Many people run to get fit, but really most people need to get fit to run! There are lots of statistics out there, but the consensus is that anywhere from 60%-80% of runners experience at least one injury every year. Those are not good odds! We want to help you NOT become a part of that statistic, and run pain free for years to come, by addressing any and all potential injury risk factors that your body or your exercise routine currently possess.
What the heck is Pre-Hab?
Pre-hab is all about being proactive and preventing the need for rehab! You should go to the physician for your regular check-up even when nothing is really bothering you, right? You go to the dentist every 6 months, whether you have any tooth pain or not, right? You take your car in for an oil change every few months even when it’s not making any weird noises, correct? You get the idea. You need to treat your body – especially as an athlete – at least as well or even better than you treat your teeth or your car! The pre-hab visit is a wellness visit – it keeps you well! At your physician’s office they check your whole body to make sure every system is working properly, the goal being preventative medicine to make sure there are no surprises in the future that you could have done something about if you had caught it earlier. The same principle holds true for physical therapy as a whole and especially with runners and all endurance athletes. We need to assess all of the joints, muscles, tissues and coordination of movements that work with every step and stroke you take, making sure there are no imbalances and they are as efficient as possible to keep you going as long as possible and prevent any break-downs or pain.
Functional Screening for Pre-Hab Programs
So What Exactly Happens at a Pre-Hab Session?
Running form is made up of a combination of several demands on your body, working simultaneously to reduce the overall stress to your body. In pre-hab, we will assess and address your body’s:
- mobility – your joints’, muscles’ and other soft tissues’ flexibility and capacity to move),
- stability – how well your body can maintain correct form and reduce unnecessary stress for long periods of time),
- strength
- endurance
Assessing Strength & Mobility for a Pre-Hab Program
After my personal diagnostics session, what exactly will I learn and take away?
We will give you a customized program to make sure we have everything moving and working in peak condition. Pre-hab can involve anything from stretching and strengthening exercises to running gait retraining. Here we will help you make specifically calculated adjustments to your stride, and together with the rest of your pre-hab routine we will make your body not only work better, but you will feel stronger, smoother, and faster all with less effort and pain free! Oh, and did we mention we can do all of this while keeping you running?! Come and get some pre-hab and prevent injuries from happening before they start!
Best times to set up your regular Pre-Hab appointments:
- Before or at the beginning of any training season
- A month before a goal race or event
- Every 6 months
- A month after your goal race or event