The Empower Hour with Katie & Sarah Episode 14: All about Injuries with orthopaedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist Dr. Michael K. Ryan

The Empower Hour with Katie & Sarah

Injuries! No one wants them, but just about everyone gets one once in a while. So this week, Katie and Sarah delve into injuries by discussing their own experiences and frustrations with them in the POWER-UP segment. Sarah breaks down her recent bout with plantar fasciitis, including the weird way it recently cropped up, the lessons she has learned after repeat flare-ups, and how she finally beat the pain to get back to running happy. Katie talks about how a stress fracture lead to a surprise celiac disease diagnosis that eventually lead her to building stronger bones and body. We continue the injury conversation in our POWERHOUSE segment, bringing on Dr. Michael K. Ryan, an orthopaedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist at Andrews Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center in Birmingham, Alabama. Not only does Dr. Ryan treats triathlete patients, but he also competed in Olympic distance triathlons, one full Ironman, two half Ironman, and seven marathons. We brought Dr. Ryan on because he fills that elusive role of a doctor who “gets” and can connect with runners and triathletes, and understands that we don’t want to just be told to stop running to let an injury heal (as we've been told so many times). Or worse, that we’ll never be able to swim, bike, or run again without pain. Thank you to Dr. Ryan for his time and amazing insight!

Show notes:

13:45: Sarah talks about lessons learned about plantar fasciitis and its postpartum connection.

Sarah's PF tools: ProFoot Plantar Fasciitis inserts (https://profoot.co/); Strassburg Sock (https://thesock.com/); Hoka Clifton 7 Shoes (https://www.hokaoneone.com/sale/clifton-7/1110509.html)

26:30: Katie talks about her femoral neck stress fracture and how it lead to bone density issues and a celiac disease diagnosis.

Katie's Vasa Swim Trainer: https://vasatrainer.com/

41:07: Powerhouse Dr. Michael K. Ryan discusses his background in athletics, how he decided to go into sports medicine, the most common injuries he sees among his athlete patients, plus treatment, and prevention.

1:10:45: Dr. Ryan weighs on on when it's ok to "train through" pain versus taking rest and getting it checked out.

Dr. Ryan's practice: https://www.andrewssportsmedicine.com/

Follow Dr. Ryan on Instagram: @mkr.md_

Listen to Dr. Ryan's podcast, Victory Over Injury: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/victory-over-injury-podcast/id1552338013