A life changing patient story by Matthew Martin: Learn how Chris regained his ability to run after thinking, at the age of 34, that he would never be able to run again.
When Chris first came in to see Matthew, he was in a bad way. Although he was a graphic designer by trade, his true passion had always been running. In high school, he ran in the junior national cross-country team. Since leaving college, he had consistently posted among the best amateur times in the Great North Run, one of the United Kingdom’s toughest marathons. But now, at the age of 34, he feared that his running days were over.
The problem started during his usual training, when he was gearing up for his first half-marathon of the new year. Chris described it as a deep, tight ache in the front of his right hip that came on after about 10 minutes of running. It would keep getting worse until he stopped and rested – something he was not accustomed to doing. The whole situation was severely denting his pride.
Thinking it would go away, as other aches and pains had in the past, Chris persevered.
He continued with the same warm-up and stretching routines that had served him well up to this point. Over the next month, however, the problem persisted and even worsened.
Soon other problems started popping up. The sole of his right foot began to ache, even his shoulders felt tighter than usual. And to boot, no matter how much Chris tried to push through the discomfort, his usually impressive lap times were simply going down the drain.
It was at this point that Chris consulted Matthew. On the first visit, Matthew’s aim was to answer several questions:
- What was the problem?
- What was causing the problem?
- What could they do about it in the clinic?
- What could Chris do about it on his own time?
- How long would it take to fix?
Matthew conducted a thorough examination that included an analysis of Chris’s running gait and posture, as well as specific muscle and joint tests. He learned in detail about Chris’s symptoms, his running, his warm-up and cool-down routines, and his lifestyle outside running. Soon Matthew was able to build up a detailed picture of how to help.
It turned out that Chris’s running wasn’t what was getting him into trouble. It was his lifestyle outside of running.
Matthew’s clinical detective work was leading to practical solutions. It’s a very common scenario. The prolonged sitting involved in his desk job was causing gradual adaptive changes in his posture and muscle activity. Those adaptive changes were, little by little, making running harder and harder for his body. As running became harder, his performance began to drop and the likelihood of hip injuries increased.
At the clinic, Matthew was able to use some non-invasive, effective manual techniques to help restore the range of movement that Chris had lost over years spent at a desk. In conjunction with this, he showed Chris some simple exercises to do at home to help reverse the negative physical effects of his job.
As Chris got back into more intense training, he and Matthew were able to work together to totally revamp Chris’s warm-up and cool-down routine. They also adjusted Chris’s nutritional intake, which had gotten a little slack over time. With better nutrition, Chris optimized his recovery after training and sped up his healing time.
The results speak for themselves:
The pain in Chris’ hip, foot and shoulder all disappeared once the underlying mechanical and functional causes of the problem were resolved. He was running pain-free two weeks after starting treatment. Better yet, Chris was able to complete the Great North Run. Best of all, he posted his best time in ten years, since he was 25.
The English Osteopaths believe that if you give yourself the right environment in which to thrive, you will. Make an appointment to see us, and we’ll help you find that environment.
