Life is a gift that we should all cherish, and the best partner for life is sound health. Nothing keeps you in better shape, mentally and physically, other than striving to keep yourself active and healthy.
Research shows how people keep mental illnesses at bay by exercising a strict daily routine of working out.
If you are an avid believer in physical health facilitating a peaceful mind, you must know how frustrating it is if something keeps you from your exercise.
Runners suffer a lot of setbacks and physical pain when they suffer an injury. No physical injury should be belittled when a runner as the injury does not go away with time. Instead, it keeps on pilling up and getting worse.
Running Physiotherapy
If you can relate to any of what you have read above, we will open new avenues of thinking for you. Running physiotherapy is the best one-stop solution to managing your injuries.
It can help heal your injuries and improve your stamina to outperform yourself.
Physio for runners helps heal your injuries and prevents them from happening in the future. If you are adamant to improve your running form, a running physiotherapist can shape your running technique.
They can help decrease the risk of an injury, if not avoid it.
Essential Role of Running Physiotherapists
A good physiotherapist for runners knows what he is intended to do. He is well-practiced in understanding the needs of the runners, their goals, and their levels of motivation.
The assessments such a practitioner should do include a detailed outlook of the client’s gait patterns and obstacles in the running.
The knowledge of biomechanics is another significant skill that makes a running physiotherapist stand out.
Another most significant role that running physiotherapy plays is striking a balance between load management and strength training.
Planning out a runner’s game-plan without considering the level of strength management will only result in unfortunate injuries.
A good running physiotherapist knows just how well a load on any runner should be modified without risking a possible physical injury.
Moreover, the biggest and possibly the most convincing role of a running physiotherapist is completing strength training.
It is more than essential for a running physio to complete strength training specific to the corresponding fitness levels.
It significantly reduces the risk of injury, and in conjunction with an effective running program, the runners are bound to stay away from injuries.
Running Assessments
If you are curious about what assessments include when you book an appointment for a running physio, consider the following points as a peek into the assessments.
- All aspects of your running schedule
- Assessing and setting up goals
- An in-depth analysis of your running technique using biomechanics software
- Movement exercises for assessment
- Strength analysis
- Performance improvement plans
- Load management plan
The best thing about these physiotherapy assessments is that you can, for once, sit and see yourself running. You can identify several problems when you analyze yourself.
Everybody’s joints and muscles can be analyzed when scrutinizing yourself in slow motion or under biomechanics software.
How Running Physiotherapists Help the Runners?
The answer is most evident: running physiotherapy is about assessing the situation and drafting a running plan that matches your strength training.
When the running physiotherapists have a clear picture of the cause of running injuries, they can tailor the goals and plans according to each individual’s needs.
The most important thing is taking the journey together. You and your running physio can help uncover the root of the injuries, which mainly include load management, fault in running technique, or both.
You, alone, cannot work on these as these are all the problems that a trained physiotherapist can deduce.
Physiotherapists are also experts in strength conditioning – implying that they can help work out effective techniques and measures to achieve a strength management program so that any muscle imbalances are corrected.
They can tend to the following common running injuries:
Runner’s Knee
Also known as patellofemoral syndrome, the runner’s knee implies extreme pain around the knee area, especially the kneecap.
It is the most common running injury.A history of hip weakness puts you more at risk of developing this syndrome.
It can be identified by:
- Dull pain in one or both the knees
- Mild to the extreme pain
- Exacerbates by prolonged sitting or workouts, climbing, or squatting
Runners must see a running physiotherapist after a physician’s diagnosis.
Achilles tendinitis
Inflammation in the tendon that connects your calf muscles to the heels is called Achilles tendinitis. It is primarily due to prolonged and intensified running spells.
Even if the symptoms are not of extreme levels, you should immediately seek a running physiotherapist’s help. The tendon might even suffer a rupture if not treated on time and lead to surgery.
Some of the common symptoms of Achilles tendinitis include:
- Pain above your heel in the lower leg
- Swelling of the Achilles tendon
- Difficulty in moving your foot toward your shin
- Warmness on the tendon part
IT band syndrome
IT stands for the iliotibial band, a long tissue connecting the outer hip to the knee. The IT band plays a significant part in stabilizing the knee during running.
The constant friction of the band while it rubs along the leg bone might render in pain. The more you overuse it, the more it becomes tighter and thus, causing you a great deal of pain.
Shin splints
In instances when you aggravate your running volume too quickly, shin splints might happen and cause you pain. Shin splints are when you feel pain in the inner parts of the legs near your shinbone.
This syndrome can go away with proper massages and exercises. However, if you leave it be, it can lead to stress fractures.
Hamstring injuries
Hamstrings in the leg help decelerate you when you swing during your running cycle. Tight, weak, or overworked hamstrings might make you prone to injury. The following symptoms notify such an injury:
- Dismal pain in the back part of the upper leg
- Hamstring muscle hurts upon touching
- Stiff hamstring muscle
Running Physiotherapy for Runners
Running physiotherapists consult the running cycle and pattern extensively. They know the ins and outs of biomechanics at work when you are running and are aware of all the possible ways you can hurt yourself.
The fundamental priority of running physio is to sit with you and plan out a running plan. You can draft your running plan effectively by planning out strength management and training.
I am Kate, a dedicated health advocate. My purpose is to educate you regarding the most current wellness trends, offer science-backed insights to enhance your understanding, and present actionable tips to support you on your journey towards a healthier and happier life. Let us commence this wellness path together!