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In this month’s Latest Running Research episode, Brodie breaks down four newly published papers that challenge common assumptions about bone health, injury risk, shoe prescription, and recovery tools in runners. 

Across all four studies, a consistent theme emerges: what feels logical—or is heavily marketed—doesn’t always align with how the body actually adapts. From bone mineral density and stress injuries to shoe “matching” and foam rolling, this episode helps runners separate useful tools from over-inflated claims.  

🦴 Paper 1: Bone Mineral Density & Ground Reaction Forces 

This study explored whether the forces experienced during running are associated with bone mineral density (BMD)—and whether this relationship differs between male and female runners. 

Key Findings 

• Male runners with higher ground reaction forces tended to have higher bone mineral density at the spine, pelvis, femur, and tibia.
• These relationships were present at both self-selected and standardised running speeds.
• In female runners, no meaningful relationship was found between impact forces and bone mineral density.
• Female runners had consistently lower absolute bone density and impact forces than males.

Why This Matters

• Bone adapts to mechanical loading—but not equally across sexes.
• Running alone may provide enough stimulus for bone adaptation in males, but often not in females.
• Hormones, energy availability, muscle mass, and force production likely play a role.

Practical Takeaways

• Running mileage alone is not a reliable bone-building strategy for everyone.
• Female runners may benefit more from:
  • Heavy strength training
  • Jumping and sprinting
  • Multi-directional loading
• Bone health also depends on recovery and nutrition, not just impact.

🦴 Paper 2: Biomechanics & Bone Stress Injuries
 
This scoping review examined biomechanical factors associated with bone stress injuries (BSIs) across multiple running populations.
 
Key Findings:

• The strongest prospective risk factors for BSIs were:
  • Greater vertical centre-of-mass movement (“bounce”)
  • Lower cadence
• Every ~0.5 cm increase in vertical motion was linked to a 14–17% higher injury risk.
• Each additional step per minute was associated with a 3–5% reduction in risk.
• Site-specific mechanics varied by injury location (tibia, metatarsals, navicular).

Why This Matters

• Excessive vertical motion and low cadence consistently increase bone stress.
• Many commonly blamed factors (e.g. loading rate) are less reliable predictors.
• Some biomechanical findings may reflect post-injury adaptations, not causes.

Practical Takeaways

• Small cadence increases (5–10 steps/min) may meaningfully reduce bone stress.
• Reducing unnecessary “bounce” can be protective.
• Gait changes should be gradual and load-aware.
• Biomechanics is only one piece—training load, sleep, nutrition, and bone health interact

👟 Paper 3: Shoe Recommendations & Gait Analysis
 
This single-blinded randomised trial tested whether shoes recommended based on gait analysis actually change how runners move—or simply change how they feel.
 
Key Findings

• Shoes labelled as “gait-matched” were rated:
  • More comfortable
  • Higher performing
  • Lower injury risk
• Despite this, both shoes were identical models with different colours.
• No differences were found in:
  • Running mechanics
  • Foot strike
  • Tibial acceleration

Why This Matters

• Expectations and expert recommendations strongly influence perception.
• Gait analysis can act as a placebo-like effect.
• Feeling better does not necessarily mean moving differently—or safer.

Practical Takeaways

• Comfort matters—but it does not guarantee injury protection.
• Be cautious of claims that a shoe “fixes” your gait.
• If a shoe feels good and supports consistent training, it can still be useful—but not for biomechanical reasons.
• Long-term injury risk is driven more by load management than shoe category

 
🧠 Paper 4: Foam Rolling & the Knowledge-to-Action Gap
 
To close the episode, Brodie discusses a paper examining whether practitioner beliefs about foam rolling align with scientific evidence.
 
Key Findings

• Strongest evidence supports foam rolling for:
  • Short-term increases in range of motion
  • Temporary pain reduction
  • Acute increases in local blood flow
• Little to no evidence supports:
  • Performance enhancement
  • Injury prevention
  • Long-term structural changes to muscle or fascia
• Only 2 of 15 practitioner beliefs aligned with the evidence.
• Knowledge gaps existed across professions and countries.

Why This Matters

• Foam rolling isn’t useless—but its benefits are often overstated.
• The issue isn’t the tool—it’s how it’s explained and justified.
• Poor science communication fuels unrealistic expectations.

