Sports Chiro Luke Nelson | Returning From Injury, Smarter Rehab & Building Resilient Runners

About this episode

Luke Nelson is back for one of our deepest conversations yet.

After the response to his first appearance on the podcast, we wanted to go beyond injury diagnosis and dive into the practical decisions that actually keep runners healthy and get them back to doing what they love.

We unpack why injuries are rarely as simple as they first appear, how stress, sleep and life outside of running influence recovery, and why return-to-run programs shouldn't finish the moment you can jog for 30 minutes.

Luke also shares how he approaches rebuilding trail runners, including when to reintroduce hills, technical terrain, speed work, strength training and plyometrics. Along the way we discuss the rise of AI coaching, why gait changes are often overprescribed, and the growing prevalence of low energy availability (LEA) and REDs in endurance athletes.

To finish, Luke opens up about his own injury and the lessons he's taking from experiencing rehab from the athlete's perspective.

In this episode we cover:

• Why most running injuries are more complex than they first appear.
• The role stress, sleep and life load play in pain and recovery.
• How to build an effective return-to-run program.
• Reintroducing hills, technical trails and speed after injury.
• When running gait matters, and when it probably doesn't.
• How strength training and plyometrics improve performance and resilience.
• The opportunities and limitations of AI-generated training plans.
• Recognising low energy availability (LEA) and RED-S.
• What Luke has learned from his own rehabilitation journey.

If you haven't already, we'd recommend listening to Luke's first appearance on the Pod before this episode, as the two conversations complement each other well.

Listen to the first Podcast on Spotify

Listen to the first Podcast on Apple

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Thanks for tuning in to Peak Pursuits! Connect with us on Instagram @peakpursuits.pod to share your thoughts, questions, and trail stories. Until next time, keep hitting the trails and chasing those peak pursuits!

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