As a reminder, we’re always looking for suggestions and recommendations on people/stories we should be featuring in our series, Running Club Franklin County.
Do you have any tips? Send us your running stories to sports@recorder.com, and they may be included in this space.
Without further adieu, here’s Volume 14 where we talk to part of the healing power of the Franklin County running community.
For over 30 years, Liz Dolby has been pulling the strings behind the scenes to help runners return to the trails and roads of Franklin County.
The co-owner of Orthopedic Physical Therapy at the Body Shoppe in Greenfield, Dolby has made recovery the focus of her professional life. It’s no coincidence that several of the runners featured in this series have referred to her specifically as one of the chief reasons for their success.
“All kinds of athletes pass through our doors,” explained Dolby, who has been working a few days a week for in-person appointments at the Body Shoppe in addition to some virtual ones during the coronavirus pandemic. “They come in all shapes and sizes. But the beauty of athletes is that these are people who are motivated. I always tell them, ‘This is a team. I’m the coach, you’re the player.’”
Specific to running, Dolby said about 90 percent of the injuries she sees come through her doors are caused either by a change in training, or a change in footwear. That change of training can be an uptick in mileage, working toward a half marathon after previously running in the 10K range. As far as footwear is concerned, old and new kicks can cause issues.
“Footwear places an enormous stress on the body,” she explained. “What we say as a PT is, ‘When the foot hits the ground, everything changes.’”
Because of that, Dolby said one of her first discussions with a new patient is often about the type of shoes they are running with. She also wants to watch them run and walk in them, and she said she’s able to tell very quickly where some of the initial problems can come from.
“Depending on how they move, they’re probably subject to certain injury patterns,” she offered. “And these problems move up the kinetic chain. By the time you see patients, a lot of them have probably adapted to a new running type for years. They’ve adapted their style and problems build from there. I call it ‘Peeling the onion.’ Here’s what injury you’re dealing with now but how do I peel down to what the cause is and back up the truck from there?”
For example, Dolby said many people can run for years with a leg length difference they never knew about, and that can lead to a plethora of other issues. Finding the original cause of the problem isn’t always an easy fix.
“If I had my way, in an ideal world, I’d hold a clinic on the side of the road and have every runner in their sneakers run by me,” she began. “I’d make sure that’s the correct sneaker for them. Footwear is so crucial. If you’re a heavy pronator, where your feet roll in, your heel will hit hard on the outside and roll inward. Eventually something breaks down, you’ll see a lot of IT band issues. Whereas a heavy supinator, you’re dealing with more shin splits and lower back issues. We can take one look at you and guess where that’s originating from based on how you walk and run.”
The Body Shoppe has 15 therapists on site, and Dolby, who is 62 years old and still a dedicated runner herself, said she’s still excited to work with patients every day after more than 30 years on the job.
“My goal always on the first time you come to see me is to make a difference that day,” she explained. “I can give you exercises and send you off but what does that give you? I want to be able to have more of an impact than that.
“I love what I do,” she continued. “I’m very, very fortunate and very passionate about what I do. How many jobs can you have where somebody thanks you for helping them like this one? I’m grateful to the Greenfield community. There’s no reason for me to be in business this long. I don’t have a pipeline of physicians I work for, we’re not a hospital-fed clinic. It’s solely word of mouth and the quality of work we’ve done over the years that has made this place what it is today.”
For beginning runners, Dolby suggested putting more of an emphasis on flexibility, i.e. stretching. It’s easy to walk out your front door and start running immediately, but getting into a consistent stretching regimen is vitally important.
“That’s the boring part of it, right? People don’t want to bother to stop and stretch,” she began. “I think it took me until I was about 35 before I figured out that I was a lot better runner if I just stretched a little bit. I don’t need a big stretching program from you but you have to have strength and flexibility to run, so it’s so important to get your body loosened up.”
Dolby also said that runners experiencing discomfort should not wait until they are injured before making an appointment.
“The big advice is don’t wait for an ache to become a pain,” she said. “Things are so easily fixed in the early phase. Aches turn into pains and when you get into the pain category, then we’re in treatment territory and you don’t want to have to go down that road if you can help it.
“The longer you’ve been injured, the longer it takes to get better,” she continued. “The things that determine the length of recovery — how many pieces are involved and how long has this been going on?”
Running injuries are common, and Franklin County harriers are slowed by them just as everyone else. The good news is there’s help nearby — a familiar face leading a team that’s been a constant presence for decades. Truly an invaluable piece to our running club.