After a quick
Google search I smacked on an ice-pack and kept it elevated for a few days with
a steady flow of Motrin. After the third day I decided to run again. My typical
easy 9 miler turned into a very short and very painful 1 mile limp. This wasn’t
good! I now had less than 3 weeks until my next race, a 200 mile relay meant
for 12 runners that I would be taking on with only 3 other Ultra runners. A few
more days passed before sending out the “hey guys, do you want to replace me?”
warning flag. I was met with 3 solid, “naw man, let’s do this!”.
My knee held up
well for the first 15 miles, thanks to being heavily taped with KT Tape. The pain level
increased from a “3” to a very sharp “9” on my next short 2.7 mile leg. I had
just completed a marathon and was in the most pain I had ever felt from
running. Now this was NOT good!
After returning
home I took a week off before going out and trying to run a mile. Big mistake!
Now not only did my knee hurt while I ran, but my calf, IT Band, Knee,
EVERYTHING hurt all the time. I went back to my good friend Google looking for
answers. After finding nothing but words like “scope”, “surgery” , and “running
retirement” I switched over to Twitter. My cousin Jason, is the Co-Founder of “Competitive
Edge Performance” in Tampa Florida and quickly responded with three words I
have not heard before “soft tissue damage” and
highly recommended that I look into the Active Release Technique or (ART) to begin
the recovery process. Once again, back to the Google!
I found that
Active Release Technique treats soft tissue Injuries, relieves pain, and
restores normal tissue function. ART is a new and extremely effective approach
to treating soft tissue injuries and the resulting pain. It is a patented
method of treatment developed by Dr. Michael Leahy and is utilized by more than
3500 certified providers, including medical doctors, chiropractors, physical
therapists, and athletic trainers worldwide. The technique is very popular with
professional athletes and teams (NFL, NHL, NBA, etc.) and is used regularly by
amateur and professional athletes alike, not only to help with rapid injury
recovery, but also for improving their athletic performance. In recent years
this method of treatment has begun to gain recognition among the general public
as well, as more certified practitioners utilizing ART have entered the
healthcare arena. (source: http://www.activerelease.com/)
I quickly began
treatment with Dr Titus out of Savannah, GA and felt the effect of the therapy
after the first day. So what does the treatment consist of? It is a series of
massage techniques that focuses on the muscles, tendons, ligaments and nerves
in the affected areas to combat the overused muscles.
Typically soft
tissue damage will occur in over-used muscles in one of three ways:- Pulls, tears or collisions
- Micro Trauma (small tears)
- Hypoxia (not getting enough oxygen)
The personal
response that I have had after two treatments has been significant enough to
have me post about my treatment and has turned my outlook around to the point
that I am mentally in the Fall race planning mentality now. I highly recommend
looking into Active Release Technique to any and all Ultra Runners that that
are experiencing an over use injury. Just get on the Google and look it up in
your area!
See you on the
trail…
Links:
http://www.activerelease.com/http://www.gocompetitiveedge.com/
http://www.lowcountryultras.com/
