Engaging Multiple Medical Epistemologies: Medical Professionals’ Distance Running Advice and Treatment

Abstract

Distance running is a popular form of physical activity within the United States and the world. Many distance runners experience some form of injury, causing them to seek treatment and advice from a variety of medical professionals. The authors explored how a small group of medical professionals advised and treated patients in regard to engaging in distance running. The authors found that with diverse personal experiences in running, medical professionals are clearly impacted by their own embodied experiences of, and personal beliefs about, distance running in how they treat and advise patients. Therefore, they draw from diverse medical epistemologies in their clinical judgments, including their own embodied experiences, clinical observations, evidenced-based research, narrative medicine, and intersectionality.