state...

Hussein asked me an interesting question. He said, 

“I fractured my tibia and fibula. Is it normal after 50 days the fracture is still visible under x-ray, but I am walking with crutches and putting partial weight bearing without any pain or discomfort? My treatment was with a fiberglass cast without any surgery since the bones were not displaced.”

Is it normal for a fracture to be visible on my x-ray after 50 days? 

Well, that is a great question and that is what we're talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast. 

If you have a high arched foot that is prone to getting stress fractures, a podiatrist may have told you that you need cushy running shoes.

I got a question from someone who was given that advice. She said,

“I am so confused, I thought stress fractures were from pounding. I got a stress fracture, and my doc said it was my cushy shoes. I do not understand how this is true.”

How do cushy running shoes cause stress fractures in the foot? 

Well, that is a great question and that is wh...

I talk to lots of runners who have been given very bad advice. 

If you are reading this, you are probably a runner, and you have probably had to deal with some kind of injury that interfered with your running.

If you have seen a doctor, I am very curious to know what advice you got.

Sometimes I am curious if the "bad advice" is what the doctor said, or if it is just a misinterpretation of what the doctor said to the runner. 

Today on the Doc On The Run Po...

Today's episode comes from Jordan, who was watching a video called “Proof you do not have to stop running with a metatarsal stress response”.

Jordan wanted to know, “Do you think treadmill at a 5% incline will take some of the stress off the tibia?”

Can a 5% incline on your treadmill reduce the stress on a tibial stress fracture? 

Well, that is a great question, and that is what we're talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast.