Most runners are obsessed with miles, pace, and training plans—but there's one critical element that makes all that hard work actually pay off: recovery. In this episode, Dr. Heather, a virtual sports chiropractor, breaks down the game-changing difference between rest days and recovery days, and why understanding both is essential for running stronger, longer, and staying injury-free. In this episode, you'll discover: The fundamental difference between a rest day (complete shutdown) and a rec...
Think your body responds the same way to running in 70° weather as it does in 30°? Think again. In this episode, I'm breaking down the complete biomechanics of cold weather running—and giving you the exact injury prevention system I use with my athletes to stay consistent, strong, and pain-free all winter long. If you've ever dealt with tight calves that won't loosen up, an Achilles that gets cranky in the cold, or hamstrings that feel like they're one stride away from disaster—this episode w...
In this episode, Dr. Heather takes runners on a simple, practical, and surprisingly fun journey inside the body to explore one of the most powerful performance tools you already use every day: the Krebs Cycle — your natural energy engine. Whether you’re training for a 5K or grinding toward an ultra, your performance, stamina, and recovery all come back to how efficiently your body can turn food into fuel. In this presentation, we break the science down into real-world language so every runner...
In this episode, Dr. Heather — Sports Chiropractor and movement specialist — breaks down the powerful connection between your gait, your nervous system, and your performance as a runner. If you’ve ever dealt with recurring tightness, one-sided injuries, or that frustrating feeling that your stride is “off,” this conversation will finally give you clarity. Dr. Heather explains: ✅ What a gait analysis actually measures ✅ How your brain and muscles communicate during each stride ✅ Wh...
What if the biggest factor influencing your race-day performance isn’t your mileage, your pace, or your nutrition… but your mind? 🧠🔥 In today’s episode, we break down the overlooked connection between mental preparation and injury prevention, especially as runners gear up for major events like the Chicago Marathon. You’ll learn: ✅ Why mental load and stress directly affect muscle tension, coordination, and pacing ✅ How distraction and anxiety increase the risk of mid-race injury ✅...
Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, or TOS, is a term that is tossed around often but can feel difficult to diagnose and treat. Often defined by compression of nerves and vascular structures that originate in the cervical region and the upper extremity, compression of these structures can result in numbness and tingling, general discomfort in the upper extremity and chest, and even result in feelings of fatigue and heaviness in the arm and hand. These nerves and vascular structures typically become com...
So many runners are told to STOP running when they get diagnosed with Osteoarthritis. Dr. Heather is going to tell you that you can run again which is why she is going to give you 5 tips to help you get back to your favorite past time. Pay attention to all of them especially #4 as this is a secret tip which has helped many of her runners succeed when they thought they would never run again. Want to read the full article Dr. Heather mentions in the video on the Synvisc shot...
Why would a majority of influencers like @athleanx , @drkristieennis , @BobandBrad , @LeeWeiland and @calimove (probably even more) say to STOP DOING PLANKS? It got me thinking are they wrong or right about whether planks were indeed a poor exercise to do. So I decided to sit down, watch their videos, read through their comments, dig deeper into what health professionals are saying about planks in order to really come to conclusion on this topic. &n...
Had such a fun time discussing health and wellness with my very good friend Ella Ray. Ella's podcast and YouTube channel focuses on these topics: mindset, personal branding, marketing, sales, automation, AI, communication, parenting, relationships, finance, leadership, as well as health and fitness. It was such an honor to be featured on her show as we talked in depth on "understanding why you hurt and how to heal". I highly encourage everyone to check it out today! We also...
Chiropractic adjustments - getting adjusted helps in preventing injuries because an adjustment is considered a “super” stretch. What happens when an adjustment to the spine, pelvis, or extremity is made, a neurological signal is sent into the belly of the muscle which tells the muscle to relax allowing for more flexibility/mobility to happen at that specific joint area. Want to grab the complete guide? Click here 👉 https://www.askdoctorheather.com/pl/2147575861 Connect with Dr. ...
