Current Environment: Production

Medical Services

Specialties

Programs & Services

Languages

  • English
  • French

Education

Undergraduate School

University of Notre Dame

South Bend, IN

Graduate School

Loyola University

Chicago, IL

Medical School

Boston University School of Medicine

Boston, MA

Internship

Pediatrics; Boston Children's Hospital & Boston Medical Center

Boston Combined Residency Program (BCRP)

Boston, MA

Residency

Pediatrics; Boston Children's Hospital & Boston Medical Center

Boston Combined Residency Program (BCRP)

Boston, MA

Fellowship

Musculoskeletal-Sports Ultrasound, Sports Medicine Division

Boston Children's Hospital

Boston, MA

Certifications

  • Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS)
  • American Board of Pediatrics (General)
  • Neonatal Advanced Life Support (NALS)
  • Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS)

Professional History

Kristin Whitney, MD, MA, Assistant Professor in Orthopedics-Harvard Medical School, is a Sports Medicine Physician in the Boston Children’s Hospital (BCH) Department of Orthopedics & Sports Medicine. She is Director of the Injured Runner's Clinic & Running Injury Prevention Program with BCH & The Micheli Center for Sports Injury Prevention. She is fellowship trained in Sports Medicine with a second sub-specialty fellowship in Musculoskeletal-Sports Ultrasound diagnostics & procedures; both fellowships were conducted at BCH, along with her preceding residency.

Dr. Whitney's clinical and research work focuses on health and performance among athletes of all ages experiencing acute and chronic injuries, particularly among runners and running-based team/field sport athletes. Dr. Whitney has provided medical support for the Boston Marathon for over a decade and she currently serves as Co-Medical Director for the Boston Marathon, Boston Half Marathon, BAA 10K, and BAA 5K races.

A 7-time Boston Marathon qualified runner herself, she has served as a coach for “Girls on the Run," and co-founded Forest Hills Runners, the largest free community running club in Massachusetts, highlighted in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2014. Her running-related research has been recognized with the 2022 American Medical Society for Sports Medicine Harry L. Galanty Young Investigator Award, a 2023 Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance Symposium Translational Impact Award, and featured as a best research abstract at the 2023 American College of Sports Medicine Annual Meeting & World Congresses. She has been recognized as a Trailblazer in Research and Innovation finalist for the 2025 BCH HERstory Month awards, citing her "groundbreaking contributions to sports medicine research, running injury prevention, and marathon medicine."

Dr. Whitney grew up playing a variety of sports including lacrosse, field hockey, soccer, golf, track & field, and has dabbled throughout her life in road cycling, swimming, sprint-triathlon, alongside her love for marathon running. Dr. Whitney is the proud mom of a highly active 4-year old daughter and 1 year old son, and is passionate about sports medicine clinical care and research as a means of promoting health, well-being, and community through sports.

Media

Gait Analysis

Watch as Dr. Kristen Whitney explains how running gait analysis can help prevent future injury

Answers Blog

Avulsion fracture taps the brakes on a runner’s races

Answers Blog

What running mistakes lead to injury?

Answers Blog

Fuel to be faster: Studying the effects of low energy availability at the Boston Marathon

Answers Blog

The key to preventing shin splints may be underfoot

Publications

  1. Diagnosis and Staged Return to Sport of an Adolescent Triathlete with Bilateral Iliac Crest Apophyseal Injury: A Case Report. JBJS Case Connect. 2025 Apr 01; 15(2). View Abstract

  2. Nutrition educational interventions for athletes related to low energy availability: A systematic review. PLoS One. 2025; 20(2):e0314506. View Abstract

  3. Boston Marathon athlete performance outcomes and intra-event medical encounter risk associated with low energy availability indicators. Br J Sports Med. 2025 Feb 06; 59(4):222-230. View Abstract

  4. Absolute and Relative Agreement Between Radiographic and Sonographic Calcaneal Ossification Staging: A Pilot Study. Sports Health. 2025 Feb 04; 19417381251315056. View Abstract

