Rich on Running: Spaulding to open running center in Cambridge

Runners concerned about that achy knee or sore back might soon have a new resource to turn to, as the Spaulding Rehab Hospital is planning to launch a national running center at its Cambridge facility in July.The Spaulding National Running Center will offer area runners both treatment for running-related injuries and research opportunities, said hospital spokesman Tim Sullivan.”We’re really excited about it,” Sullivan said. “We’ll probably start with a smaller patient pool and hopefully grow the center to see more folks.”Sullivan said that the opening date is slated for mid-July and that it will be early July before the center can start accepting patients.Dr. Irene Davis, who has moved from the University of Delaware to take a faculty position at Harvard Medical School, will serve as director of the running center. Dr. Davis had a running center at Delaware and Sullivan said the goal of the Spaulding center is to “take and expand what she was doing ? taking what was established, with more support, a larger patient population, and improving it ? It was part of the process of her coming on board.”The center will be located at Spaulding Hospital Cambridge on 1575 Cambridge Street, in an area that Sullivan described as “what we believe is the epicenter of marathon running in the US.”Patients can undergo what Sullivan called “a pretty comprehensive analysis” lasting four hours. According to a Spaulding running clinic fact sheet, an evaluation would include “a thorough history, a musculoskeletal assessment of structure and alignment and a videotape analysis of running mechanics.”The injuries that the clinic will treat include runner’s knee, iliotibial band syndrome, stress fractures, plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendonitis, lower leg compartment syndrome, posterior tibialis tendonitis, low back pain and hip pain.”If you have a back condition, people think surgical options are the way to go,” Sullivan said. “But simple rehab medicine or physical therapy could help you avoid the knife and get you back on the road.”Athletes can pay for services out of pocket or potentially through insurance, Sullivan said, adding that they can also participate in research opportunities.The Spaulding network consists of 23 outpatient sites. One such site is at the Cambridge facility and several others are on the North Shore, in Lynn, the Marblehead YMCA, Peabody, Danvers, Middleton and Salem.”If you’re already seeing (someone in) sports medicine on the North Shore, we could possibly explore going to the running center, too,” Sullivan said.Rich Tenorio writes a weekly column on running for The Item. Email him at [email protected].