What happens when your running injury is life changing? In the case of the author of this Runners World article, a disc herniation stopped him in his tracks and he was unable to continue training and training others as a running coach. In my years working in Track and Field as the medical director for USATF NJ, I have seen many runners suffer from injuries that sidelined their ambitions yet they continued to want to train. As a chiropractic sports physician who has practiced for 40 years, I am familiar with having back problems and painful herniated discs because I have too suffered from these types of injuries and had to come back from them. My stubbornness has paid off because I rehabbed these injuries and then used the knowledge I gained while doing so to help others and educate patients using what I learned as I went through the painful experience using what I learned. Someone who trains incessantly is going to have injuries but a herniated disc that is severe can be disabling, cause problems such as weakness and make it difficult to run without again experiencing pain. Taking a different path to athleticism to replace running as your sport. In the Runners World article, this athlete turned to biking and found that biking because of the different ways it uses his body mechanics led to wonderful workouts. The newest bikes now have hydraulic disc brakes, something my old mountain bike lacks which are more responsive and reliable than the caliper brakes I grew up with. In my own fitness routines, it has been years since I ran regularly. This is not because of injury but because having always been a bike rider since childhood, it was always easier to get back into biking after not doing so for a while. Running on the other hand required me to develop my breathing again to do distances and if I was not consistent, increasing my mileage was more difficult and time consuming. Biking has won me over because I always found the different paths I rode on and the scenery on my different rides more fun and self fulfilling than going on a run by myself and if I was less consistent, I could continue to improve more easily on a bike. While I personally do not see myself buying a new bike anytime soon, since the new ones are lighter and may be easier to ride, my old standby was a well made Giant brand that is now close to 30 years old and it is still enjoyable to ride. Some of my patients who have had running injuries recover, try swimming and biking and are now doing triathlons instead. Mixing it up instead of training for the half or full marathon is easier on the body because there is less impact. For many, they find it more fulfilling as well. For others, biking may be a bridge back to running but perhaps, their bodies prefer the mixed cross training that comes with a Triathlon. One other option some athletes discover is spinning. Spinning takes place usually in classes but some people buy spin classes on line and have their own bikes at home. Either way, in a class that has the instructor who is leading the workout, it is a great way of experiencing the benefits of biking without having to go on the road. Check out the article below where the author offers some advice on different types of bikes. For some, making the switch is a physical attempt to stay athletic in another challenging sport. For others, you may find that you enjoy biking more, as I did. ‘Can cycling make you a stronger runner after injury? I tried it and here’s what I learned‘