Beware of Dr. Google!

Can I or can’t I run?

You’d think a Google search was a Google search, right?

I sure thought that, and I was SHOCKED when the same search terms pulled up COMPLETELY different results on two different devices.

In the course of preparing a presentation proposal, I decided to do a Google search for “returning to sport postpartum” to see what the average mom is finding when she is looking for advice. 

And this led me down the Dr. Google rabbit hole. How are we vetting our resources? How do we get more clinicians paying attention to the literature. Who determines who is a clinical expert. 

We need our researchers in this field to start gathering data that helps us triage care and differentiate between, say, an olympic level athlete and a mom who isn’t returning to a sport for her job. 

Even evidence and research needs to be vetted. How many times have you heard someone say “Well, the research shows…” when you know damn well they’ve only read the abstract. Or even worse, they read it on a blog.

I hate to break it to you, but the full story isn’t in the abstract.

It’s really hard to be a consumer! As professionals, we do the best we can with the limited amount of research there is about returning to sport postpartum. We have diagnostic and screening tools, but those have mostly been pulled from other types of injuries. 

There is something to be said for expert opinion, of course. I do things with my patients that the research simply hasn’t gotten around to yet. Or that a randomized control group study can’t replicate. 

On the professional side, we need to be better at explaining what we are doing. 

Moms, you need to be aware that the first thing that pops up in your google search may not be the right answer. 

If you ever run across something that doesn’t sound quite right, send it to me in my DMs. And if I don’t know, I bet I know someone who does know. 

This also comes into play when you are purchasing programs. You want to buy from someone who you like but is also providing sound information. 

Moral of the story?

Vet your sources of information…Might want to skip Dr. Google for now