Iliotibial Band Syndrome in Runners Part 1
The IT band cannot be stretched … We need it to be tight and strong, like a ‘spring,’ to stabilize the hip and the knee during running
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Hip Labral Tear Treatment
I have found there is almost always…a way to work in the activity you love WHILE you’re recovering from a hip labral injury
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What Trans and Non-Binary Athletes Need to Know About RED-S
One of the best ways to catch the onset of RED-S is to be mindful about performance changes in response to increasing training loads.
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How to build strong ankles
If you’ve ever had multiple, or recurrent, ankle sprains, you’ve likely wondered “how can I make my ankles stronger and keep this from happening again?” Here are 3 ankle exercises for strong, sprain-resistant ankles. Single leg balance on foam Sometimes, balancing on foam can feel a bit mundane and baseless, especially for…
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Running While Pregnant
Dr. Ellie has driven home the point that women are not fragile. And this doesn’t change during pregnancy, despite many years of nonsense conventional wisdom that physical exertion can cause a miscarriage or preterm birth. While it is prudent to be cautious while pregnant, you are not suddenly a delicate flower. So, can you run…
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Optimizing Return to Running After Gender Affirming Bottom Surgery – For All Genders
Authors: Dr. Katie McGee, PT, DPT (they/she), with contribution from Kennie Q. Story, MS, ACSM-CPT (he/him/his) If you are a runner thinking about gender affirming bottom surgery, there can be a lot of unknowns. How long will it take to get back to running? Will I be as good of a runner as…
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5 Tips for Surviving as a Strong Woman in the Gym
As if being a woman isn’t hard enough on its own in this world, there comes a whole new set of challenges when it comes to being a woman in a gym setting. Raise your hand if you have ever been uncomfortable in the gym due to: the male gaze, fear of judgment, unwanted advice,…
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Physical therapists, coaches, and trainers: Have you missed RED-S in your athletes?
The first step in being able to identify relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S) in one of our athletes, as physical therapists, coaches or trainers, is to have an awareness of RED-S and what it is. You can start, by reading up on RED-S here. Part of understanding RED-S is knowing that we can’t…
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What is relative energy deficiency in sport?
Many women in the world of sport experience injury, fatigue, and over-training. Can we say that this is just the nature of sport & competition, or are we missing something? I truly believe that energy deficiency is widespread among athletes, particularly females, and is contributing to injuries and burn-out. To address it, we need…
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“Your core is weak” Expanded to “You need to lose weight to be pain-free”
Will this concept ever die? It was not long ago that Dr. Ellie wrote about the ridiculousness of hearing someone say that “your core is weak,” as an explanation for pain or, frankly, anything else. The idea has surfaced again except THIS time, it isn’t using your core as the reason for your pain. …
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“Your core is weak.”
…and your mouth is dirty, gtfo with that nonsense
Why being told you have a “weak” core is stupid and unhelpful.
Squat Like A Boss
Squats are a fundamental, compound exercise that EVERY female athlete benefits from working into her (their) routine regularly. From runners to footy players, squats are queen. It’s time for you to embrace your version of them.
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Pain in the Butt
Ahh yes, the ol’ pain in the butt: hurts to sit, hurts to run, hurts to stand. This little joy of an injury is a true pain in the arse.
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Shin Splints: What are they and what you can do to manage them
With social distancing measure in place, an increased number of people seem to be running. This increase in engagement has correlated with an uptick in a specific question sent my way: “What should I do about my shin splints?” I hate (and love) to say this, but it depends. Today, I want to discuss what shin splints are exactly, and review actionable steps you can take to start feeling better.
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STRENGTH TRAINING FOR WOMEN WHO RUN
Strength training for runners is like a black hole of information that comes with all sorts of nonsense.
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5 Lessons in Training for a 25k+
Last year (2019), I began training for my first ever 25k+ (17 mile) trail run. On Saturday, I ran it, placed 15th female and 2nd in my age group.
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Considerations for Female Athletes Part 2
Physiologically, here are a few things I think you need to know about being a female athlete.
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Considerations for Female Athletes Part 1: Fragility Narratives
The number one thing I hear from my physical therapy clients here in Seattle is, “I was told I’m weak.” Unfortunately this is a common theme amongst all of my female clients, that being, feelings of fragility.
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Exercises for runners with knee pain
I have found that there are a few key exercises that have been invaluable to the runners that I see and work with here in Seattle, WA.
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Things you need to know about transgender athletes
Transgender athletes are human beings. This fundamental truth is not up for debate. Transgender people are human beings, worthy of love and respect in this world.
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Achilles Tendinopathy
Two years ago I sustained an achilles tendon injury resulting in tendon pain with activity, specifically running.
