Injuries and pain can throw off your fitness and nutritional goals. Taking the time to recover is also very time consuming and painful. Running injuries are quite common and I can tell you first hand I have had to experience painful IT Band issues. I have had issues with my left leg on and off for a few years. I would go for a 15 minute run and with every step my left leg from the top of the hip down to the knee would get tighter and tighter until I could not run anymore. I tried massage therapy which helped tremendously for a week or so and then the pain would come back. I had to stop running completely for a few months until I recovered.
I started doing some Active Release Therapy(ART) http://www.activerelease.com/ which helped again for about a week and then I would have dull pain. During this time I was not running but still weight training and using the elliptical. My ART therapist recommended I get my running analyzed. I went to see a chiropractor who specialized in running injuries. He videotaped me running down a block and then running up a block. He videotaped me from the side, front and back. This lasted about 5-10 minutes. I had to go back 1 week later after he had analyzed my running. I must say I was a bit skeptical but once I sat down and heard what the doctor had to say I was impressed. He walked me through his findings telling me that as I run both feet cross over the mid line of my body near the front and end of my stride along with my hip dropping a bit. I was prescribed with some exercises to help improve my running.
Well, it has been about 3 weeks since the analysis and I am happy to say I am running 2- 3 times a week for about 35-45 minutes. Prior to the prescribed exercises I would be in a lot of pain the next day but since doing the exercises I am no longer in pain. The journey to recovery is a long process but I am very happy to say I did not give up and found a therapist who helped me. Thank you Dr. Aaron Case, Dr. Robin Armstrong and Diane Constantinesu for all your help.
Happy running!
To learn more about my services, please visit my website.
