What is an Anti-Fragile Runner? | E15 with Merv Travers PhD

None of us want to be fragile. Especially not when it comes to running. So what’s the opposite of fragile?

“If a glass is fragile, give me an example of something that is not fragile”. When Dr. Travers asked me I replied “a diamond”. If you drop a diamond on the ground, it won’t break, but it won’t be any stronger for the experience. It’s strong, or resilient. However, when we train, we stress our bodies and become stronger for the experience. We’re not fragile, we’re not even just strong or resilient, we’re Anti-Fragile.

This is an important concept to grasp when it comes to training for performance, as well as rehabilitation from injury. It’s also a vital concept to understand for health and longevity. On the show today, Dr. Merv Travers joins me to help us understand this counter-intuitive idea, and it’s far-reaching implications for performance and rehabilitation.
Dr. Merv Travers is a Senior Research Scholar working in the area of low back pain, tendon pain and exercise rehabilitation at the School of Physiotherapy, The University of Notre Dame Australia. He completed his Ph.D. at Curtin University where he also maintains an Adjunct Research Fellow role. His teaching areas include anatomy and exercise rehabilitation. He has a Masters of Manipulative Therapy and is a qualified strength & conditioning coach (Australian Strength and Conditioning Association – Level 2).

Merv’s clinical background includes working in professional rugby union and he provides clinical consultation for complex musculoskeletal conditions at Star Physio. Merv guest lectures nationally and internationally on the topics of strength and conditioning for physiotherapists and tendinopathy rehabilitation.

Follow Dr Merv Travers:

• OptimiseRehab.com
• Twitter @MervTravers
• Facebook @optimiserehab
• Instagram @optimise_rehab
• Linked In Merv Travers

Cool stuff mentioned in the show:

• The Pelvic Health Podcast episode with Dr Travers: Basics of Strength Training with Dr. Merv Travers
• The JOSPT Podcast episode with Dr Travers Ep 15: An anti-fragile outlook on chronic pain, with Dr Merv Travers (Part 2)

In this episode we discussed…

• You’ve got 30 or 40 years of running ahead of you
• What does not kill me makes me stronger
• Resting doesn’t help with tendon pain
• Do older runners have less capacity to adapt?
• Running injury? Focus on what you CAN do
• What if running makes my injury worse?
• Is it ok to run through knee pain?
• My doctor said I shouldn’t run, should I listen to her?
• Do I need help with my running injury?
• Strong is the middle of the spectrum

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