“You have to look at everything from the ground up to see if an area needs to be strengthened or mobilized,” says Dr. Josh Sanchez, a sports chiropractor and strength and conditioning specialist, as he breaks down the complexities of anterior knee pain. He emphasizes the importance of a comprehensive assessment, considering factors like muscle strength, IT band syndrome, and overall mechanics.

In this episode, Dr. Sanchez joins Brad Miles to discuss running injuries, rehabilitation, and the critical role of strength training for runners. He shares insights from his experience with the Bowerman Track Club Elite and his personal battles with quadricep tendonitis and a fibular stress fracture.

Dr. Sanchez emphasizes the need for balanced muscle strength, particularly between the quadriceps and hamstrings, to prevent common running injuries. He offers practical advice on exercises like single-leg Romanian deadlifts and Nordic hamstring curls to target these muscles effectively.

This episode underscores the value of a gradual reintroduction to running and a holistic approach to injury prevention and recovery. Dr. Sanchez talks about using the Lever to gradually reintroduce running and focusing on volume over intensity to avoid re-injury. His story highlights the importance of strength training and a comprehensive approach to injury prevention and recovery for runners.

Quotes

• “If your hamstring is weak, if you think about it, you’re going to be way out in front. And so that means your arc, the amount of time and amount of tension and load that tendon and muscle complex take is going to be longer and experience potentially more force. So, you’re more likely to have anterior shin splints with having weak hamstrings is what I see a lot in clinical practice.” (19:05 | Dr. Josh Sanchez)

• “There’s a lot of influencers that post: ‘Here’s an exercise for this kind of thing,’ but you have to look at everything from the ground up to see like, does this area need to be strengthened or does this area need to be mobilized? And even if a patient or athlete has anterior knee pain doesn’t necessarily mean that they have weak hamstrings or quadriceps. They could have a strong hamstring quadricep ratio, but they could still have knee pain. We’ve just got to figure out where it’s coming from.” (23:03 | Dr. Josh Sanchez)

• “Find someone who works with runners or whatever sport you’re in and really break down your mechanics. It’s not just about the quads and hamstrings; it could be other things too. Someone can show you how to do exercises like Nordics or RDLs because you need to have stability before you can actually load up the area. If you’re all over the place and can’t concentrate that force, you won’t be effective. That’s why machines are helpful to start with.” (36:11 | Dr. Josh Sanchez)

Links

Connect with Josh Sanchez:

https://www.instagram.com/jsanchdc/

https://www.instagram.com/levermovement/

https://www.instagram.com/bradmiles/

https://levermovement.com/

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm