Cervical Dystonia in a Runner with David Abelson Artwork

Unstoppable Strides: Navigating Runner's Dystonia

Join Julie and JoJo for information, exploration, stories of hope and real talk related to running with dystonia.

Runner’s dystonia is a type of repetitive exercise dystonia that is brought on by running. Some are affected by walking and cycling as well.

Dystonias are a class of movement disorders marked by involuntary muscle contractions in one or more parts of the body, depending on the type of dystonia.

Runner’s dystonia is considered task-specific, which means that it only occurs when doing a repetitive motion—in this case, the repetitive nature of the running gait cycle.

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All Episodes

Unstoppable Strides: Navigating Runner's Dystonia

Cervical Dystonia in a Runner with David Abelson

April 21, 2026 • Julie Bergfeld • Season 3 • Episode 2

0:00 | 41:31

Julie has a conversation with Boulder, CO runner David Abelson. David has cervical dystonia and has been active in running for more than 30 years. In 2022, he developed dystonia and shares his 4 keys to his path of recovery.

"Don't give up"

Mentioned in the podcast:

Botox

Colchicine

Rapamycin

Dr. Steven Frucht at NYU-Langone

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The information shared in this podcast is not intended to diagnose. recommend nor treat medical conditions. We are not licensed medical professionals and do not take the place of your team of medical professionals.

You can find us here: Julie Bergfeld - julie@juliebergfeld.com and juliebergfeld.com (@juliebergfeldcoaching) and JoJo Fraser - joellef510@gmail.com