In August 2017, I sustained an injury. It seemed to come out of nowhere, but when I looked back I could see how it happened. I was grieving the loss of my x-husband. Was emotionally drained. I did a 30 km challenging trail run and didn't allow enough time to recover before I went for a "just need some fresh air" kind of easy run.
During the run, my glute felt a little bit of a pull. I could feel my hamstring resisting my stride. I slowed down, shortened my stride, tried to jog through it. Then I got stopped. I felt like I had really torn something in my glute and hamstring.
I did the norm. Rest, massage. Then tried to run again. Nope. I then went for treatment. Speed up the time line. 10 months later, thousands of dollars later, 4 practitioners later, I was still unable to run. After that much time, I started to go down that dreary hole of wondering if I would ever run again.
What alluded me was the fact that I KNEW the tissue wasn't damaged anymore. It had been long enough that it would be healed, but why was it that every time I strided, I hurt? As a Pilates instructor, I knew a few things.
1. the pain is not usually where the problem was.
2. there was an issue with my connective tissue elsewhere in my body.
3. the pain from the injury was starting to cause MORE problems. My feet, achilles and calves were getting tighter. It was hard to walk in mornings. My low back was starting to act up.
4. My nervous system was starting to normalize this issue and the problem was starting to take root in my body.
5. I was NOT OK with this and decided to take charge!
I DISCOVERED TWO THINGS THAT HAVE TAKEN ME OUT OF PAIN AND GOT ME BACK ON THE ROAD RUNNING STRONGER THAN EVER!
1. I had an issue with my connective tissue
I had been studying connective tissue or Fascia for sometime. My gut told me that's where I needed to look. I went for BOWEN Therapy with Andrea Sandoval at the Village Clinic.
Andrea was great and worked with me as I listened in. Together we let my body guide the treatments and I started to feel a difference. We were working with my nervous system and connective tissue. While the BOWEN Treatment got my healing started, I knew I had to do more on my own to get 100% better and put this whole thing in the past.
I had heard about the MELT Method and that is was a simple self-treatment technique that gets people out of pain. With only 10 minutes/day using the soft balls on my hands and feet, I started to feel better RIGHT AWAY! I registered for the next Instructor Course.
By the time I got to the course, I had completed 3 weeks of pre-course work and I was already back running. My feet and achilles were rolling like butter with my stride, and my hips were moving with ease.
Today I teach the MELT method at the Tsawwassen Wellness Centre and see the changes in people's pain on a daily basis.
2. I had to address my running form!
When there is connective tissue dehydration, it affects how we move. Over years of moving, the odd ankle sprain or tumble off my bike, I developed small compensation patterns in my gait and alignment. Now, I was always fit and strong. But throw is longer and more challenging runs, the impact of misalignment will pay the price.
I knew if I was to get back to running PAIN FREE and INJURY FREE in future, I had to address my running form. I discovered another program called RUNITY with Juan Nieto, a physiotherapist and Pilates Instructor from Spain.
Juan was teaching his program in Los Angeles. I went. AMAZING! RUNITY gets you strong for running. You learn how to assess your running faults, you learn about what your body needs to go to run well. And you learn conditioning exercises to do on your own to get you strong for running!
So, you guessed it, I engaged in the year long INSTRUCTOR course and even better, invited JUAN NIETO to Tsawwassen to teach the runners in my home town!
If you are ready to RUN PAIN-FREE, FEEL STRONGER THAN EVER, then take these two programs.
1. MELT METHOD - workshops run monthly at the Tsawwassen Wellness Centre. Next workshops are Friday Feb 8th - 2-4 pm and Friday March 8 -1-3 pm. More evening and weekend workshops will be posted.
2. RUNITY - Thursday March 21st - 6:30-8:30pm. Get ready to move and play with Juan Nieto. Together with the Run Inn we are excited to sponsor this amazing evening for all runners.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/15gJ55ecKM7Uv2wVyMHJbICIYuURmMzp5/view
For more information on these workshops visit www.twconline.ca or call 604.943.8823 or drop into the Tsawwassen Wellness Centre in the Tsawwassen Spring Clubhouse!
Running in Mont Blanc, Chamonix France. So happy!
Linda Mallard
Tsawwassen Wellness Centre