Recovering from Running Injuries: Common Mistakes, How to Find the Best Therapist, and a Look at Chiropractic and Acupuncture

Being sidelined by injury is physically and emotionally hard to deal with. Unfortunately, getting injured is also very common. Recent research estimates that 82 percent of runners will get injured at some point in their running career. It’s no secret then that getting to the bottom of your running injuries, and preventing them in the future, is critical if you want to continue to improve long-term.

We’ve covered the topic of injury prevention in many of our previous podcasts and articles. But, what happens when you are injured? Who should you go see, what are the best types of treatments, and how do you know when you’re working with a provider you can trust and won’t just tell you to “stop running”?

Thanks to a lot of bad advice, antiquated myths, and a fractured health care system, answering these questions, especially as they pertain to your running, is extremely difficult.

On today’s show, we’re talking with Dr. Ryan Shum, who’s one of the most experienced and knowledgeable sports-injury providers in the Boston area. Dr. Shum graduated with honors from McMaster University with a degree in Kinesiology and later went on to obtain dual degrees with a Masters of Science in Applied Clinical Nutrition and a Doctorate of Chiropractic. I’ll spare you the remainder of his accomplishments, teams worked with, and experiences to get on with the show (you can read them all here). However, suffice it to say he’s easily one of the most versatile and knowledgeable practitioners I’ve ever met.

In this episode, we discuss:

• The most common mistake runners make when they first get injured and how being more proactive can reduce healing times dramatically.

• How to properly vet a potential doctor, therapist or chiropractor to ensure they understand your needs as a runner

• We break down some of the myths about chiropractic care and how it can benefit runners.

• We look at acupuncture, debunk some of the myths, explain the science, and help you decide if it’s a worthwhile treatment option for your injury.

This was a fantastic interview and we’re excited about the possibility of having Dr. Shum return to the show and answer your questions. If you have questions or feedback for Dr. Shum, please leave them in the comments section here. We’ll make sure to ask them in our follow-up interview.

Watch this week’s show now