“Anaerobic” means without oxygen, so when you do anaerobic exercise, your body does not rely on oxygen to fuel the activity. Instead, it taps into a form of energy called glycogen that is already stored in your cells, said Dr. Wang.

You may think anaerobic exercise only matters for athletes who primarily train and perform in the anaerobic zone, like sprinters, hurdlers, and powerlifters. But that’s actually not true. Any runner can benefit from anaerobic training, explained Wang.

Read the full article at runnersworld.com. A subscription is required to access. 

But a new study finds that a few simple tools can help tame these aches. When researchers combed through existing studies on nondrug treatments that provide the most relief for knee osteoarthritis, knee braces, water therapy (or water exercise) and traditional exercise came out on top.

David A. Wang, MD, sports medicine physician at HSS, says he isn’t surprised that knee braces, hydrotherapy and exercise were the top performers in the meta-analysis. They all put less pressure on the knee, which can ease pain and improve function, he explains. But just because these therapies ranked high in the research doesn’t mean they will work for everyone.

“There’s no one-size-fits-all for arthritis,” Dr. Wang says.

It’s important to note that there’s no cure for knee osteoarthritis other than a total knee replacement. For those looking to avoid or delay surgery, all you can do otherwise is manage symptoms, Dr. Wang says.

Read the full article at AARP.org. 

"The oblique muscles are important to generating speed during a swing, so if the muscle is injured or they are having pain, the player will not be able to swing as effectively," explained Dr. Wang. "Even once pain has improved, you still have to be cautious with how quickly the athlete returns because there is always a risk of re-injury. After an injury, the oblique muscle needs enough time to heal and rehabilitate to handle the large amount of load they see during a swing or throw. As with any muscle injury, if you progress and load the muscle too quickly after injury, even if pain is better, you risk re-injuring the area."

Read the full article at SI.com. 

“We see these high-level athletes on TV, and we just assume, ‘Oh, they must be training 24/7, 365 days a year nonstop.’ But that's definitely not the case,” said David A. Wang, MD, primary sports medicine physician at HSS.  “Even high-level athletes are taking time off because our bodies need that.”

“If you do one thing over and over again, at some point, your body is going to hit its limit, whether it's the bone, the muscle, the tendon,” said Dr. Wang. 

“It's kind of counterintuitive where, by training harder, [your] times get worse and worse,” said Dr. Wang.

Read the full article at gq.com. 

If your symptoms aren’t managed, running with asthma can be difficult and even life-threatening. Running with asthma can make it hard to breathe so that your body isn’t getting enough oxygen to your working heart and muscles. 

But if running can trigger asthma, how can you run with the condition? “You need to take precautions and have an asthma action plan,” said Dr. Wang. "I think the most important thing for people who want to run with asthma is that their asthma at baseline should be under good control,” he advised. “In addition, any person running with asthma should always have a rescue inhaler available and be sure to have an action plan prepared.”

Read the full article at themotherrunners.com. 

Rhabdo results from overexertion typically brought on by repetitive, unfamiliar movement that stresses muscle cells to the point at which they essentially burst and die.

When it comes to exercising, “’No pain, no gain’ is not anything you should follow,” said Dr. Wang.

Dr. Wang recommended easing into a pre-pandemic fitness routine. He explained, “It takes weeks and months to build up strength, and if you’re inactive for even just a week or two you lose all that strength and have to build it slowly back up again, so you’re not going to do what you were able to do a year ago or six months ago before the gyms closed.” It’s “the perfect setup to develop injuries, including rhabdo,” he added.

Read the full article at Washingtonpost.com.

A gradual return to exercise is key to avoiding injury. “The challenge is that when you have been inactive for a long time, the body gets weaker and cannot handle an activity at the previous intensity,” explained Dr. Wang.

“The foot is particularly vulnerable [to stress fractures],” said Dr. Drakos, “When people think of bones, they think they are hard like metal, but the bones in the foot are more like tree branches. They can bend a little bit and if you bend them enough times, they can crack.”

Dr. Wang recommended seeing a doctor if pain persists after a few hours of continuing an activity, or if people start experiencing pain on days when they not working out. “The ‘no pain, no gain’ mantra should be banished from our vocabulary. Pain is our body’s way of telling us that something is wrong,” he noted.

“It is also important to figure out what led to the stress fracture in the first place,” noted Dr. Wang. “The prevention part is just as important as the treatment part.”

A deficiency of vitamin D can affect healing, according to Drs. Wang and Drakos. Dr. Starr explained the daily recommendations for calcium and vitamin D, and noted that at least half of our calcium intake should come from foods such as dairy products, dark, green leafy vegetables and high-calcium fish like salmon and sardines.

Dr. Drakos emphasized the importance of wearing the right shoes for activity and supportive footwear when not exercising. “Most of us take more than a million steps a year. So, if you take 5,000 to 10,000 steps a day in shoes that are not giving you support, it is that much extra stress on your feet with every step you take.”

This article appeared in the June 2021 print edition and online at Omagdigital.com.

“The most likely injury would’ve been a concussion when you have that amount of force that you kind of get hit to the head,” noted Dr. Wang.

This segment aired at 7pm on May 13, 2021.

Dr. Wang noted, “Nonoperative treatment options are similar for all patients, whether they are recreational or advanced athletes. I think about it as a pyramid. The base, which we build off of, consists of PT [physical therapy] to strengthen the surrounding muscles and take load off the joint, activity modification to lessen impact activities using pain/swelling as a guide, and weight loss, if appropriate. The next step up the pyramid is over-the-counter medications, as needed, for pain (for example, acetaminophen or NSAIDs). The following step is injections (cortisone or lubricating gel injections).”

He continued, “In certain situations where the arthritis and pain are in one specific part of the knee, I also consider adding an unloader brace with activity. With recreational athletes, we generally start at the base of the pyramid and work up, if symptoms are not controlled with the previous level of treatment. Advanced athletes may not be able to modify their activities as easily or allow the time for PT to take effect, so we may need to start further up the pyramid with more invasive options.”

Dr. Wang concluded, “Ultimately, every patient works their way through the pyramid differently and we adjust our approach for each individual taking into account their symptoms and activities.”

Read the full article at Healio.com/news/orthopedics. This article also appeared in the April 2021 print issue. 

“Stress fractures often occur in runners, people who play high-impact repetitive sports and in older people who have weakened bones,” explained Dr. Drakos. Individuals who don’t get enough rest between workouts or who keep playing a sport despite exhaustion are also susceptible, as are people who take steroids, he added. Pain, swelling and bruising are symptoms of a stress fracture. If you think you have one, immediately stop doing any activity that causes discomfort, advised Dr. Drakos. Rest is the primary treatment. If pain comes on suddenly, apply ice and elevate the foot. If it's not better after a few hours or if you have pain on days when you're not exercising or playing sports, see a doctor, reccomended Dr. Drakos.

David A. Wang, MD, sports medicine physician at HSS, saw an increase in stress fractures among people who were inactive during pandemic lockdowns and then resumed an activity too quickly. He noted the key is to gradually build up your activity level to make sure your body can handle it. "If you've never run before and want to start running, for example, start with walking first, then jogging and then gradually start running," advised Dr. Wang.

Read the full article at Consumer.healthday.com.

Read the article at roi-nj.com.

Additional coverage: Beckersspine.com, NJbiz.com