Blog: The Body Rehab

Apologies for the lack of blogs from the BodyRehab team. A mix of having to reset the password and being flat out working on the athletes has meant we have had little time for blogging.

Keeping the 13 out on the road has, at times, tested our clinical skills. Last year we learned a lot and the application of this work in our research study has assisted us in applying the right treatment at the right time. UClan continue to work on their ultra-endurance study and together we hope to contribute to this unique area of running

The team has been working really hard for the runners and we are all very proud of them all. It is not possible for confidentiality reasons to discuss the individual injuries here but I will say that some runners have been in a lot of pain at times and their courage and determination to get through each day has been inspiring.

We have has some great help from EMS for the loan of extra electrotherapy equipment and Rocktape for the kinesio tape. The ice bath has again been superb for recovery, thanks to ECB.

 If it wasn't for these guys help we would struggle to provide the very highest level of support to the 10 in 10 athletes.

Keep supporting the runners and try to encourage people to donate to their fundraising sites. We will continue to work our socks off for them until they cross the line on Sunday.

Follow out twitter feed at @thebodyrehab

Day 10 brought some great weather, not forecast but we took it nevertheless. Our amazing 10 in 10 athletes continued on from a grueling Day 9 to perform superbly.

Roxy and the team had a tough day yesterday looking after all the athletes. They now all have some sort of injury ranging from a niggle to full on musculo-skeletal problems. Shin and achilles related pain remains our major concern and our goal is simply to keep it under control. Both are repetitive in nature and difficult to sort without rest..........not something available to us at the moment!

Day 6 and we are over half way now.  The athletes are all very tired and unfortunately one had to retire this morning with extreme shin pain in both legs. The decision was, in our opinion the right one and was taken after careful consideration and a full examination and assessment. Injuries do happen in the ultra-endurance world and are always acute and inflammatory by nature. Shin pain is sadly one of the worst for pain levels and from a treatment perspective, very difficult to get under control. We are working extremely hard to get the athletes to the start line each day but sometimes we cannot do enough and in this case it was very upsetting for both the athlete and the therapists.

On that note it is worth noting that our therapists are all incredibly committed to the entire event now and we find ourselves becoming almost compulsive obsessive about their condition and wellbeing. Maybe we need to get out more................?

More tales from the treatment room soon.

7am start in the clinic this morning and all seemed to run smoothly, the team are now running like a well oiled machine.  Speaking of machines, we used our support road trip to encourage the athletes today, particularly with our motivational tune for the 10 in 10 from Florence and the Machine - 'You've Got The Love'! Apologies for those athletes (Aly and Naomi in particular) who witnessed our terrible signing as we supported/encouraged the brave runners today.

As the athletes get over their initial euphoria, Day 3 brings the clinic the beginnings of the expected repetitive injuries. Shin pain, hip flexor tightness, bursitis and peroneal related injuries are starting to raise their ugly heads.  Also, the beginnings of athlete stress, both physiologically and mentally are becoming clinical issues for us.

The importance of the therapist/athlete relationship is hence much more important. As clinical directors, it is both Roxy's and my job to manage this effectively and ensure that the athletes stay positive, despite any pain they are experiencing. These athletes already have the total respect from our therapy team as 3 marathons are a superhuman effort, let alone 10. Out on the course we are already seeing deep courage and determination. Repeatedly, I am astounded at the athlete’s ability to recover overnight. They go from limping badly to running fluently!

The bond between athlete and therapist is an important focus of our clinical research study and its inclusion in our treatment protocols cannot be underestimated. Athletes need complete management, which includes a shoulder to cry on as well as healing hands from tight muscles. This area is a significant part of our strategy and a key core value at thebodyrehab. Complete client focused management is, I believe one of the reasons why we are being so successful in treating the 10 in 10 athletes so far. Working 'with them', rather than just 'on them' means that they can feel at the centre of what we are doing at all times. 

Hopefully as you read the blogs on this website and on facebook etc you will get the feel for this process.

www.thebodyrehab.co.uk

Two days into the 10 in 10 event and unusually things have been really busy so far.  Niggles a-plenty and some potentially problematic issues for some of the athletes.

We have had some plantar-facia, Achilles and knee injuries but thankfully, after some great work by the team we seem to have them all under control now. All the athletes are running well and seem to be into good routines and effective strategies.

The general plan for most people is to maximise the nutrition and hydration window in the first 2 hours and then get into the ice bath. This has been supplied by ecb human cold spar (www. coldspa.com) and is proving both popular and even competitive ! On average the athletes are spending 10 mins in the spa with an average temperature of 5.5 degrees ! A big change from using the lake and a great addition to the management protocol of ultra-endurance events.

Morning clinic is manic with us trying to get everyone through with massage and niggles but the team are doing a fantastic job using a variety of techniques such as laser therapy, ice massage and muscle energy work. Moral is high with the athletes and we are creating some great rapport.

After the run athletes seem relaxed and are focussed with their treatment and massage. We had a team of 10 therapists working today with 2 teams on the road, (well, apart from Maria and Paul getting lost !  Keep the lake on your left guys !!). Working until about 21.30 we are putting a lot of hours in but reaping the benefits. I think we are all amazed at how involved we feel with the whole event this early. The whole team are committed to getting the athletes to the start line in the best possible shape each day and are working miracles. Regular clinical team meetings make a big difference to our communications and effectiveness.

 We will keep you posted on how things are going from the treatment room.

Well, we are nearly ready for the start of the 10 in 10 now. Just setting up the 2 treatment rooms that will be permanently manned throughout the event. We have two independent rooms with hydraulic tables, ultrasound, laser therapy, and interferential therapy for acute treatment. We are fully stocked on kinesio tape, normal tape, icing machines, creams, lotions etc etc. We have arranged for a professional 2 man ice bath for the athletes use and are really trying to push the boundaries on providing a full professional service for all the 10 in 10 athletes. Our goal is to get them to the start line in the best possible condition and we have a 10 person team working on it.