Practical Takeaways

• Use foam rolling as a short-term symptom-management tool, not a fix.
• It won’t replace strength training, load management, or recovery.
• If it helps you feel better and train consistently, that still has value

🔑 Episode Take-Home Message
 
Across bone health, injury risk, footwear, and recovery tools, the evidence consistently shows that adaptation is driven by load, context, and recovery—not quick fixes or marketing claims.

Understanding what actually matters allows runners to train smarter, reduce injury risk, and focus on interventions that truly move the needle.
 

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For years, chronic tendinopathy has been treated as a tendon problem — load it, strengthen it, remodel it. But what if, for some runners, the tendon itself isn’t the main driver of pain anymore?

In this episode, Brodie breaks down a new 2026 systematic review that may reshape how we think about stubborn, long-standing tendon pain. The paper explores whether nerve ingrowth and abnormal blood vessels around tendons — not degeneration of the tendon tissue itself — may be the real pain source in chronic cases.

We unpack the emerging research, explain each intervention in plain language, and discuss who this may (and may not) apply to — especially runners stuck in repeated rehab cycles despite “doing everything right.”

This is early, evolving science. But it’s a fascinating glimpse into where chronic tendon treatment may be heading next.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• Why some chronic tendon pain may be neuropathic (nerve-driven) rather than structural
• How abnormal blood vessels and nerves grow into painful tendons over time
• Why traditional loading programs sometimes stop working in very chronic cases
• What “neural modification” treatments aim to do — and why they’re gaining interest
• The six intervention categories reviewed in the paper (explained simply)
• How strong (or limited) the current evidence actually is
• Where this research fits alongside exercise-based rehab, not against it

Interventions Reviewed (Plain-English Overview)

1. High-Volume Injections (HVIGI / HVDI)

Large volumes of fluid are injected around the tendon (not into it) under ultrasound guidance to mechanically disrupt abnormal blood vessels and pain-sensitive nerves.

Key takeaway:
Consistent short- to medium-term pain and function improvements, especially in people who had failed exercise-based rehab.

2. Sclerosing Polidocanol Injections

A chemical agent is injected directly into abnormal blood vessels to deliberately close them down, cutting off blood supply to pain-producing nerves.

Key takeaway:
Moderate to strong pain reductions in very chronic cases, with outcomes comparable to surgery in some studies.

3. Radiofrequency Microtenotomy

A minimally invasive procedure using controlled heat to disrupt nerve ingrowth and abnormal vessels at the tendon–paratenon interface.

Key takeaway:
Very strong results in a small cohort, but higher risk and limited evidence so far.

4. Minimally Invasive Paratenon Release

Scar-like adhesions between the tendon and surrounding tissue are mechanically released to restore tendon movement and reduce nerve irritation.

Key takeaway:
Large pain reductions and high rates of pain-free outcomes in non-insertional Achilles tendinopathy.

5. Electrocoagulation Therapy

Electrical energy is used to seal off abnormal blood vessels surrounding the tendon under ultrasound guidance.

Key takeaway:
Promising early results, but evidence limited to one small study.

6. Surgical Interventions (Open & Endoscopic)

Surgery physically separates the tendon from irritated surrounding tissue and removes abnormal vessels and nerves.

Key takeaway:
Effective for some, but invasive, with longer recovery and higher risk.

The Big Picture Takeaway

Across very different procedures, outcomes were surprisingly similar.

That points to a common mechanism:
 👉 Modifying the neural (nerve-driven) pain environment around the tendon, rather than “fixing” tendon structure itself.

This doesn’t replace exercise-based rehab — but it may explain why a subset of runners with long-standing, highly sensitive tendinopathy stop responding to load alone.

This research is best viewed as a future direction, not a replacement for good rehab principles.

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Chronic plantar fasciitis can quietly strip away your confidence, your identity as a runner, and eventually your belief that running is even possible again.

In today’s episode, Jon shares his seven-year battle with stubborn plantar fasciitis—and how he went from barely being able to walk in the morning to completing trail marathons at age 59.

This is not a story about a magic treatment or a quick fix. It’s about patience, progressive strength, smarter recovery, and changing the way you think about pain. If you’ve tried everything and feel like you’re running out of options, this conversation will resonate deeply.

