Training Tuesday: Overuse Injuries & Lower Body Strengthening with Dr Patrick

In this Training Tuesday episode of The Running Public, hosts Bracken Crocker and Kirk DeWint welcome back Dr. Patrick Bottenfield for a deep dive into overuse injuries and lower body strengthening for runners. The conversation begins with lighthearted banter about Dr. Patrick’s recent life changes—marriage, clinic expansion, and a 52-pound weight loss achieved primarily through nutrition-focused discipline. The hosts explore the psychological and practical aspects of health coaching, emphasizing that relatability often trumps credentials when building trust with clients. The core of the episode centers on identifying when runners should listen to their bodies versus push through discomfort. Dr. Patrick introduces a simplified red-light/yellow-light/green-light framework: if pain worsens during a run (red), stays the same (yellow), or improves (green). He stresses that persistent pain lasting more than a week, especially if it impacts daily function or training, warrants professional assessment. He highlights that soft tissue issues like plantar fasciitis and IT band syndrome often stem from biomechanical imbalances higher up the kinetic chain—particularly in the hips—rather than the site of pain itself. For treatment, he advocates for targeted, unilateral strength training, recommending Bulgarian split squats, single-leg RDLs (including kickstand and landmine variations), and lateral movements like Cossack and Messier squats. Ancillary work such as the McGill Big Three (side planks, bird dogs, curl-ups) and banded hip mobility drills are emphasized for core and pelvic stability. The episode concludes with a strong endorsement of unilateral, functional training over traditional bilateral lifts for runners seeking injury resilience and performance gains.