Kaitlyn’s Story: From the Tracks Of Her Tears To Faster Times

Kaitlyn Miller, a Wright State University cross country and track athlete, limped in pain after an intense workout. She couldn’t walk back to her car. 

Instead, she went to her athletic trainer. She referred Kaitlyn to Premier Health sports medicine specialist Paul Krebs, MD.

“Unfortunately, what I suspected came out on the MRI,” Dr. Krebs says. He diagnosed that Kaitlyn had a severe stress fracture of the femoral neck – the part of the thigh bone, or femur, just below the ball of the hip joint. Femoral neck stress fractures are a risk of endurance running. They’re more common for women than men.  

Dr. Krebs, a runner himself, recalls, “My heart broke for Kaitlyn. This is the type of injury that puts you in danger of ending your running career.”

“The moment he told me, I actually started crying,” Kaitlyn says. “This was something that I never thought I would be able to come back from.”

After surgery by Premier Health orthopedic surgeon Eric Fester, MD, Kaitlyn began rehabilitation coordinated by Dr. Krebs and Premier Health’s Running Medicine and Performance Program team – physicians, physical therapists, athletic trainers, and sports performance providers who help runners and endurance athletes overcome injuries and reach their goals.

During rehab, Kaitlyn proved how hard working she could be, how tough she could be,” says Dr. Krebs, who is board certified in sports medicine and family medicine. “One of the things that impressed me about Kaitlyn was how well she handled the situation. Every day I would go to the training room. I would see her working hard on her rehab, getting stronger.”

The result of this teamwork of sports rehabilitation specialists and athlete?

Kaitlyn says, “I'm back to the same amount of training that I was before my surgery, but I'm faster. I've beaten all my records and I've improved so much. My biggest goal this season is to win our conference for the steeplechase and to beat our school record for it as well.”

At the 2024 Horizon League Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Kaitlyn finished second in the women’s 3000 steeplechase, with a time of 10:55.00, more than two seconds less than her second-place finish in the 2023 Horizon League championship. 

“Knowing the severity of her injury and the long road she had to overcome to get back to running, and running at a high level, it’s inspiring seeing her achieve what she's been doing this year,” Dr. Krebs says.

Kaitlyn says, "Thank you to the Premier Health team for getting me to where I am today."

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