What We Cover in This Episode

Jon’s long road with plantar fasciitis

• How his symptoms started, disappeared, then returned worse than ever
• Why years of rest, stretching, and passive treatments didn’t solve the problem
• What “first-step pain” taught him about whether he was improving or regressing

Why many plantar fasciitis treatments fail

• Over-stretching and aggressive rehab that actually delayed healing
• Why ticking “strength training” off the list too early is a common mistake
• The difference between doing exercises and loading tissue correctly

The turning point

• The mindset shift that stopped the injury from controlling his life
• How slow, progressive calf strengthening rebuilt tissue capacity
• Why learning not to catastrophize flare-ups changed everything

Strength training that actually worked

• The calf exercises that gave the biggest return on investment
• How he progressed from double-leg to single-leg loading safely
• Rep ranges, frequency, and why patience mattered more than intensity

Recovery beyond rehab

• How improving sleep quality accelerated his progress
• Nutrition changes that supported training and recovery
• Why recovery became non-negotiable as he got older

Where Jon is now

• Running pain-free most days after years of struggle
• Completing half marathons, mountain runs, and a self-supported trail marathon
• How he’s approaching goals differently to stay healthy long-term

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Matt is a repeat guest from the Doctors of running and a running shoe fanatic!

Our discussion on today's episode starts with shoe expiry dates. Matt gives his opinion on when it is time to buy new running shoes and what variables play a role in running shoe wear and tear.

Next, we explore the different features of a shoe that you need to consider when buying a new pair. Matt discusses comfort, flexibility, stability, upper, drop, weight and many other features.

Matt also shares his recommendations on shoe brands for beginner runners, performance-minded runners and his take on maximalist versus minimalist.

Follow Matt's work by visiting the doctors of running website, youtube,  podcast and insta.

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In this month’s Latest Running Research episode, Brodie breaks down three high-impact studies that every runner should know about—covering sleep quality and injury risk, what actually gets injured during marathon running, and how strength training can improve running economy. If your goals are to run faster, stay injury-free, and train smarter in 2025, this episode delivers clear, evidence-based insights without the fluff.

We start with a standout prospective study tracking runners over six months, showing that poor sleep quality—not sleep quantity—significantly increases injury risk. Each one-point drop in perceived sleep quality increased injury risk by 36%, while rising fatigue and muscle soreness emerged as early warning signs in the 1–2 weeks before injury. The takeaway is clear: sleep quality, recovery monitoring, and subjective signals like soreness and fatigue deserve far more attention than most runners give them.

Next, we zoom out and examine a comprehensive review of marathon-related injuries, separating race-day injuries from training injuries and identifying the most commonly affected areas (thigh, knee, calf, foot, and ankle). The paper highlights both modifiable risk factors (training load, recovery, alcohol use, footwear transitions) and non-modifiable risks (age, sex, prior injury), offering valuable context for runners preparing for longer events or returning from injury.

Finally, the episode explores new research on strength training and running economy, focusing on how combining heavy resistance work with plyometrics (“complex training”) can meaningfully improve efficiency. The findings reinforce that strength training isn’t just for injury prevention—it directly improves how much energy you burn at a given pace, making it a powerful performance tool when programmed correctly.

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In this reflective end-of-year episode, Brodie pulls back the curtain on his own training highs, mistakes, injuries, and breakthroughs to help you make 2026 your smartest running year yet. Drawing from a full year of HYROX preparation, calf and hamstring setbacks, strength gains, sleep struggles, and race-day lessons, he breaks down what actually worked, what didn’t, and—most importantly—why. 

This isn’t just about racing faster; it’s about learning how to adapt, manage load, avoid repeating injury cycles, and build resilience over the long term. Whether you’re training for a marathon, HYROX, or simply trying to stay consistent and injury-free, this episode will prompt honest self-reflection and give you practical ideas you can immediately apply to your own running journey 

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In this Ask Me Anything episode, Brodie answers three high-value listener questions on marathon prep, goal setting, and tapering. He breaks down when to prioritise distance vs time for long runs, how to structure challenging yet realistic running goals, and the key differences between tapering for a half marathon versus a full marathon. The discussion includes practical guidance drawn from coaching insights, research, and Brodie’s own clinical experience supporting runners around the world.

