Elizabeth Karr PT, DPT

If you want to skip to the punchline of this article, the answer is, "Yes." Physical Therapy can be helpful for almost anyone, whether as a stand alone intervention, or as part of a team approach with other medical providers.

When I share that I am a runner, I am sometimes met with worried looks and “aren’t you worried about your knees?” Similarly, I have heard clients say things along the lines of “I know at my age I probably need to stop running to protect my knees,” or “I used to run a lot in my 20s but I wore my knees out,” or “I’d like to get back to running but I don’t want to destroy my knees.” Many people hold the belief that our knees have a set lifespan, and that running shortens the warranty on knee...

When an injury prevents a runner from doing the thing they love, running, it's natural to want to get back to training as soon as possible. That first clearance from the doctor to start a return to run program feels like the best green light ever! But sometimes there is a discrepancy between injury healing timeline (ie number of weeks post operation or post fracture) and the body's readiness. While the affected tissue may be healed, the body might not be ready or strong enough to handle the...