There Are No Magic Exercises, Just Smart Timing
If youâve ever stayed up late googling the answer to your pain with running, you mightâve run into some contradictory advice!
Itâs like when we had our first daughter and were reading all the Reddit posts about the best methods to get her to sleep through the night.
We searched for one perfect method.
Some magic answer to save the day when it all seems uncertain.
Some golden nugget of gleaming advice.
Thereâs something very important that you need to know about running injuries (and pain in general... and sleeping babies!).
There isnât a perfect silver dart that works every time. Although we can classify injuries as IT Band Syndrome, Achilles tendinopathy, etc, and use frameworks to address them, not all cases react the same or have the same healing timeline.
Because you are not the same as User57897432 on TikTok who had the same injury five months ago and commented their experience with confident assertion that THIS is what solved it for them, so it MUST BE the solution for you.
With our daughter, what worked best was to respond to her. Her current needs. Not forcing a solution that had worked for somene else.
It takes reading her and taking in the context of her day. Some nights she needs more cuddles, some nights she needs us to leave because weâre distracting, some nights sheâs coming down with a sickness and needs medicine.
Similarly, there is no template or protocol when it comes to exercises for certain running injuries.
Even though I do have favorite exercises I use as a physical therapist, theyâre always based on the person and where they are at in their stage of healing.
Because something people often forget to take in to account when addressing pain is the *timing*! For instance, the five exercises you use at the beginning of rehab will not look exactly the same as at the end stage of your rehab.
That's why communication between myself and my clients is so important.
Because the most helpful thing my clients can do along the way to support their success? Have a good read on their body.
How do they feel the exercises works the area? How hard did a run feel? Was it cardio limiting them or leg fatigue?
Learn to read your body's signals, instead of just relying on your watch data, or getting through sets and reps, or running through pain.
In most cases, you donât need to rest on ice and wait for 5-12 months before this gets better. In fact, that lost time and deconditioning will make it harder to come back to running down the line.
You need the right pain relieving techniques, the right exercises, and the right recovery all at the right TIME to make your comeback the sustainable way - which is what I coach my athletes through in the Return to Run Program.
The clients in this program often come out with a better read on their own body, how to adjust their routines in the future, and what moves the needle on healing so they can make necessary adjustments long after we finish working together.
If youâre at a stage where youâre looking for a clear path forward thatâs individualized to you, letâs hop on a Consultation Call. During this call you can come to me with information about your last few weeks or months of training and I can help provide some direction into what your next steps may be based on the timing of recovery.
Questions about this topic? Hit reply to start the conversation!
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Dr. Erin Kennedy Dalisay, PT, DPT, OCS
Doctor of Physical Therapy & Run Coach
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