Running and Endurance Sports
Dr Blecher has had an interest in running since a very young age. He participated in many youth track and field events and then went on to become an All-League and All-Conference sprinter in high school. In college he set school records in multiple events and was an NCAA All-American sprinter. He also won the award for overcoming hardship as he suffered through many injuries including stress fractures and a hamstring tear. It was through this experience that he would go on to develop such a tremendous interest in caring for running injuries. When Dr Blecher first came to the Southern California Orthopedic Institute he quickly developed a program for runners and educated the rehabilitation staff to be able to provide video running evaluations to analyze gait and running mechanics. He also offers pre-participation physical examinations specifically tailored for running and endurance athletes. Custom orthotics are also made on site and can help prevent and treat many running injuries.
Dr Blecher has attended and lectured at many running and endurance conferences including the Boston Marathon Sports Medicine Conference and the Ironman Triathlon Sports Medicine Conferences and has served as a treating physician at the Ironman Triathlon World Championships in Kona Hawaii 4 times. At these events he enjoys the opportunity to patrol the course in the medical van and evaluate injured athletes on the course. Dr Blecher also enjoys the opportunity to work with Olympic champions, collegiate and high school Track & Field and X-Country athletes and even those who are training for their very first marathon.
Learn more about how Dr Blecher treats running injuries by seeing the experiences below and by visiting our services page on running injuries.
I wanted to express my gratitude for your PRP treatment for both my knees. I am a Masters Track and Field competitor in the Long Jump and Triple Jump and won the National Championship in 2010 and 2011. However, I developed patellar tendon problems in both knees. The condition stopped my running let alone jumping. I thought my jumping days may be over. I decided to see you for PRP treatment and it turned out to be the right decision. I wanted to report to you how I am doing since the completion of treatment. At year’s end I was ranked #1 in the nation in the triple jump and #3 in the long jump. So far in 2014 I am ranked #1 in the nation for both the triple jump and long jump. In March of 2014 I went back to Boston to compete in the Masters Indoor Nationals. I won the Gold in both the Triple Jump and Long Jump. At this point my knees are holding up great. I continue to follow your instructions on caring for my knees as I train for competition. Again, thank you for all you have done for me.
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