Saturday, February 10, 2007

Physio 10

Yes, today is my 10th physio session. Really questioning why I'm going still ...

Anyway, saw the physiotherapist, updated her about my running mileage, my pain etc. She also enquired about what other activities I did etc just to find out more about what could have contributed to my pain. She couldn't find a pattern but after seeing the mileage that I run, she said that i increased my mileage too fast (from 1.X km to 3km) and that spinning might also contribute blah blah.
She said the only way is to start from ground zero, and slowly "load" (either increase speed or time but not both) so that we can ascertain what could be the contributing factor. I told her point blank (politely of course) that I'm not keen to start all over again from scratch. She said its up to me and that that was what she suggested and she understands how I feel, but her wish is for me to get better.

Getting better is obviously my biggest wish too, but sometimes, we just have to balance between getting better with some reasonal amount of activity, and getting better conservatively. I think I will choose the former. I have opted for the latter for the past few months and yes, it helps but not totally. Anyway, I hear what she said and I will be more careful and also establish a proper pattern in my running mileage. She agreed that I need not go and see her coz I can record and monitor on my own. She said she wouldn't discharge me but will put my session as an open-date which I was fine with.

Next up, appointment with the sports doc. Judging from the x-ray he said that my bone is better and healing (HOORAY!) and that the current mild pain that I feel (he did some examination of both my legs, finding out where it hurts when he pressed down lightly) is probably the actual shin pain. I also briefly repeated what I mentioned to the physiotherapist. He did some assessment and decided to observe my running gait again. Lots of things he said but I shall not try to repeat them here (coz I oso can't remember liao). Anyway, gist of it is:
  1. My ankle /calf lacks the flexibility and hence i wasn't able to bend my ankle far enough to form a 90 degrees angle without much of a force. What this means is that I am not able to run i think efficiently or properly lah .. dunno what.
  2. My adductors are not strong and hence when I run, my knees tend to move inwards thus making my knock knees problem more pronounced. Considering that women are built with wider hips, so my problem seems more acute that my knees sometimes brush against each other when I run, especially when I'm tired.
  3. So doc suggested stretching of my adductors and lots and lots of stretching on my calf to ensure i can do (1). I thick-skinly asked him how to stretch my adductors (coz he sound like I ought to know), then he was shocked to learn that he has not shown me the 5 stretching for runners. So here they are:-
    • Calf & Deep-calf stretch - (Calf Stretch) To stretch your calf, stand a little way from a solid support and lean on it with your palms. Bend one leg and place your foot on the ground in front of you, leaving the other leg straight behind you. Slowly move your hips forward until you feel a stretch in the calf of your straight leg. Be sure to keep the heel of the foot of the straight leg on the ground and your toes pointed straight ahead. Hold an easy stretch for 30 seconds. Do not bounce.
      Stretch other leg.
      (Deep-calf stretch) - In the same position as the calf stretch, shift your weight farther onto your back leg and bend your back knee until you feel your heel wanting to raise off the floor. (Keep your heel on the floor, though.) You should feel the stretch in your Achilles tendon.



    • Quadricep Stretch - Hold left foot with your left hand and gently pull your heel towards your backside, keeping the rest of the body straight. Feel the stretch in the quadriceps (thigh) muscles. Repeat with the other side.





    • Hamstring stretch - From a standing position, put one foot on a chair. While keeping this foot flat, slowly straighten this knee until you feel a stretch. To increase the stretch, slowly lean forward from the waist while keeping your back straight and chest out.


    • Adductor Stretch - Seated, put the soles of your feet together. With your elbows on the inside of your knees, gradually lean forward and gently press your knees toward the ground.

    • ITB Stretch - with left hand on the wall, left leg straight and left hip towards the wall, slow lean towards the wall and lift the right leg and place it in front of the left to lend support.
      According to Runner's World, this is the best ITB stretch in the world. But this isn't the one that my doc demonstrated to me though.

    (pictures plugged from here)
  4. To consciously run with the knees facing outwards (have to stretch out the adductor muscles so that the knees can do that)
Doctor said that he will keep the follow-up session as an open-date (HOORAY!!!) and wished me good luck.

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