Running Program

Running Injuries and Physical Therapy

Is pain limiting your daily or weekend runs around the lake? Are you a marathon runner who has suffered from several injuries? We have a team of running specialists who can get you on the road to recovery after an injury, assist in injury prevention, and enhance overall performance. As a weekend runner or marathon runner, you can expect a thorough evaluation of your musculoskeletal injury, shoe selection, biomechanical assessment, and foot posture.

Running evaluation services are offered by Carey Meehan and Lisa Martens in our Maple Grove and St. Paul offices.

There are four main components to Saunders running program:

  • Musculoskeletal Evaluation: An evaluation of your posture, muscle imbalances including tightness or overactivity, biomechanical assessment, and a foot analysis to determine structure and mechanical faults. All of these components  an assessment of possible etiological factors to your acute or chronic injury.

  • Footwear Analysis: We analyze your specific running shoe and provide recommendations, educate you regarding shoe “health” and types, and orthotic recommendations

  • Running Gait Video Analysis: We will use video assessment while you run on a treadmill to evaluate your biomechanics and identify muscular imbalances. This way you too can visualize movement faults and understand the basis of your treatment.

  • Treatment: Whether you suffer from plantar fascitis, shin splints, or hip/back pain with running, we incorporate the above assessment with specific treatment techniques to help return you to painfree running. 

Treatment Components

Treating the injured runner requires a multi-modal approach, and may include manual therapy, or joint and soft tissue mobilization. This helps improve flexibility, promote healing, and increase efficiency with movement patterns. You can also expect to engage in sport-specific core stabilization training to decrease the mechanical load on the lower extremities and improve balance and proprioception.  A home exercise program will be assigned to improve muscular flexibility, strengthen, address balance, and facilitate good muscle memory for return to running.