A runner with a stress fracture called me for a telemedicine visit because she was confused.

The doctor told her that she has a stress fracture. But there was no crack on the xray.

The doctor said she only had a “periosteal reaction” which suggested she had a metatarsal stress fracture.

She wanted to know if a periosteal reaction meant the foot was really broken, or not.

The periosteal reaction is one of the earliest findings that you can see on your xray when you have a stress fracture in one of the metatarsal bones in your foot, before you even see a crack.

Today on the Doc On The Run YouTube Channel we're talking about periosteal reaction in a runner with a stress fracture.