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Stress Fractures in Female Runners
Under the pretense of Wolff’s law, one might deduce that as long as your bones are healthy (key word here…healthy), they’ll adapt to the stressors you place on them and even become stronger.
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So your low back “went out.” What now?
Have you ever “thrown out your low back?” Are you wondering what you can do to help?
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Confessions
As I look back on my time as a physical therapist, I am haunted by the harm that I am certain I caused.
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3 Common Training Pitfalls made by Female Runners
The most common misconception among female runners/athletes is that heavy lifting will make you get big.
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Dear Runner’s World, Women’s Health and Amanda McCracken
Day after day I am confronted with the sad reality that our medical system has created a sense of fragility in women all over the country.
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Are you having low back pain with deadlifting?
Are you having low back pain with the deadlift exercise?
Details#SISUSeattleACL Part 1: Removing Seeds of Doubt Following ACL Surgery
Doubt, is death to dreams for women and girls.
DetailsClamshells, the lettuce of exercises
I am, on the other hand, flexible to change and I lean in to the new things I learn as much as I can. As such, with everything new I know about helping people through recovery, the clamshell exercise has become my newest piece of garbage, that likely needs to be thrown out.
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5 Tips For Better Self-Management of Plantar Fasciitis for Athletes
Out with the old and in with the new! Plantar foot pain is hard enough as it is, we don’t need to be torturing ourselves anymore than necessary.
Details10 Benefits of Strength Training for Runners
Hey runners! Let’s talk about load (ie. strength training). Strength training is a valuable asset to a runner’s training regime for a number of different reasons, but too often strength training is non-existent in a runner’s routine.
DetailsFear-Avoidance Model
Injury, and the pain that follows, can be a scary experience. But it doesn’t have to be. We will often go searching for information to help us understand what has happened or what may be happening to cause our pain. Unfortunately, that information much of the time, is frightening, scary and downright bad. As it turns out, frightening…
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New blog with Girls Gone Strong!
If you haven’t done so yet, check out the new blog I wrote for Girls Gone Strong on movement variability! –> Click here to read the article <– Highlights: “Variability in our movements and posture is important, because of the need for our bodies and minds to tolerate day to day activities, without…
DetailsGood posture is BS and here’s why…
I recently had a conversation with a woman and her husband. The woman, is a well-intentioned person with a good heart, looking to do what is best for her husband. Knowing that I was a physical therapist, she decided to walk over to me with her husband in the hopes that I would help convince…
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Great exercises for female athletes with knee pain
…about 25% of athletes with anterior knee pain will stop participating in sports because of their pain
DetailsGirls Gone Strong Article
Being curious about the sensation of pain, and how the entirety of our personhood might be affecting our feeling of pain, can empower us to be unafraid of our own bodies. To know that our bodies are not under attack when we feel pain, that we aren’t damaged goods. That we are, indeed, the most capable, most intelligent, most advanced species in the world.
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Mastering the hip hinge to prepare for the deadlift and move with confidence
As a physio who works with athletes, many of which are women, teaching the hip hinge and deadlift is essential. I use it with almost every single athlete in pain. For a number of reasons. Including, that this lift, unlike many others, works basically all the things: the shoulders, back, hips, hamstrings, knees, ankles, feet.…
DetailsBoutique workshop on October 8th
A Woman’s Guide to Running Pains: From tendinopathies to stress injuries, navigating pain during or after running can be a frustrating journey. This event is to help you gain clarity on these things to become a more empowered and resilient runner. Understand best practices to maintain a healthy body, progress long distance running safely…
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Reflections after the Women in PT Summit
It’s been a bit over 2 weeks since the Women in Physical Therapy Summit in NYC and I’ve been wanting to write about my experiences but have been having a hard time. Returning home after one of my favorite events of the year, I was left with a renewed sense of self, insightful introspection, mindfulness…
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5 quick warm-up exercises for the adult soccer athlete
Let’s face it, unless you are a professional level athlete, warming-up before you step out onto the pitch as an adult is a bit of a rag-tag activity.
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7 Ways to Reduce Risk of ACL Tear in Young Soccer Players
ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injuries are not fun and if you’ve ever had one, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. Tearing the ACL can keep an athlete sidelined for months…even years! What’s more, is that the results of surgery are not great either. Studies show us that only about 55% will return to their…
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Balancing the biomedical with the biopsychosocial
“We’re painting a picture together and progressively moving towards a deep, belly gut feeling that they are beautiful”
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My post-op ACL bias is a personal matter
My knee will never be the same, but that doesn’t mean the rest of my life has to suffer because of it.
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Advocating for better care after your concussion
Advocating for better care after your concussion
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Returning to Sport after ACL Reconstruction
If there’s one thing to know about knee injury in youth soccer, it’s that tearing the ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) is common and is often devastating for a young, driven athlete.
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