Trudy Arsenault has been running since high school. From cross country to CrossFit, she has been moving and challenging her body for years. She runs, hikes, and works out with a personal trainer.
With those physical challenges, Trudy has had her fair share of bouts with pain, including chronic shin splints that kept her from hitting the road as the weather began to thaw this spring.
“As a cross country runner, I’ve been seeing providers since high school,” Trudy said. “I’ve tried a chiropractor, my primary care provider, massage therapists, physical therapists.”
“The older I get, the more injury prone I find I am than I was in my 20s,” she added.
An introduction to running assessments
In April, Trudy attended at an event at the JCC of Rochester about running safely and effectively, which was led by Joe Tribotte, PT. She scheduled an appointment with Joe at RRH Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation – 360 Linden Oaks and went to her first visit the following week.
At their first session, Joe spent 90 minutes working with Trudy to learn her personal medical and treatment history, what therapies had worked (and not worked) for her, and educate her about some of the issues she was experiencing with her shin splints.
Joe also conducted a running assessment, where Trudy ran on a treadmill for 5 minutes at a regular pace while Joe recorded her on an iPad from different angles. Analyzing her gait and biomechanics in slow motion allowed Joe to look more closely at opportunities for improvement with her running form.
“Runners will often have lower extremity pain in their foot, ankle, or knee from not running on a mechanically sound foundation,” Joe said. “This comes from absorbing the impact of 2 ½ the times of your body weight every time your feet hit the ground.”
From the assessment, Joe was able to pinpoint the source of Trudy’s chronic shin splint pain: her hip movements.
“No one has ever told me it might have been related to my hips,” Trudy said. “No one ever taught me about how internal hip rotation affects shin pain.”
At the end of their first appointment, Joe gave Trudy a series of exercises and stretches to maintain her mobility and properly stretch her hip flexors. Two weeks later, she returned for her second assessment, as well as some manual therapy involving manual release and stretches. Joe told her she was making progress.
“What Joe helped me understand is that mobility is so key,” Trudy said. “I’m incorporating yoga in twice a week to help me run. If your joints aren’t moving right, you’re going to have pain and injuries down the road.”
Making a slow and steady recovery
Following their second appointment, Joe advised Trudy to take four more weeks off from running and continue with her stretching and exercises.
“I was the type of athlete to push through pain. But it makes things worse in the long run,” Trudy said.
Joe acknowledges it is difficult for experienced runners to have someone tell them they can’t run for an extended period. However, they are often able to work together and find ways to supplement activities that maintain their cardiovascular fitness such as biking or swimming.
“It’s not easy to tell a runner they can’t run,” Joe said. “But if there’s pain, you can’t run through pain.”
After being cleared by Joe, Trudy returned to running and slowly returned to her regular schedule, mile by mile. Now, she is running 3-4 miles on the road – all without shin splints.
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