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“The facility is great,
the equipment is great,
and the staff is fantastic.
I feel well taken care of there.”
– Rachel Kramer, MD, Obstetrician/Gynecologist
Their medals tell the story: Timothy Hale, MD, and Rachel Kramer, MD,
are committed runners and fans of Zoltan Callaghan (left) and Blithen Davis
(right), who work at Emerson’s Center for Sports Rehabilitation and
Specialty Services in Concord.
invested many months in training. I’ve never received a more
thorough evaluation.”
He was able to run ten pain-free miles prior to the Philadelphia
Marathon, which he went on to complete with no problem.
“Everything Zolie taught me, including stretching and core
work, I now do on a daily basis,” he says. “Meeting him was a
huge wake-up call.”
Slow, steady rehab pays off
For Dr. Kramer, last fall’s Marine Corps Marathon in Arlington,
Virginia, represented her third marathon in three years. “I’ve
been running since 2006 and participate in two triathlons a
year,” she says. When sciatic nerve pain threatened to derail her
plans, Dr. Kramer went to see Blithen Davis, physical therapist.
“Dr. Kramer definitely had disc issues and back pain, but she
did her exercises to keep it under control,” says Ms. Davis,
who runs a spine rehab group at the center. “I knew what the
marathon meant to her, so I gave her the phone number for
the physiatrists at the Lahey Spine Program at Emerson Hospital
– just in case she got into trouble.”
The October marathon went well, but trouble arrived four
weeks later. “I was working out at the gym when the disc ruptured,
which left me in severe pain,” says Dr. Kramer, who used
the phone number Ms. Davis had given her to seek care from
Arthur Lee, MD, who diagnosed her problem, and James
Spinelli, MD, who administered a pain injection. “They are
outstanding; I’ve sent a lot of people to them.”
Once she was out of acute pain, Dr. Kramer’s challenge was to
function during her busy workdays. She again put her trust in
Ms. Davis. “Our goal was to get her moving without irritating
the nerve,” says Ms. Davis. “Dr. Kramer’s work is physical; she
stands during surgery and sits to perform exams. We began
with easy stretching to help her regain mobility in her spine and
then added strengthening exercises from there.”
“Blithen told me what I could and couldn’t do, and that we’d
build back my strength slowly,” says Dr. Kramer. “I saw her
twice a week for two months and did everything she told me,
which included that I would be running again.” On St.
Patrick’s Day, Dr. Kramer ran in the Shamrock Shuffle, a 5K
race in Winchendon, Massachusetts. “I felt great – no pain.”
For the two obstetricians, the Center for Sports Rehabilitation
and Specialty Services at Emerson has become a valuable
resource.
“The facility is great, the equipment is great, and the staff is fantastic,”
says Dr. Kramer. “I feel well taken care of there.”
Running tips to live by
• Replace your running shoes every 350-550 miles.
• Perform a dynamic warm-up prior to running and a static stretching
routine after your run.
• Vary your running surface and avoid concrete sidewalks.
• Avoid running on the same side of the road all the time.
• Drink at least half of your body weight in ounces of water per day to
avoid dehydration.
• Seek the advice of your healthcare provider if you have any pain that
lasts longer than two to three weeks.
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