Runners and Physical Therapy
I hear a lot of runners say they avoid physical therapy at all costs. The most common things I hear are…
“It is a waste of time..”
“It didn’t help..”
“My injury came back as soon as I went back to running..”
“I was doing the same exercises, every time, by myself..”
Quite frankly, I don’t blame them. Based on what I hear from runners about their experiences and what I have seen at Physical Therapy clinics, I wouldn’t waste my time or money either.
And there are really 2 THINGS Physical Therapists SAY and 3 THINGS PTs FAIL TO DO that make runners not want to work with them.
1- “STOP RUNNING”
The BEST way to make a runner not want to work with you is to order them to STOP RUNNING. We’re not talking about having a conversation about taking time off, but flat out, Stop. Cease. End. Terminate. No Mas.
This is not involving the patient in the plan of care and is not the right answer 99% of the time.
2- “You need to Take Time Off” (AGAIN!)
A lot of injuries are diagnosed as “overuse” injuries and the cookie cutter solution is to “take time off”.
Unfortunately, so many of us have experienced recurrent injuries even after taking time off.. How can it be an “overuse” injury if I have just taken “time off”...??? (It’s not “overuse” but rather “misuse” placing excessive stress on certain tissues and we must address that!)
And there are 3 things PTs fail to do.
1- They NEVER assess the runner’s running mechanics.
It may seem obvious to us, but if someone has a running related injury, shouldn’t we assess HOW they are running? If no other daily activities are causing the runner issues, why would we assess everything but the way they run?? This is a common mistake made by most healthcare professionals.
2- They do not work on running specific drills, exercises, and activities.
It is vital to enhance the runner’s technique so they can run more efficiently, reducing the stress placed on the body. Failing to do this and allowing the runner to run with poor technique puts the runner back under the same excessive stress that injured them in the first place.
3- They don’t work with the runner to modify the runner’s current running program to support an optimal rehabilitation process.
This requires understanding of exercise physiology, tissue loading, recovery, work to rest ratios, etc. Many runners completely stop running while in physical therapy and then return at almost the same level where they left off. This does not set the runner up for a successful outcome.
So, if you’re a runner and have a running related injury what do you do?
SUCK IT UP BUTTERCUP!
Haha, just kidding.
You need to find a professional who understands running mechanics, injuries, exercise physiology, and is able to integrate this knowledge into an assessment and rehabilitation program with you.
For the reasons mentioned above, I have been avoiding the title “PT” as much as runners avoid PT. I don’t want KINESIS to be associated with that type of care and lack of expertise.
Thus, we’ve largely dropped the terms PT/Physical Therapy and adopted the title Kinesio Doctor and began to provide Kinesio Therapy.
Kinesio Therapy seeks to address the ROOT origins of musculoskeletal pain by addressing posture (running posture), neuromuscular patterns (what muscles are working when you run), and biomechanics (running mechanics).
During Kinesio Therapy, Kinesio Doctors
Meet their runners where they are at. There is a huge range of different levels of runners and different goals. Not all runners need the same things.
Evaluate and assess running technique and based on our assessment, implement necessary drills and exercises to optimize running technique. (Most “overuse” injuries result from excessive stress from bad running mechanics. I’ve adopted the sayings like “it is not an overuse injury, it is a misuse injury” and “the tissue is not the issue”.)
Modify training programs as appropriate to help promote healing and rehabilitation while still maximizing the abilities of the runner.
Basically we do everything typical, run of the mill, Physical Therapy Clinics DON’T do.
If you need help, you know where to find us.
Happy Running.