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Chiropractor Lebanon Tennessee
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Ryan Moore, D.C.
Running Injury Specialist
Dr. Moore became interested in running before he knew he'd be working in healthcare. While in high school he began running 5Ks and half marathons as a way to stay fit. This spurred him to join his school's track and field team where he competed in long-distance events such as the one mile (1600 meter) and two mile (3200 meter) races.
Fast forward to the present day and Dr. Moore has combined his love of running with his love for helping patients with musculoskeletal injuries. After graduating from chiropractic school, he added to his foundational knowledge of anatomy and physiology and underwent additional training in lower extremity and running injuries in order to better understand why runners get injured and how to help them overcome these injuries and get back to running.
What Causes Running Injuries?
No two runners and therefore no two running injuries are exactly alike. Running is a complex chain of biomechanical movements, which requires multiple sets of muscles and joints working together to propel the body. Any of these muscles, joints, or even the soft tissue around them such as nerves, bursae, and fat pads, can develop problems i.e. injury. But even if two runners injure the same structure, the reason they develop that injury may not be the same. Some of the common reasons a running injury can occur include:
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Postural Asymmetry
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Stride/Gait Problem
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Core/Hip Instability
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Restricted Joints of the Leg or Spine
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Footwear
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Fallen Arch
The secret to our success in treating runners is taking the time to accurately diagnose their problem and addressing these underlying causes of their injury in addition to their pain.
What Running Injuries Do We Treat?
Some of the common running injuries treated in our office include:
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Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome (Runner's Knee)
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Plantar Fasciitis
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Achille's Tendonitis
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Shin Splints
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IT Band Syndrome
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Sciatica / Piriformis Syndrome
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Pinches Nerves / Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome
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Strains / Sprains
How Do We Treat Running Injuries?
As previously mentioned, every runner and their respective injury is unique. Therefore, we examine each runner carefully to identify not only the source of their pain but also the underlying contributing factors that may have caused the injury to occur. Depending on the injury our examination could include orthopedic testing to help diagnose the injured tissue, functional testing to assess for underlying causes or complications, walking and running gait analysis, postural examination, and/or diagnostic imaging.
Once we determine the runner's injury and any underlying problems we develop a tailored treatment plan using conservative therapies that will be most effective for the runner's problem. Conservative treatments we use include:
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Chiropractic Adjustments / Joint Manipulation of the spine or extremity to improve joint range of motion and relieve joint pain.
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Precise Manual Therapy to break up adhesions within muscles, reduce compression of nerves, and stimulate healing in degenerated tissue.
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Rehab Stretches and Exercises to improve function, allow proper healing, and reduce the likelihood of re-injury.
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Dry Needling to reduce muscle tension or stimulate healing of chronic injuries such as plantar fasciitis, tendinosis, and myofascitis.
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Laser Therapy to stimulate tissue healing.
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Custom Orthotics to treat problems stemming from fallen arches, flat feet, or other foot dysfunctions.
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Kinesio-taping to help re-train proper movement patterns and reduce pain.
These therapies will be used throughout the runner's treatment plan which may last a few days to a few weeks depending on the type of injury. Our end goal is always for our runners to get back to running feeling even better than they did before their injury, with knowledge and strategies aimed at preventing running injuries in the future.
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