Kristin Whitney, MD, MA

Sports Medicine Physician, Department of Orthopedics and Sports Medicine; Director, Injured Runner's Clinic; Diagnostic Musculoskeletal Ultrasound; Co-Medical Director, Boston Marathon
Assistant Professor of Orthopedics, Harvard Medical School
Kristin Whitney, MD, MA
Phone 617-355-3501
Fax 617-730-0178
NPI 1467870097
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Kristin Whitney, MD, MA

Sports Medicine Physician, Department of Orthopedics and Sports Medicine; Director, Injured Runner's Clinic; Diagnostic Musculoskeletal Ultrasound; Co-Medical Director, Boston Marathon
Assistant Professor of Orthopedics, Harvard Medical School

Medical Services

Programs & Services
Child and Young Adult Hip Preservation Program
Female Athlete Program
Injured Runners Clinic
Spine and Sports Program
Sports Concussion Clinic
Sports Ultrasound Clinic
Orthopedics and Sports Medicine
Sports Medicine
Conditions & Treatments
Amenorrhea
Chronic Fatigue
Concussions
Little League Shoulder
Osgood-Schlatter Disease
Overuse Injuries
Patellofemoral Pain
Plantar Fasciitis
Sever's Disease
Sprains and Strains
Stress Fractures
Hip Ultrasound
Hydration
Ultrasound
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
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

Certifications
Neonatal Advanced Life Support (NALS)
Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS)
American Board of Pediatrics (General)
Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS)
American Board of Pediatrics (Sports Medicine)
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.

Publications

Diagnosis and Staged Return to Sport of an Adolescent Triathlete with Bilateral Iliac Crest Apophyseal Injury: A Case Report. View Abstract
Nutrition educational interventions for athletes related to low energy availability: A systematic review. View Abstract
Boston Marathon athlete performance outcomes and intra-event medical encounter risk associated with low energy availability indicators. View Abstract
Absolute and Relative Agreement Between Radiographic and Sonographic Calcaneal Ossification Staging: A Pilot Study. View Abstract
Association between running biomechanics and lower limb musculotendinous changes over an adolescent marathon training program. View Abstract
Clinical assessment, treatment, and referral trends for adolescent runners seeking care at an injured runners' clinic. View Abstract
Running Biomechanics and Clinical Features Among Adolescent Athletes With Lower Leg Chronic Exertional Compartment Syndrome. View Abstract
Relationship Between Running Biomechanics and Core Temperature Across a Competitive Road Race. View Abstract
Youth Athletes With Sever's Disease Exhibit Altered Achilles Tendon Ultrasound Characteristics: A Retrospective Case-Control Study. View Abstract
Youth Sport Specialization: Current Concepts and Clinical Guides. View Abstract
Protocol and validity testing of femoroacetabular posterior translation with dynamic hip ultrasonography. View Abstract
Biomechanical changes identified during a marathon race among high-school aged runners. View Abstract
Adolescent and young adult hip and knee strength profiles relate to running gait biomechanics. View Abstract
Outpatient Runners Clinic Visit Trends and Injury Characteristics Among 392 Child and Adolescent Patients: A 10-year Chart Review. View Abstract
Running gait adaptations among adolescent runners with soft tissue impairments following lateral ankle sprains. View Abstract
Adolescent exercise-related lower leg pain musculotendinous characteristics. View Abstract
Intrinsic and extrinsic factors contributing to running-related lower limb injuries among adolescent runners. View Abstract
A Comparison of Factors Associated with Running-Related Injuries between Adult and Adolescent Runners. View Abstract
Adolescent Marathon Training: Prospective Evaluation of Musculotendinous Changes During a 6-Month Endurance Running Program. View Abstract
Biomechanical running gait assessments across prevalent adolescent musculoskeletal injuries. View Abstract
Running gait biomechanics in female runners with sacroiliac joint pain. View Abstract
Generalized Joint Laxity Is Associated With Dynamic Hip Ultrasonography Measures in Female Athlete Patients Who Are Not Hypermobile. View Abstract
Femoroacetabular translation in female athletes and dancers assessed by dynamic hip ultrasonography. View Abstract
Ultrasound Observation of Hip Translational Motion in Adolescent Dancers. View Abstract
Low energy availability and impact sport participation as risk factors for urinary incontinence in female athletes. View Abstract
A common thread: pediatric advocacy training. View Abstract
Locations