PT & MOBO Creator Jay Dicharry on Tissue Health: How to Strengthen Bones & Tendons

When runners get hurt, it’s often a tissue health problem, like a tendon injury.

Jay Dicharry is a physical therapist, author, entrepreneur, and faculty member at Oregon State University who knows a lot about tissue health for runners. He’s written some of my favorite books on running performance and injury prevention, including “Anatomy for Runners” and “Running Rewired.” Jay also hosts workshops for physical therapists.

In this episode, Jay and I talk about:

• New research on tissue remodeling and load tolerance skills to develop durable runners
• Improving strength, bone density, and tendon health through specific exercises and training methods
• Debunking common beliefs around running and bone health
• Proper plyometric training for bone and tissue health
• The link between nutrition, bone health, and stress fractures
• Tendon health and repair through slow loading (including Achilles injuries)
• How to prevent and address tendon injuries in runners through sound strength training
• Why runner’s feet need special attention
• Using the MOBO Board as a diagnostic tool for fatigue
• Every runner can learn something about tissue health from Jay in this episode to help them run strong and stay injury-free.

Links & Resources from the Show:

• Running Rewired: Reinvent Your Run for Stability, Strength, and Speed by Jay Dicharry
• Jay on Instagram
• MOBO Board on Instagram
• Get the free injury prevention email series.
• Take the Strength Running Podcast listener survey to let us know your thoughts and you might win a 30-minute coaching call with me or your choice of one of our training programs.

Thank you MOBO Board!Invented by renowned physical therapist Jay Dicharry, MOBO helps you stabilize your stance with an innovative rocker board that’s set up on two fins. The design effectively forces you to drive your big toe into the board to improve your stability. I was pretty arrogant going into my first session on the MOBO Board. How hard can it be to balance, right? Well, I was humbled pretty quickly!

Even if you’re a good runner, better balance, stability, and proprioception is going to help you have a more powerful stride and prevent more running injuries. You’ll learn how to improve the efficiency of the kinetic chain from your hip to your big toe. Because as Jay likes to say, it’s not just how strong you are, but how well you use that strength.

I was recently at a weekend physical therapy workshop (lol I was the only running coach) and learned how important (and rare) this simple movement is. Save 10% with code STRENGTHRUN10 at checkout at moboboard.com.

Thank you DrinkLMNT! A big thanks to DrinkLMNT for their support of this episode! They make electrolyte drinks for athletes and low-carb folks with no sugar, artificial ingredients, or colors. They are offering a free gift with your purchase at DrinkLMNT. And this does NOT have to be your first purchase. You’ll get a sample pack with every flavor so you can try them all before deciding what you like best. 

DrinkLMNT’s products have some of the highest sodium concentrations that you can find. Anybody who runs a lot knows that sodium, as well as other electrolytes like magnesium and potassium, are essential to our performance and how we feel throughout the day.

If you’re not familiar, LMNT is m