Get Back in the Game with NY Theraspine

” A big part of being into sports and fitness is that your muscles also gets its fair share of wear and tear.  That’s one of the lessons I’ve learned first hand.  For the past few months, I’ve been racing with an injury and struggling.  Recently, I took a different approach instead of managing the pain, I had it treated at NY Theraspine Inc.  Just a few sessions, I’m back in the game, fresher than ever and enjoying my runs once again.”

Shin Injury

NY Theraspine is Located as 73-G Dr. Lazcano St.. Brgy Laging Handa, Quezon City

Going into my first marathon, I suffered a left shin injury.  Whenever I start running, I get to experience a sharp pain in my shin that also results into stiffness in my legs.   That goes on for about 2-3 kilometers before my muscles adopt to the pain and I can run smoother.  I did find ways to manage the pain by starting slow until the muscles warms up before I can go faster.  I was able to complete my first marathon and then went on to run again.  I still had the same problem for months from the smooth runs, I ended up struggling in races and in my training.  I was finishing my races much slower than I used too.

That cycle took several months until I got an advise from my friend Gryf, who had some upper body stiffness removed by NY Theraspine going to her first half ironman distance.  I am not really comfortable being in front of doctors or physical therapist because they might say, I’m too banged up to run again.  Anyway, I braved my way to their clinic and were shown the various treatments they can do.  I also had a doctor consult to assess my injury since it would be the basis of the treatments.  The good thing about NY  Theraspine is they accept HMOs (Health Cards) and did you know that most HMOs cover up to 12 session of Physical Therapy session so this just means it wouldn’t cost much to have my injury be treated.  

Based on initial test aside from my shin splints, I have accumulated a lot of stiffness in my Iliotibial band (ITB) and also in my hamstring.  This has been reducing my mobility resulting to a slower pace.  The treatment would be focus on my left shin though there would also be procedures in releasing the stiffness of the other muscle groups.

Physical Therapy

Physical Therapy restores body functions up to its peak in the absence of any pain and restriction. It uses modality like hot and cold packs, ultrasound and tense units.

Electrical Nerve Stimulation

Among my regular treatment includes Electrical Nerve Stimulation, which sends electric waves to the affected nerve to relieve the pain and Ultra Sound, that is a a deep heating type of modality that reduces the pain in the deep tissues of the bone. This was really a big relief on the muscles and feels relaxing.

Ultra Sound

Another key part of my sessions are the stretching exercises to stretch all the muscle group.  This would also for me to develop this stretching routine before and after I run.  It’s about 4 sets of 15 to 30 seconds stretches per muscle group depending on the distance I would be running.  There are also exercises.using rollers targeting the hamstrings and the shin.

Basically, the goal is to eliminate the pain in the shin, strengthen it and ensure it is properly stretched before an exercise.  One of my favorite part of the treatment is using the Gymnator which simulates exercise and can also shake of the stiffness. The Gymnator can target a specific muscle group depending on the position in the Gymnator.

The Gymnator uses a vibrations to simulate exercise. It last about one to two minutes.

Dry Needling

Dry Needling is a treatment procedure that involves acupuncture needles, inserted into skin and muscle, directly at a myofascial trigger point.  This is very beneficial for acute and chronic pain, rehabilitation from injury and even injury prevention.

Dry Needling

When stiffness goes on prolonged period it becomes nodules already.  One way of breaking them up is by dry needling.  It’s also a way of detecting your tight and sore spots.  When the skin and muscle groups has no problem, the needle will go on smoothly without pain.  When it’s tight and it’s sore, you will feel a certain twinge when it is inserted.  A little time is needed before the muscle will allow the rest of the needle.   This will allow the needle to breakdown the nodules, which you can then flush out of your system once you hydrate.

Myofascial Release

Myofascial Release initiates the application of gentle sustained pressure into the myofascial connective tissue restrictions to eliminate pain and restore motions.  As I earlier mentioned, part of my problems is having tightness in my legs.  It reduces my mobility and when it comes to running, it slows down my cadence and my pace.  Myofascial Release releases muscle tightness by stretching them out.  This is a relaxing massage but once it’s done, you’ll feel that your legs are light and really mobile.  This can be done one day before a race to improve your mobility and also reduce possible injury.

Myotherapy

Myotherapy is a sports massage.  It reduces muscle tension and stiffness.  It reduces spasms and cramping.  It aides relaxation and is an excellent stress management tool.   Over the past few months, I’ve been using regular massage to reduce stiffness accumulated from my runs.  Myotherapy is much better than regular massage as it breaks down the stiffness in the muscle groups.  I have a love hate relationship with Myotherapy.  I hate how it stings with the application of pressure but I love how my muscles are so relaxed after the treatment.  This is perfect to do several days before or after a race.  Don’t do it one day before as there may be some soreness especially if you are not used to it.

Back In Action

Back in Action at Salomon City Trail

I’ve had several sessions at NY Theraspine and I’m back in action. The more important part is, I am running pain-free.   Aside from solving the problem with my shin.   They also improved my mobility with their various treatments.  If I were a car, I’m now a newly maintained, well oiled running machine.  I am now enjoying running even more and on hindsight, I should have done this months ago.  I’ll still continue on the therapy especially on the Myotherapy and Myofascial Release parts as running is an aggressive sport.  We all need to remedy the accumulated stress and stiffness we get from the continuous pounding of the muscles.

I highly recommend NY Theraspine especially to all runners / multisports athletes preparing for your big race.  We shouldn’t just embrace the pain, we should get rid of it and conquer our goals in the process. 

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