Running Injuries at Range of Motion Physical Therapy Dublin 

So I am finally catching up with myself after a very busy October, I reckon I did over 30 sports massages in the two weeks leading up to the marathon. Again well done to all of those who completed the marathon and some great times.

I am especially happy with one particularly client who came to me from the local running club. I had seen her with about 5 weeks to go before the marathon for a sports massage and her training was going well for her, building it steady. I received a call from her the following week, she was in a distressed state having injured her lower leg during a training session.

During the assessment it was obvious she had strained her Tibialis Anterior Muscle (Muscle running down the Shin), she reluctantly admitted to trying to do some bare foot running during one of her training runs… Thankfully she has learnt the golden rule when training for a marathon, do not change anything in the final phase of your training plan, be it your foot wear or technique.

In terms of helping her recover from her injury we were under a bit of time pressure, or should I say I was…. Initially it was important for me to manage my clients stress levels and expectations, what is done is done. My first goal was to ensure she stops her long runs and understands that she now needs to focus on resolving her injury.

The simple protocol we followed was initial Rest and Ice with gentle stretching of the muscles of the shin, this was done by having her kneel on the floor with her feet pointing behind her while she sat back on her feet.

Over the cousre of a week the swelling and pain eased so we introduced some thera-band exercises, adding some resisted ankle dorsi-flexion to strengthen the muscle. This was monitored daily and as her pain decreased further we started a walk – run program to prepare her injured muscle to getting back to running.

After approximately 2 half weeks of the walk run program she was back running for 30 minutes slow and easy and feeling much more confident of her chances of making the marathon. On the final days leading up the marathon there was no pain or swelling, we decided she would start the marathon and see how it goes. However if she feels any pain she was to pull up for fear of creating a more serious injury.

I was delighted to hear that her injury held up for the entire marathon and she completed the race without having to stop. I think she has learnt some really good lessons and gained some great experience and is looking forward to her next marathon.

Please contact Range of Motion Physical Therapy Dublin for some great advice on how to manage running injuries or if you are just looking for so on going maintenance sports massages.