Key Topics Covered

1. Long Runs: Distance vs Time
Brodie explains how to balance training plans that prescribe long distances with the reality of being on your feet for extended periods. He outlines the tipping point where diminishing returns can compromise recovery and how to use duration caps or split-day mileage to stay on track.

2. Setting Challenging but Realistic Goals
Using a structured process—including performance history, rate of improvement, race timelines, and A/B/C goal setting—Brodie shares a framework for developing goals that stretch you without leading to burnout. He also discusses staying true to your plan when friends’ ambitious goals don’t align with your needs.

3. Tapering for Half vs Full Marathons
Brodie breaks down how tapering differs across race distances, why marathon tapers commonly run two weeks while half-marathon tapers may require only a few days, and which variables should remain constant (like intensity) to keep your legs feeling springy and race-ready.

Takeaways

• Cap long runs around 3–3.5 hours if distance pushes you excessively beyond that, to protect recovery.
• Use A/B/C goals and clear timelines to stay grounded and motivated.
• Tapering strategies must match the physiological demands of the race:
  • Marathons require a longer, structured taper.
  • Half marathons may only need a shorter, flexible taper period while maintaining intensity.
• Goal clarity, challenge, commitment, feedback, and simplicity are the pillars of effective goal design.

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This episode is all about turning setbacks into strategy. Brodie joins the show to unpack why injuries are rarely random and how every niggle, flare-up, or full-blown setback carries valuable information about your training, lifestyle, and recovery habits. We explore the big levers that influence injury risk, including sleep, stress, nutrition, footwear changes, and emotional pressure, as well as the subtle patterns runners often miss. Brodie breaks down how to identify training errors, uncover weak links, and understand the early warning signs your body gives long before an injury fully appears.

You’ll learn how to approach your running like an ongoing experiment, how to track the right data, and how to use self-awareness to build a more durable, resilient runner’s body. From understanding your personal injury patterns to applying smarter safeguards in your training plan, this conversation teaches you how to turn any injury into long-term progress. Whether you’re currently sidelined or simply want to avoid repeating past mistakes, this episode gives you the mindset and tools to come back stronger than before.

Check out the Strength Running Podcast here

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Predicting Future Injuries & Early Detection with Prof. Eric Hegedus

In today’s rerun episode, Brodie sits down once again with Professor Eric Hegedus—physical therapist, clinician, researcher, and one of the podcast’s favourite returning guests. Eric previously joined us in Episode 186 to dive into return-to-running principles. Today, he’s back to explore one of the hardest and most misunderstood topics in running science:

Can we actually predict running injuries?
If so, how? And what should runners do with that information?

Using insights from his 3-year prospective cohort study, Eric walks us through what physical performance tests can and cannot tell us about injury risk—and why simple movement screens like single-leg squats may be more powerful than we ever realised.

We also dive into psychosocial risk factors, early warning signs, modern wearable data, and why injury prediction research is evolving rapidly.

What This Episode Covers

• Why Eric designed a study to challenge the Functional Movement Screen (FMS)
• The 15 bodyweight performance tests studied across 360 athletes
• Which movement patterns actually mattered for overuse injuries
• The shocking finding: when motor control was considered, past injury stopped predicting future injury
• Why weak glute medius and poor ankle mobility show up repeatedly in injured runners
• How poor movement gives you “less wiggle room” before overload
• Why injury prediction today is no longer just movement → injury, but a multifactorial real-time model
• The four early warning signs of an upcoming injury episode
• Practical takeaways all runners can apply immediately

Key Insights & Takeaways

1. Movement Quality Matters More Than We Thought

Eric’s research found that poor single-leg or double-leg squat control was strongly associated with future overuse injuries—even more than past injury history.
When movement quality was poor, “past injury” no longer predicted new injury. This indicates:

• Poor motor control = major vulnerability
• Runners with poor control have less buffer when workloads fluctuate
• Runners who move well have a much larger margin for error

Symptoms of poor control during squats include:

• Knees collapsing inward
• Trunk rotating
• Heels lifting
• Using the spine instead of hips/knees to descend

These often reflect:

• Weak glute medius
• Poor ankle mobility
• Poor neuromuscular coordination after prior injury

2. The Tests That Truly Matter

Eric’s study grouped bodyweight tests into:

• Active motion
• Motor control
• Hip stability
• Flexibility
• Power

But the only category that consistently correlated with overuse injury was:

Motor Control: quality of double-leg and single-leg squat

These tests are simple, take 20 seconds, and anyone can self-assess in front of a mirror.

