Physical Therapy Visit
I just got back from my first visit to the physical therapy center. Rick, my new therapist, interviewed me for a while to get a complete exercise and injury history. He then had me walk back and forth across a room while he watched my gait. Next he did a whole series of manual tests to see what level of flexibility and strength I had. The coolest part was when Rick put some thin sensors in my shoes and walk around the room again. The sensors were hooked up to a laptop which was able to show the pressure distribution when I walked, which confirmed Rick’s observations about my stride.
Sample screen output
Rick said that the main problems leading to my hamstring tightness are:
* poor gait – I do almost no toe-push off (my toes are tense and are curled up), causing an early foot lift – which increases hamstring load.
* limited flexibility on my ankles, calves, hamstrings
He was great about answering all the questions I had during the exam, especially as he ran me through the gamut of exercises.
Before I left, Rick gave me a series of stretches to do and mentioned I should try to concentrate on achieving a proper “toe-off” when walking or warming up.
I was really happy after the visit, it sounds like my main challenges are all things that can be improved. At this point I am pretty hopeful that I’ll be able to train enough to make an attempt at a Boston Qualifying marathon later in the year.
March 21st, 2008 at 8:40 pm
Wow, holy crap, you’ve had a crazy week!
At least you seem to have had a decent visit to the PT.
Happy stretching, and I hope your head heals!
March 27th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
Now is the tense toe curling just a reaction to Ryan’s assassination attempt on the racquetball court? Feeling a bit paranoid, fearing he could jump out at anytime attempting to try and finish the job?
Glad to hear your visit was positive. Did the PT give you an indication on how long it would take before you saw real improvement?
March 28th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
I think the toe curling is largely a compensation response on my right foot. During the Harrisburg Marathon, the big toenail on my right foot suffered some damage and eventually fell off. Since the nailbed on that toe was sensitive, I was curling my toes unconsciously to prevent the foot from bumping into the front of the shoe.
I’ve ran three times concentrating on correctly pushing off with my toes, we’ll see how long it takes for that to become normal form. During the visit I had this week, the PT was concentrating on building flexibility and strength in a bunch of the other stabilizer muscles. While I believe the PT is helpful, I am going to look at alternate providers. The one I first went to seemed under-staffed (both times the PT ended up having to split his time between me and another patient).