SHOW NOTES

My Journey to Recovery From Injury

(06:14)

Outlining Karen’s injury:

A chronic injury that she has suffered from for approximately two years now. It has been diagnosed as Hamstring Tendonopathy. This condition is common in runners and is generally an overuse injury. It is inflammation of the hamstring tendons, these tendons being what attach the hamstring muscles to the sitting bone of the buttocks.

An acute big toe injury has also occurred, potentially due to the foot compensating for the hamstring injury when running. This has resulted in Karen having to STOP running completely due to the severity of the pain.

(13:38)

Enquiring into Karen’s treatment strategy including:

Acupuncture – this treatment started recently therefore it is too early to determine its benefits

Sports Physiotherapy – treatment includes: muscle isolating exercises, aerobic activity (but no running for now), shockwave therapy, muscle massage gun therapy, and rolling of hamstring muscles

Shockwave Therapy –  a non-invasive treatment using a hand-held device that passes high energy sound waves through the body. This allows the tendon to regenerate itself but, it is important to complete rehabilitation exercises alongside

Muscle Massage Gun – thought to give a deeper massage, so possibly equivalent to a sports massage. It is also thought to give longer-lasting relief from muscle pain

(25:11)

Focussing on the physical activity Karen CAN do whilst she cannot run including:

• Cycling – static and road/trail cycling
• Swimming
• Strength and Conditioning – including targeted exercises to strengthen hamstring muscles 

Moving on to highlight the adjustments Karen has made to her meal plan to support recovery

The principal adjustments she has made to her food plan to-date are:

• Coffee intake – she has reduced from 2 x double shot black amercanos to 2 x single shot black americanos. A big deal for Karen as she LOVES her coffee!!
• Portion sizes at mealtimes – she has stopped having ‘seconds’ unless it is raw vegetables or salad

(34:53)

Delving into Karen’s current nutritional supplement intake to support recovery

The nutritional supplements Karen is taking are mostly Turmeric-based due to the anti-inflammatory properties of curcumin, the bioactive component of turmeric. These supplements include:

• Rhythm Nutrition Turmeric liquid
• FEEL Joint Support capsules
• Pulsin Curcumin and Black Pepper powder – this also doubles up as a protein powder because it contains 16g of protein per serving

Additional anti-inflammatory and joint/soft tissue nutritional supplements Karen is taking including:

• Terra Nova Glucosamine and Boswellia blend
• Biogena Vegan Omega 3 capsules
• Vitamin D drops

(43:14)

Running is a big part of Karen’s life, so how is she dealing emotionally with the fact that she cannot run at the moment?

If she was to sum her feelings up in FOUR words they would be:

• Sad – that she can’t run
• Irritated – at herself for not taking action earlier
• Frustrated – that healing takes time!
• Determined – to all she can to return to full performance as quickly as she can through nutrition and supplements, rehabilitation treatment and physical exercise

(48:07)

What Karen hopes to discuss on the next episode including:

Shockwave Therapy – what was it like and did I see any immediate improvement?

Toe injury – what is the diagnosis?

Acupuncture – is it helping?

Training – Can she run yet?

Nutrition – effects of reducing caffeine and how she is coping with eating smaller portion sizes of food

Nutritional Supplements – are they effective? Any side effects from them? Is she taking them consistently!!

Emotions – is she feeling any more positive about her situation and her ability to run or does she feel she is losing form and muscle mass. This would be a dilemma!!