Thursday, April 16, 2009

Physio update

I went to the physio, handed over €45 and got the good news that the problem doesn't appear to be joint related!! But as I feared the fact that it's been two days since my last attempt at a run and nine days since my last half serious run, there was no obvious evidence of injury so the physio had to work for her money to make a diagnosis.

After much pushing and prodding of my legs the working diagnosis is that it's more than likely related to my (very) tight 'vastus lateralis' muscle which has overstressed the area around the knee. I need to do more stretching and yes, mea culpa, I've been neglecting this muscle group probably for the last 18 years or so!!

So after some massage, ultra sound, and acupuncture (including some tens stimulation) I was told to keep running (very easy and not to the point of pain) and come back next Thursday morning for another consultation.
'Keep Running', I repeated in surprise for confirmation!! 'Yes', I was told, apparently there's nothing more to be gained by more rest. Usually after an injury the advice is 'no running and lots of massage etc for at least 4 to 6 weeks' or something similar so being told I could run (even slowly) was a pleasant surprise. I'm not sure how far I'll get but I think I'll start with my 'treatment' tomorrow....
Oh, in case I forget, good luck to all those running the 113th Boston Marathon; relax and enjoy the weekend and race well on Monday. I'm looking forward to those race reports...who'll be the first to get their post up?? My money is on Thomas...

4 comments:

Mike said...

Good news. It seems that as long as you're not hurting it further, short easy running is the recommendation these days.

I got the same info last year when I got hurt. I was told at the time that getting some blood flow through the area would aid in the healing process.

Good luck on the recovery, hope you're back to 100% soon.

RICK'S RUNNING said...

YES SOUNDS LIKE GOOD NEWS IF ITS NOT A JOINT PROBLEM!
Hope your return to the road goes smoothly!
p.s. its amazing how many runners don't stretch at all!!!

bricey said...

thanks guys. Went for almost 3 miles today at a very slow 8:30 pace. Was OK on the flat but a bit sore on the slight uphill bits. Glad that I hadn't planned 3.5 miles!!
Brendan

Thomas said...

Hey, at least I'm the favourite for one thing.

Your treatment seems to be going ok and I like the "Keep running" advice. Much better than your average physio. Good luck with that.