It is hard, at times, to find a quality physical therapist. As a practicing physical therapist for nearly 15 years, I have heard some incredible horror stories of people going to “PT” only to receive a hot pack, ultrasound, and a sheet of exercises. The therapist might have had 5 or 6 other clients being treated simultaneously, and the new client had a barely 5 minute “consultation” before having the hot pack slapped on.
Of course there are also great therapists out there who can eliminate a chronic pain after only 2 or 3 sessions. Those who can explain and teach proper body mechanics in ways that even the most uncoordinated clients can understand and put into practice. So how does the average person find the latter and not fall into the former?
Read the rest of this article at our partner site: HesFit.com
These past two seasons have been tough ones for me. Runners’ knee in both knees, lower back pain, SI joint pain, plantar fasciitis, and a groin strain had brought my running to a grind (literally) during 2005 and the first half of 2006. After months of not running, and enduring physical therapy, chiropractic, and massage therapy, I was finally back up and running by September of 2006.
I noticed that deep tissue massage was particularly effective in accelerating healing, but at $40/hr, I could not afford to do it more than once or twice a month. Then I discovered Trigger Point Technologies and their massage products through injury message boards and word of mouth. I figured that the TP Massage set would be good investment, since I could use it every day at no cost after the initial purchase.
If it holds to even half of the claims of the website and of other peoples’ reviews, it would be worth the money by helping to keep me injury-free and feeling good during and after runs (Some of the before mentioned reviews of this self-massage toolset are by Linda Gallo, SNEWS, and active.com). Reviews such as these, plus the product’s informative website, convinced me to shell out the cash to buy it myself and add it to my arsenal of injury-prevention and running maintenance tools.
I have been using the massage tools and techniques faithfully every day now for the last 8 weeks. The tools of the “Total Package” (Pictured above) include the Ball, the Footballer and Block, and the Quadballer.
Read the rest of this entry »
Trigger Point Technologies hit a home run with their TP Massage toolkit, which is designed to release trigger points, restore muscle elasticity, and improve biomechanics for runners, cyclists, and other athletes. For me, TP massage as been key component of returning my body to health and my recent rise in running performance (Also see my full review on the TP Massage Ball).
Another oft-overlooked aspect of injury prevention, performance, and biomechanics is core strength. Many runners will be willing to train for hours and hours each week, but fail to put any time into improving their core — the result of this neglect is sometimes poor biomechanics that propagate into injury.
While actively recovering from my barrage of injuries in 2006, I dedicated myself to improving core strength, both during physical therapy and at home. From wobble boards and stability balls, to simple crunches and bridge exercises, I consistently invested about 15 minutes per day into my core muscles. And it has been time well spent, as I have logged over 1400 miles in 5 months and set several big PR’s…all while staying injury-free.
The TP Stability PODS are designed to increase core strength through challenging balance and symmetry. They come as a set of three different-sized, concave, foam…er…pods (for the lack of a better description). The differential heights of the three pods represent three difficulty levels (I, II, and III). In other words, it is much harder to find balance with the tallest pod than with the shortest pod, which engages greater work in the core muscles.
Read the rest of this entry »
Need advice? Injured? Confused? Overwhelmed? Bored? ASK FLASH!
ASK FLASH is a free advice column to help you with all of your running, fitness and nutrition inquiries. To ASK FLASH — simply fill out the form at the conclusion of the column.
Feet, feet, and more feet. Pay attention to your feet my fellow runners.
Q. During my longer runs 1:30+ my feet hurt. It is not plantar related, but more of a dull sore pain all over the bottom of the foot when I strike. My shoes are broken in but not old enough to be broken down. What is this and is there anything I can do to alleviate the pain before, during or after my runs?
~Sore Feet from Philadelphia, PA
A. Do NOT neglect your feet. Feet require attention and can’t just be stuffed in a shoe and ignored. My best guess is that you need to strengthen your feet. Do you walk barefoot a lot? Have you tried exercises where you grab a towel with your toes, etc.? Do you stretch your feet? (see Yoga Toes)
I have worked really hard this winter to get my feet and core strong to lessen the effects of pounding. Thus far, it has made a huge difference. Core strength, foot strength, and stride efficiency can alleviate pounding and minimize foot pain. From my experience, ice baths and Epsom salt are both effective in keeping inflammation and aches to a minimum.
Read the rest of this entry »
© 2006-2008 The Final Sprint, LLC | Privacy Policy | Design by The Blog Studio
The Final Sprint, LLC is owned and operated by Adam Jacobs
The Final Sprint