How to pick the right doctor for your running injury?

When should you see a doctor for a running injury? Most injuries, especially the softtissue overuse injuries, don’t need medical attention, especially if you treat them right from the start. When an injury drags on, or when you keep running on it and you get injured elsewhere, you start entering the gray area of when to get help. Certainly, any runner whose injury interferes with normal, daily activity for more than a week without improvement should seek medical help.
If your injury is a problem only when you run, then when and how soon to see a doctor is up to you. If your self-care routine doesn’t seem to be working, then you should probably see a doctor who might be able to diagnose and treat the underlying cause.
Runners can be pretty stubborn in their self-reliance, but sometimes you just have to bite the medical bullet and admit that your problem isn’t getting better on its own. Deciding to go to the doctor often comes down to how willing you are to put up with the lack of enjoyment that your running injury is causing you. You should also see a doctor if you repeatedly get injured in the same small part of your body. This type of injury means that you have an underlying weakness or structural deformity. A good sports medicine doctor will be able to get to the root of the problem so that the area won’t plague you throughout your running career.
Notice that I said a sports medicine doctor. Fortunately, the last 20 years of the fitness boom have produced a growth in the number of sports medicine doctors, who specialize in treating athletes. These doctors have the training, experience, and mindset to look at your injury as you do—an interruption of your body’s normal way of operating that needs to be treated at its root, not just for its symptoms. How do you find a good sports medicine doctor? As always, word of mouth from other runners is the best way. Some doctors belong to professional organizations for sports medicine doctors, but not all. Also, the American Running and Fitness Association maintains a listing of more than 5,000 of these professionals throughout the country. To find one in your area, call (800) 776-ARFA.