I had a great time working with Michael Madison of the Gilbert’s Gazelles and the Austin Distance Challenge at the 3M Half Marathon today. Here are a few pics.

I really enjoy meeting new people and working on them to relieve their pain. Running pain after a half marathon (13.1 miles) is often significant so I recommend runners getting at least a “flush” post-run massage AND foam roll their tight muscles. Best case scenario, they should also get a few treatments of Active Release Technique to clear up any residual tightness and scar tissue that results from running at that intensity.

Overall, it was a beautiful day for running even with high winds and a late (53 min late) start. Most everyone I talked with had a great race. Keep up the great work Austin!

• Manual Therapy- the use of physical “hands on” techniques to treat health problems. Manual therapy includes such treatments as massage, Active Release Technique, joint manipulation, trigger point and Fascial Distortion Model.

In my experience as an athlete and a sports doctor, patients with recent sports injuries can get better rapidly, in only a few visits with manual therapies, such as Active Release Technique.   But when rehabilitation exercises are used as the only treatment protocol, patients have considerably longer treatments and much slower recoveries.

The best way to treat most sports injuries is to first use manual therapy techniques and THEN to teach patients rehabilitation exercises.  Manual therapy is used first for many reasons, the most important of which is that it is the quickest method to reduce pain and get people back to their activity/sport.   Rehabilitation exercises are only then used to strengthen and stabilize the body after the injury is improved.  There is no point in strengthening and stabilizing tight and restricted joints, fascia or muscles (pain producing conditions).  At my office, we use various manual therapies, our favorite of which is Active Release Technique, on most patients to fix the cause of their pain.  We then teach exercises to help prevent recurrence and to reduce the number of total treatment visits required.

Lately, I have been helping out with Gilbert’s Gazelles, the Austin Waldorf  School volleyball team, and The Austin Distance Challenge

Gilbert’s Gazelles

I’ve recently met the guys over at Gilbert’s Gazelles. Gilbert, Michael, and Bernard have been very hospitable and quick to include include me into the running group. These are a committed group of athletes doing a great job of teaching the fundamentals of running to beginners and even a few talented elite runners. Gilbert likes to use the Austin landscape to train his people. So far, we have been to the track for interval training, done mile repeats in the park, and ran up 300 meters of uphill fun. All this before most people eat breakfast. I’m having a blast talking with and treating this fun group of runners. Go Gazelles.

Waldorf Volleyball

I’ve been participating as the Waldorf Sports Doctor for the 2009 girls volleyball season. They made it to the playoffs this year again. This great group of girls have played their hearts out many times throughout the season and I am honored to be helping them in anyway I can. Go Roadies!

The Austin Distance Challenge

Michael Madison asked me to help him out with the Austin Distance Challenge this year and of course I accepted. I can’t pass up helping runner reach their goals at 8AM on Sunday mornings. Yes, I know, it’s a sickness. So far, I’m seeing the common problems with runners, strains/sprains often due to increasing mileage too quickly and not properly preparing for the race. May I suggest a joining a running group such as Gilbert’s Gazelles? So far I have helped at IBM Uptown Classic 10K, which was great. Lot’s of runners racing their hearts out on a perfect running day, 63 with a very slight breeze. I look forward to a great series. I hope to see you out there.