Getting Back in Alignment

Physiotherapy Treatments For Marathoners

31 January 2023 by Ben Barnes

If your 2023 goals involve completing a marathon, getting to the starting line healthy might be your biggest challenge. A chiropractor can provide physiotherapy treatment to keep you running healthy, to chase down your goals.

Here are some physiotherapy treatments to help marathoners stay healthy during training:  

Anti-Inflammatory Treatments

Every stride you take during marathon training exacts a tiny toll on your body. The accumulation of the miles you run can lead to inflammation that can make you feel sore, stiff, and tired.

Compression

Our bodies combat inflammation by sending oxygen-rich blood to damaged muscles and tissue. Stimulating blood flow can drastically improve your recovery time and reduce inflammation. One physiotherapy treatment used by chiropractors involves using a machine to deliver pulses of compression to a sleeve or wrap around an area of your body. Your chiropractor might enhance this compression treatment by sending ice-cold air through the compression sleeve to chill the affected area. This combo of compression and ice can rapidly reduce inflammation.

E-Stem 

When your muscle contracts, it tightens; when it cycles out of contracting, it releases. This cycle of tightening and releasing can stimulate blood flow and stretch muscle fibers. Your chiropractor can use gentle electric pulses (E-Stem) to stimulate an involuntary muscle contraction to a specific area. E-Stem is painless and a way to tackle stubborn inflammation around joints like knees, hips, and ankles.

Range of Motion

Training for a marathon requires efficiency. Even if your muscles are strong, your range of motion can largely dictate how efficiently you're able to train.

Active Release Therapy 

Active Release Therapy (ART) involves manually stretching large muscle groups, holding the stretch for a prolonged period, releasing the stretch, and repeating the cycle to improve the range of motion. A licensed chiropractor can assess areas of the body where your range of motion is restricted. They can then schedule ART sessions to improve the range of motion in these areas.

Scar Tissue

Chronic injuries, like tendonitis, often plague runners. Training through a chronic condition can cause scar tissue to build up, which can restrict the range of motion. A licensed chiropractor can use a variety of massage tools and techniques to break up deposits of scar tissue. Although this process can be uncomfortable, removing deposits of scar tissue can provide significant boosts in your range of motion. If your chiropractor suggests this treatment, it's important to schedule your visits around longer and/or harder workouts, as the sessions will leave you sore.

Contact a local chiropractic office to learn more about physiotherapy treatments.

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