The Twin Cities Marathon is just under two months away, and depending on whether you’re attempting the full, half or a shorter distance, there’s a good chance that your training is underway. We hope that you have a plan in place to prepare yourself for your upcoming run, but if you’re struggling or you’re looking for extra assistance, consider syncing up with the team at OrthoRehab Specialists. In today’s blog, we explain why a physical therapist can be a perfect partner for someone looking to prepare for an upcoming marathon or long-distance run.
Training For A Run With A Physical Therapist
It’s easy to feel lost and overwhelmed when training for a long run, especially if you’re trying to set a new personal best for time or distance. However, it doesn’t have to be if you connect with a physical therapist. Here’s how a physical therapist can help you train for your upcoming run.
- Pain Management – If you are dealing with any discomfort that is affecting your run, or you’re finding that you’re quite sore after a training session, a physical therapist can help. We can help strengthen certain muscle groups to control pain, and we can teach you some stretching techniques to use before and after your run to help your body prepare for and cool down properly after your run to prevent soreness. Odds are you’ll begin to develop some soreness as you push yourself to go further or faster, and we can help keep this soreness from disrupting your training.
- Form Analysis – Our physical therapists can also help to improve your running form. We can analyze your running form and explore how stress is dispersed throughout your body with each step to understand how slight adjustments can make major improvements to your form and stride. Running more efficiently can make it easier to run longer and faster. Most people don’t inherently have perfect form, but our biometric data can help us improve your stride.
- Training Schedule – While there are a lot of different training plans on the internet, it can be tough to know which program is right for you, especially if you’re finding it difficult to hit some of the milestones suggested by your current program. Instead of going with a generic training program that you found online, connect with an expert who can tailor a training regimen to your specific needs.
- Goal Targeting – Helping patients reach their physical goals is our main focus at OrthoRehab Specialists, and we can absolutely work with you to help you hit your goals when it comes to your upcoming run. Whether you want to finish your first marathon or hit a specific time goal, we can develop a training program that challenges you and prepares you to be able to tackle any goal you set.
- Complementary Advice – Finally, there are other outside influences that can help you achieve your marathon goals, and we can talk to you about these aspects. Improving your diet and your sleep schedule are two big factors that can give you the energy you need to train for your marathon, and there are also some cross training activities that you can do on off days to help prepare your body for your upcoming run. We’ll be happy to dive into these complementary aspects and ensure that you have all angles covered when it comes to marathon preparation.
So if you’re planning on challenging yourself with a long distance run in the near future, let the team at OrthoRehab Specialists help you achieve this goal. For more information, or for help with a different physical issue, give our team a call today at (612) 339-2041.