I recently wrote about my experiences of visiting an osteopath for the first time. It was undoubtedly one of the most positive things I’ve ever done in terms of body maintenance. Today I was back for a third visit.
The guys on the Running Commentary podcast recently spoke about ageing and that everybody body had a guy – an osteopath. I am now in that club – I have an osteopath and his name is Darren.
This post is going to be short and sweet. Because I simply want to shout about how great some people are. Darren saw me twice, both times inflicting great pain on my muscles to free them of their contortion. Then he went off on a course – about running.
On his return, he offered to see me free of charge to have a look at my running style. That’s FREE OF CHARGE. How cool is that?
The Freebie
So today he had me running up and down the street outside his clinic.
The first time I was instructed to run as normal. I jogged away from him to the designated turning point. I felt “the pain” in the usual place but after my run up and down Roseberry Topping yesterday I can’t grumble. On my return, I saw his face. The kind of face a mechanic gives you before delivering the news that your car required major surgery and even more major expense.
He didn’t say much but asked me to do it again. This time I had to keep my arms bent at right angles and parallel with my body (i.e. not to bring them across my chest). I dutifully obliged and off I went. Immediately I felt more comfortable in my knee. Weird! Darren has a pleased look on his face this time.
Finally, I had to go again, this time adding in that I need to tuck my chin in a little more. I can’t deny it felt a little odd running like this. It probably didn’t look very odd to others but to me, it felt like I was visibly running like a tit!
Possible Cure
Darren explained that I was bringing my left arm across my chest when I was running. This was leading to my hips twisting and thus putting unnecessary strain on the muscles around my knee. By simply correcting my arms and chin this was alleviated. Amazing!
Am I cured? Who knows, but I shall be working on this running form from now on to try and stay running as long as I can.
Free
But just to mention again. He did this little session for free. It goes to show that amazing customer service will pay dividends.
Thanks for reading.
