After a bad reaction to a November half marathon, Charlie began working with motivPT in January 2023. Limping through the airport, Charles knew he needed help getting to a HUGE upcoming race in April–the London Marathon.
Our initial camera-to-camera visit showed some imbalance in his strength from one leg to the other (not surprisingly, the same side as his painful achilles). We also provoked some irritability with stretches and movements at the achilles.
So the work started. If Charlie would be able to tolerate 26.2 miles of running, he needed to build up a LOT of activity tolerance.
We built Charlie a custom calendar of our exercise videos. We started with safe activation and movement through the ankle to get those joint arthrokinematics (joint movements) controlled and nonpainful. From there, we started some slow eccentrics (controlled lengthening), built up to concentric strengthening, and moved him to single-leg strength and control when his body was ready.
But we didn’t just focus on Charlie’s ankle. We worked on all the leg strength and flexibility imbalances we found during our assessment, included core strength and control, and worked on endurance and strength of the hips to support all the single-leg demands running requires.
Charlie checked in every 1-2 weeks on camera with us, and we progressed and advanced his exercises according to where his body was at that moment. And with Charlie’s commitment to his 15-20 minutes of daily exercise, HE DID IT!! He finished the race with a little awareness of the ankle but with NO PAIN!
We are so proud of Charlie, his commitment to himself, and his accomplishing a massive goal! Great work, Charlie!
So, if you have a big event like Charlie and don’t want an injury to get in the way, REACH OUT. We do free consults and can work with you from wherever you are.
We also included a couple of shots of Charlie running the São Paulo Marathon 2 weeks earlier!
At motivPT, we’ll get you moving in a healthy way. If you have pain, weakness, or imbalance, consider booking with us for an online Physical Therapy routine customized to fit your individual needs. Book your free 15-minute consult to talk with Dr. Alex about your specific concerns and to learn more about how we work!
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