More runners are hitting the road again as the ice melts, and some of them will probably become my clients, presenting with several common running injuries and painful conditions; low back, neck, hip, groin, shin splints, runner’s knee (patellofemoral syndrome), feet (plantar fasciitis), IT band syndrome, ankle sprain, Achilles tendinosis, hamstrings, quadriceps, and calf strains.
I commiserate with them because during my marathon running days, I trained for hours, endured low back pain, tried to run through it for a couple years, until with reluctance, I finally hung up my running shoes, and got addicted to long distance biking, but that’s another story.
Most injuries occur when we over train, push beyond our limits, increase mileage too quickly, or trip over something we can’t see on a run in the dark.
All of these disorders are effectively treated with clinical massage therapy–a structural approach to pain management that allows you to eliminate the underlying cause of each clinical condition, including therapeutic assessment, movement of soft tissues (muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia and joint capsules) to prevent, reduce, or eliminate chronic pain or injuries throughout the body.
A multidisciplinary and multi-modality approach is utilized to restore structural balance in the body, which allows focus on the prevention and rehabilitation of musculoskeletal dysfunctions, trauma, sports injuries, and chronic pain.
Structural integration helps the body return to structural and functional postural alignment by removing tensions and restrictions in areas that have been held tight and by further balancing myofascial relationships throughout the entire body.
Clinical Massage Therapy–A Structural Approach to Pain Management, James Waslaski