Graston - involves using curved metal tools to apply pressure and friction across the injured muscle, fascia, or tendon. Graston Technique works by stretching the outer layer of the "onion" and breaking it into several pieces. The Graston instruments use shear force to pull the top fascial layer across the bottom fascial layer. This pulling motion breaks up the scar tissue between the layers. The broken scar tissue triggers healing mechanisms to migrate into the tissue and properly repair the...
Active Release technique - involves the practitioner using his or her hands to apply pressure to the muscles surrounding the injured area, while flexing and extending the joints they are connected to. Using ART as a part of your regular training regimen can keep you on track with your training schedule! Many successful athletes stay fit by preventing injury and staying injury free. It’s not unusual for a runner to not even realize that a problem is developing until there is a symptom. Oftenti...
Corrective exercises - if you have been following me on social media or seen any of my videos on the YouTube Channel then you would know how much I emphasize the use of corrective exercises to help heal an injured area as well as preventing a new injury from setting in. Understanding your biomechanics and your muscle imbalances (weakness) helps in figuring out which corrective exercises are appropriate for you. Granted a lot of the correctives you would do to help prevent injuries from occurr...
TENS unit - you may have heard of a TENS unit. You may have even gone out and bought one. A TENS unit is designed as a pain management device which can help in recovery after a long run as well as with helping in increasing the healing time if you are faced with a current injury. Many of the runners I have worked with, have used their TENS unit to help ensure that an old injury did not flare up again by using it specifically on their recovery days. Want to grab the complete gui...
Hire a coach - this one may seem more obvious but having a professional initially guide you based on your running history, your muscle imbalances, prior injuries and goals can help you avoid an injury without a doubt. This is a more expensive option but it is worth every penny! Want to grab the complete guide? Click here 👉 https://www.askdoctorheather.com/InjuryPrevention Connect with Dr. Heather on Social Media: 👉 https://www.facebook.com/heathergansel12 👉 https://www.faceboo...
Hydration - A lot of people forget how important water is when it comes to tissue repair and recovery. Your body needs both water and electrolytes (sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, and chloride) to support normal muscle contractions. When we do not have enough fluid in our systems we can experience muscle cramps, joint friction and more cartilage wear especially around the knees. Staying hydrated helps in reducing the inflammation that may arise from micro tears or micro trauma ...
Core training - Enhancing core stability through exercise is common to musculoskeletal injury prevention programs. Definitive evidence demonstrating an association between core instability and injury is lacking; however, multifaceted prevention programs including core stabilization exercises appear to be effective at reducing lower extremity injury rates. By strengthening the core a majority of aches, pains and/or stiffness can be relieved as it does reset your muscle firing patterns ...
Balance training - since a majority of injuries runners face are lower body extremity related, balance training becomes an essential part in preventing injuries from recurring or arising. We have to remember that running is a single leg sport. So doing single leg exercises becomes key in making sure we have good mobility at the foot/ankle. Gaining proprioception and awareness of our body in space is extremely important for injury prevention for runners. These exercises will build both...
Understanding prior injuries - When I work with runners the #1 topic we discuss first is their prior injuries. Understanding your injuries and how they may have altered your running gait is really important in figuring out how to keep you injury free. A lot of times it's remembering to go back to some of those initial rehab or corrective exercises to ensure that the correct muscle firing patterns are happening so the injury can be prevented. Want to grab the complete guide? Click here...
Nutrition is a whole topic in itself but to summarize, nutrition can help by decreasing the inflammation our bodies generally make when we train hard or if we do feel an initial strain or pull after a run. Using various types of vitamins, supplements and minerals can help our bodies achieve the optimal performance we are striving for examples: Omegas, Turmeric, Biotin, Magnesium, Calcium, Bromlin, Complex B vitamin. Grab the complete guide click here 👉 https://www.askdoctorheat...