Re-Run: Predicting Future Injuries & Early Detection with Eric Hegedus (Feb, 2022)

·1 hr 4 min·4 clips

Motor control made previous injury 'disappear' as a factor in overuse injury.

Brodie opens the rerun by revisiting his conversation with Eric Hegedus on predicting future injuries and early detection. Hegedus is introduced as a professor, physical therapist, clinician scientist, and researcher, and Brodie reminds listeners that he first appeared on episode 186 for a detailed look at return to running, training impulse during cross-training, and overall training volumes. The tone is familiar and practical. From there, the discussion settles into movement screening, starting with the double-leg squat and a simple overhead arm position that lets the clinician see whether the athlete can keep good lower-extremity alignment as they descend. The main fault they keep coming back to is the knees drifting toward the midline. That pattern is not treated as a verdict; it is treated as a clue. Hegedus explains that the next job is to work out why it is happening, because the cause might be poor ankle mobility, weak hips, or the lingering effects of a previous injury that has disrupted coordination across the lower extremity. They also look at the other common mistake, where a runner barely bends at the ankles and knees and instead flexes the spine forward in an attempt to get lower. That too is read as a poor movement strategy, especially in people who are not very mobile. The conversation then shifts to the single-leg squat, which is similar but harder once one leg has to carry the full body weight. Many people who do well with both feet on the floor fall apart on one leg. That contrast is useful because it shows how much strength, stability, and coordination are actually being asked for. The episode keeps its feet on the ground. It does not pretend that one screen gives the whole answer. Instead, it keeps asking the listener to think in layers, starting with what is visible and then moving into mobility, loading, previous injury, and movement control. Brodie and Hegedus treat research as something to be translated into decisions a runner can use. That makes the conversation feel like a clinic discussion stretched into podcast form, with plenty of explanation and very little polish for its own sake. There is some repetition, which comes with the territory when a speaker is thinking aloud and unpacking a screening process step by step. Even so, the repetition helps the logic stick. The result is a calm, evidence minded walkthrough of what early detection can look like when it is tied to real movement faults rather than abstract theory.

As heard by us

A careful look at screening and the clues behind future injury.

This rerun looks at how to spot injury risk early, with Eric Hegedus and Brodie spending most of the time on movement screens, especially the double-leg squat and single-leg squat. What matters here is the habit of asking why a fault shows up, not just whether it does.

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Why you'd press play

You want a clearer read on injury risk before a small ache turns into a repeat cycle.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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