Injured Runners Clinic

The Boston Children’s Hospital Injured Runners Clinic is devoted to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of running-related injuries in runners of all ages and ability levels. Affiliated with Harvard Medical School, the Injured Runners Clinic is a partnership between Boston Children’s Sports Medicine Division and The Micheli Center for Sports Injury Prevention. Our multidisciplinary team provides evidence-based care developed from decades of running research.

When working with an injured runner, we assess all factors contributing to their injury, establish a recovery plan, and educate them on how to reduce their risk for injury in the future. We consider all aspects of a runners’ health, including their running gait mechanics, bone health, mental health, hormonal and metabolic health, and how a runner’s nutrition affects their performance.

Many of our patients come to us with joint, muscle, tendon, and bone injuries. Often these are due to overuse, accidents, or biomechanics. Conditions we specialize in include:

• Muscle and tendon strains
• Stress fractures
• Medial tibial stress syndrome (shin splints)
• Achilles and hamstring tendon problems
• Knee pain (patella tracking issues, IT band syndrome, etc.)
• Chronic exertional compartment syndrome
• Hip pain
• Lower back pain and sacroiliac joint pain
• Plantar fasciitis
• Relative energy deficiency in sport

At the Injured Runners Clinic, our team of clinicians and injury prevention specialists conducts a thorough physical and running gait evaluation for each patient. This helps us understand what factors contributed to the injury and how to correct them. We use cutting-edge technology, such as multiplanar video and force-plate treadmill analysis (a measurement of the impact of a runner’s foot against the ground), to gain a detailed understanding of the runner’s gait and possible problem areas.

Many of the injuries we treat may be caused by underlying running mechanics that can be corrected with proper training. Structural and biomechanical factors that commonly lead to musculoskeletal injury include:

• Faulty gait patterns including over striding, stiff landing, hip drop, and improper trunk lean
• Tight Achilles tendons
• Tight hamstrings
• Tight hip flexors
• Tight iliotibial band (IT band)
• Weak abdominal muscles
• Weak gluteal muscles

In addition to our team’s expertise in running gait mechanics analysis, the physicians in the Injured Runners Clinic use state-of-the art diagnostic and therapeutic interventions to diagnose and treat new or chronic injuries. The technologies we utilize in diagnosing and treating runners’ injuries may include sports ultrasound, compartment pressure testing, and ultrasound-guided injection procedures. When appropriate, we offer orthobiologic and regenerative medicine options, including platelet rich plasma (PRP), whole blood, and extracorporeal pulse activation technology (EPAT) to promote healing.

Our research continues to expand clinical understanding what contributes to running injuries and how to keep runners healthy.

Preventing injuries among runners

Though many runners are unaware of them, biomechanical running patterns can contribute to running injury. Using multiplanar video and force-plate treadmill data, we are investigating running gait patterns and how they may predispose runners to various types of injury. This research may help refine recommendations on ways to reduce injury risk while training and performing at a high level.