When it comes to recovering from physical injuries, physiotherapy is always in the conversation. How physiotherapy helps people recuperate from physical trauma is what many people link to recovering from shock and damage. However, that’s not all that physical therapy is good for.
Many athletes, runners especially, are recommended to get physiotherapy beforehand. An injury can be quite costly and pose a hassle to one’s training, and physiotherapy is the perfect way to preface such an ordeal. If you’re curious about whether or not you should take up physical therapy while running, here’s a sneak peek:
What Running Physiotherapy Is
Physiotherapy is defined as the practice of helping people who are affected by physical injuries, illnesses or disabilities. It’s something that helps them get back on their feet. It can be tough to see how running physiotherapy can help as these athletes tend to be some of the healthiest people with their physiques in shape. They’re able to go for miles and hours.
However, running injuries can happen more often than you think. A study had shown that more than half of runners go through an injury each year. A sprained ankle or pulled knee can be quite a hindrance to deal with.
Running physiotherapy aims to help runners in managing those injuries and work on preventing them from occurring. By rectifying one’s condition and learning new techniques, a runner would be able to recover quickly and avoid getting such injuries again.
What Running Physiotherapy Offers
The main thing that running physiotherapy offers is education on how to minimise the risks of running injuries. If one can get better soon and inevitably perform better on the track field, there’s almost little to no room for getting injuries. Runners who haven’t experienced an injury while on their feet can lessen the chances of it happening in the long run.
Strength is also something that physiotherapy offers to its patients. Athletes are conditioned to have stronger muscles in their feet, legs and other relevant parts of their bodies. Being more well-built will not just boost your existing skills and endurance but also protect your own body.
Conditioning is something that won’t just improve your physical fitness but also your mental state too. So much more confidence and stability comes into play when you know that you have the correct techniques down.
What Running Physiotherapy Includes
Physiotherapists usually begin with a running assessment and consultation to gauge your history on the track. The running style is also scrutinised, as certain movements can increase the possibilities of damages. Having an analysis of how often and what style you run in will allow a professional to curate a plan that will shorten the chances of injury.
That plan would also focus on improving performance. After any treatments that would help with fixing up any existing injuries, faulty running motions would be corrected. Having them pointed out by a professional and working on them will help avoid the issues and help you stay running.
Conclusion
So, should you undergo physiotherapy while training us runners? It’s certainly worth the investment when training for such a sport. Whether it’s a profession or a regular hobby, ensuring your own well-being through physical therapy is its own form of commitment that will surely pay off.
Looking into injury prevention at Bondi Beach? Invigor Health offers physiotherapy and running assessments to help runners with their technique and injuries.