The End Of Pain?
Sports medicine experts are developing bold, surgery-free TECHNIQUES to tackle running injuries. Here’s a guide to five CUTTING- EDGE THERAPIES
When it comes to treating serious running injuries, science is leading the way
Shas come a long way PORTS MEDICINE since the 1960s, when Runner’s World was first published over in the US. Back then, runners with a muscular or joint injury were given a little RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation) – and that’s about it. X-rays detected fractures, which usually landed a runner in a hard cast and immobile for weeks. Today there are many more diagnostic and treatment options available. From bone scans to MRIS, from biomechanical video analysis to gait retraining, and from muscle stimulation to Kinesio tape, sports medicine practitioners have more tools than ever at their disposal to heal runners and keep them healthy.
And that’s just the beginning. Researchers continue striving to develop advanced therapies that are more effective and that give a non-surgical option to athletes with persistent injuries.
‘The field is really at a fascinating juncture,’ says sports medicine specialist Dr Joseph Mcginley. ‘ We are starting to treat conditions that once required surgery and significant downtime with minimally invasive therapies.’
While the development of cuttingedge treatments is exciting, the research on some of them is relatively new and the results thus far are mixed, says chiropractic sports physician Dr John Ball. ‘This doesn’t mean some of these treatments can’t be effective, but they should be used as a last resort, for injuries that haven’t responded to traditional therapies,’ he says.
Of course, it’s every runner’s dream to stay pain-free so there’s never need for any advanced interventions. But in case you aren’t so lucky, there’s value in knowing what might be available to you down the road – to ensure you get back on the road.