  5. Association between running biomechanics and lower limb musculotendinous changes over an adolescent marathon training program. Gait Posture. 2025 Mar; 117:16-23. View Abstract

  6. Clinical assessment, treatment, and referral trends for adolescent runners seeking care at an injured runners' clinic. J Pediatr Rehabil Med. 2024 Sep; 17(3):342-352. View Abstract

  7. Running Biomechanics and Clinical Features Among Adolescent Athletes With Lower Leg Chronic Exertional Compartment Syndrome. Clin J Sport Med. 2024 Jul 01; 34(4):348-356. View Abstract

  8. Relationship Between Running Biomechanics and Core Temperature Across a Competitive Road Race. Sports Health. 2025 Mar; 17(2):351-358. View Abstract

  9. Youth Athletes With Sever's Disease Exhibit Altered Achilles Tendon Ultrasound Characteristics: A Retrospective Case-Control Study. J Ultrasound Med. 2024 Jul; 43(7):1303-1312. View Abstract

  10. Youth Sport Specialization: Current Concepts and Clinical Guides. HSS J. 2024 Aug; 20(3):416-423. View Abstract

  11. Protocol and validity testing of femoroacetabular posterior translation with dynamic hip ultrasonography. Skeletal Radiol. 2024 Jul; 53(7):1287-1293. View Abstract

  12. Biomechanical changes identified during a marathon race among high-school aged runners. Gait Posture. 2024 02; 108:44-49. View Abstract

  13. Adolescent and young adult hip and knee strength profiles relate to running gait biomechanics. Phys Ther Sport. 2023 Nov; 64:48-54. View Abstract

  14. Outpatient Runners Clinic Visit Trends and Injury Characteristics Among 392 Child and Adolescent Patients: A 10-year Chart Review. Clin J Sport Med. 2023 11 01; 33(6):e166-e171. View Abstract

  15. Running gait adaptations among adolescent runners with soft tissue impairments following lateral ankle sprains. PM R. 2023 Dec; 15(12):1557-1564. View Abstract

  16. Adolescent exercise-related lower leg pain musculotendinous characteristics. PM R. 2023 Nov; 15(11):1392-1402. View Abstract

  17. Intrinsic and extrinsic factors contributing to running-related lower limb injuries among adolescent runners. J Sports Sci. 2022 Nov; 40(22):2468-2474. View Abstract

  18. A Comparison of Factors Associated with Running-Related Injuries between Adult and Adolescent Runners. Int J Sports Phys Ther. 2022; 17(6):1033-1042. View Abstract

  19. Adolescent Marathon Training: Prospective Evaluation of Musculotendinous Changes During a 6-Month Endurance Running Program. J Ultrasound Med. 2023 May; 42(5):977-987. View Abstract

  20. Biomechanical running gait assessments across prevalent adolescent musculoskeletal injuries. Gait Posture. 2022 07; 96:123-129. View Abstract

  21. Running gait biomechanics in female runners with sacroiliac joint pain. J Phys Ther Sci. 2022 Apr; 34(4):327-334. View Abstract

  22. Generalized Joint Laxity Is Associated With Dynamic Hip Ultrasonography Measures in Female Athlete Patients Who Are Not Hypermobile. J Ultrasound Med. 2022 Sep; 41(9):2343-2353. View Abstract

  23. Femoroacetabular translation in female athletes and dancers assessed by dynamic hip ultrasonography. BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med. 2021; 7(4):e001169. View Abstract

  24. Ultrasound Observation of Hip Translational Motion in Adolescent Dancers. J Dance Med Sci. 2021 Jun 15; 25(2):105-109. View Abstract

  25. Low energy availability and impact sport participation as risk factors for urinary incontinence in female athletes. J Pediatr Urol. 2021 06; 17(3):290.e1-290.e7. View Abstract

  26. A common thread: pediatric advocacy training. Pediatrics. 2015 Jan; 135(1):7-9. View Abstract
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