Seeking Professional Help?

A guide for runners on who can do what for you and when; all in layman’s terms.

There is no doubt that there are plenty of resources available to assist you in your pursuit of your goals or to help you when things are not going so well, or dare it be said...you get injured.

You could get to know yourself inside out (quite literally) - so who should you see and for what and when?

General points

It is a big step for anyone to take to seek professional help. Generally speaking this has to be paid for as well, so this makes it an even bigger decision. The first point to make is, that if you have taken this big step to get advice for any matter related to your running or well being then you should make it count; and you must get the very best out of the service you are paying good money for, so:

• Be prepared
• Take note of what is being said
• Do your homework
• Follow it up

You can get treatment or advice on all manner of areas connected to your running:

• Type of running footwear and fitting
• Foot strike type
• Structural problems – pain and discomfort
• Acute injury
• Posture related concerns
• Muscular aches and pains
• Sprains and Strains
• Diet and Weight management
• General fatigue
• Frequently occurring common illness
• Focus and motivation
• Performance enhancement
• Training Plans
• Speedier Recovery
• Recovery Tips
• Fitness Testing including heart rate, training zones/sweet spots
• Stretching
• Strength and Conditioning

This all sounds very simplistic but the reality is that we often waste time in the sessions by not being clear about what we want to achieve. Make sure that you prepare some of your own case history on the subject you are seeking advice on. Do some research also, try - Sportsinjuryclinic.net. This will mean that the professional or practitioner can home in on the area of concern quickly and treat or offer the correct advice; again quicker. Be sure to make some notes in advance and review these so that you can relay this clearly at the start of your appointment, being sure that in the heat of the moment you do not miss an important factor. Be honest with the Practitioner (and yourself!) in order to accurately set the scene; this will also speed up the guidance/treatment you seek.

Listen to the advice or responses and check your understanding. Make some notes or ask for some follow up notes or key points to remember from the practitioner. This way you can make sure that you are doing the right things afterwards or in between appointments. Ask questions and clarify your understanding. Give feedback on the treatment or advice. You are paying for the services anyway so do not feel that you cannot question or clarify anything that is being said or done.

Act on the advice! Make sure that you put into action the advice, guidance or pointers you have been given. If you do not do this then you will be less likely to reach the desired outcome.

Stick with it! Whilst you can quickly solve an injury issue, write a training plan or set out a diet, the likelihood is that one visit or session will not be enough. If you visit someone with the thought that a result will be instant and merely because you have taken the plunge and turned up for your appointment then you will ultimately be left disappointed. There are no instant cures or magic answers. Advice and action plans given at sessions must be taken on board in order to assist with the overall success of the treatment being administered or guidance given. If your practitioner says you must rest with mild stretching before seeing them again to beat an injury and you still run; then you cannot expect that their professional opinion or treatment to work. If you want to lose weight but continue to eat anything and everything other than the diet the Nutritionist sets, then you will not do so either. Give the plan or treatment a chance to work and stay with the programme otherwise time and money invested will be wasted.

It is true to say that recommendation is the best way to find the right practitioner or person to help you in whatever you pursue. However this does not mean that they are a) right for you or b) the right person to deal with your particular question or concern. Allow yourself to be guided by others but ultimately retain control of your choice and destiny. Don’t be led by passing comments that one kind of practice does not work just because it did not suit someone else. Do some more research if you feel the need to and canvas opinion of a number of people; you will be amazed at the range of response. If you have visited a certain practice, listened to what they have to say and do not think that this course of action is right; then do not continue. You need to be comfortable with the person you are seeking advice from and you have to be clear on the advice given or what they might/might not be able to do for you. A good practitioner will tell you if they are not the right person and recommend someone else to seek advice from. They will be clear about what they are going to do and why, what you might expect afterwards, what you need to do in the meantime and a suggested course of action thereafter.

The general outline

Whilst there are generalisations to be made on all forms of practice there are also specialists within practice arenas. For example it may well be that there is a Physiotherapist or Chiropractor who is a sports specialist also, or a Physiotherapist or G.P. who is also a runner; they therefore have experience professionally or personally in your sport and can home into aspects of the sport and may be more suited or experienced to answer your question or treat you. On the other side of the coin however general practice professionals may not get blinded by the sport and could offer benefits from a different angle. Essentially it may well be that you click with the right person in the right specialist area with the right experience, and whilst a clinician should not be dismissed after one session that does not immediately bear desired fruits; so also go with your instinct, try things out and if they do not come up trumps then try another way. Don’t think that you cannot go back if you have previously decided a certain service was not right before. A true professional in practice will not hold this against you!

Sports Massage Practitioner – Looking at the soft tissues (muscles, tendons and lesser degree ligaments) a Sports Massage Practitioner will offer a range of techniques to move soft tissues around in order to repair damage from injury, restore function and mobility, reduce pain and inflammation, speed up recovery after training and ultimately work closely with the runner to enhance performance. Techniques range from deep massage to special stretching techniques. A Sports Massage Practitioner can help in times of injury (post acute advice can be given) or as a maintenance treatment to assist in the avoidance of injury. A Sports Massage Practitioner will know the demands that sport places on a competitive participant and will be able to relate this knowledge and experience into everyday life situations as well. Sports Massage can be used in times of post acute injury, ongoing wear and tear concerns/injury, pre and post event preparation/recovery or just maintenance of healthy soft tissue function and condition.

Physiotherapist – Tends to be the practice with the most variation in scope and range of treatment/advice to be had. A private physiotherapy practice can offer anything from; joint manipulation; manual or machine administered soft tissue work (meaning massage/ultrasound etc); injury specific rehabilitation exercises or general exercise programmes, strength and conditioning advice and/or workouts and more! The fact is that some physio’s remain focused on certain areas or specialise on certain practices; whilst others offer a broader scope. In acute post acute or ongoing lifestyle or sports related situations a physiotherapist will have a range of techniques and skills to treat or rehabilitate. For other times such as ongoing skeletal or soft tissue issues when in everyday life, pre event, post event, training, injury or maintenance a Physiotherapist will have a whole host of treatments, exercises or advise to give.

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