3. Early Warning Signs of an Injury (Clear Red Flags)

Eric highlights four factors runners should monitor weekly:

• Fatigue
• Stress levels
• Sleep quality
• Muscle soreness

When all four trend in the wrong direction, an injury is often imminent.

4. Wearables Are Changing Injury Prediction

Unlike old studies that tested athletes once per year, modern tech (Garmin, Whoop, Oura, etc.) collects real-time data—giving much stronger prediction models.

Right now, Eric estimates we can predict injury with:

👉 30–50% confidence
Already far better than the past, and improving rapidly.

5. Runners Must See Themselves as Whole Humans

Mechanical load alone doesn't explain injuries. Psychological and lifestyle factors matter just as much:

• Travel
• Stress
• Poor sleep
• Relationship/social strain
• High soreness
• Reduced recovery behaviors

Ignoring these variables leads runners into repeated injury cycles.

🧠 Practical Tips for Runners

• Film yourself doing a single-leg and double-leg squat → check knee control, trunk alignment, ankle mobility
• Avoid running when fatigued, highly stressed, poorly slept, or extremely sore
• Build glute medius strength (side planks, hip abduction variations)
• Improve ankle mobility if squats improve with heels elevated
• Consider cross-training to break unidirectional overload
• Take easy days without guilt—they prevent injury, not reflect weakness
• Look at yourself as a whole athlete: body + mind + lifestyle

📚 Related Research Mentioned

• Hegedus et al. Physical performance tests predict injury in NCAA athletes
• Chris Bramah: Hip drop & knee mechanics associated with running injury
  (Referenced within conversation)

👤 About Today’s Guest: Prof. Eric Hegedus

Eric Hegedus is a professor, clinician, researcher, and highly respected physiotherapist whose body of work spans biomechanics, injury risk, and clinical reasoning. His research is widely used globally in sports rehabilitation and athlete screening.

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In this month’s Latest Research episode, we break down five new papers added to the Run Smarter Research Library — including big updates on trail running performance, dynamic stretching, running stability, and emerging tendon therapies like ozone, collagen, and PRP.

Whether you're a trail runner, road runner, or someone dealing with a stubborn tendon injury, this episode arms you with the latest insights to train smarter and reduce injury risk.

In This Episode

Trail Running: What Predicts Performance & Injury Risk?

Paper: Analysis of Factors Influencing Injuries and Performance in Trail Running
Key insights:

• Higher weekly volume, more elevation gain, more interval training, and structured recovery → lower injury risk
• Sleep + passive recovery (massage, mobility, sauna, cold plunges) strongly linked to better performance
• Taller runners had slightly higher injury risk
• Prepared tissue = safer tissue
• More training is protective — but only when recovery is adequate

Dynamic Stretching: Does It Improve Neuromuscular Readiness?

Paper: Acute Effects of Dynamic Stretching on Knee Joint Position Sense and Dynamic Balance in Recreational Runners
Key insights:

• A 5-minute dynamic warm-up improved:
  • Joint position sense
  • Single-leg balance
  • Neuromuscular “readiness”
• Runners were more accurate with limb positioning and more stable on Y-Balance Test

Dynamic Stability & Running Economy: Why Variability Helps

Paper: Runners with Lower Dynamic Stability Exhibit Better Running Economy
Key insights:

• More step-to-step variability (“controlled chaos”) = better running economy
• Stability didn’t change with speed → suggests an individual running “trait”
• Efficient runners aren’t rigid — they allow micro-adjustments

Ozone Therapy for Tendinopathy — An Emerging Option?

Paper: Oxygen–Ozone Therapy in Tendinopathy Management
Key insights:

• May reduce pain, improve function, and support collagen regeneration
• Early evidence only; protocols vary
• Appears promising as an adjunct, not a standalone treatment

Porcine Collagen Injections for Proximal Hamstring Tendinopathy

Paper: Porcine Collagen Injection Therapy Affects Proximal Hamstring Tendinopathy in Athletes
Key insights:

• Return to sport:
  • Collagen + rehab: 57 days
  • Rehab only: 72 days
• Greater functional improvements in the collagen group
• Still small, preliminary studies