The end of the summer is approaching much more quickly than I was expecting it to, and I need to start to prepare myself for the work that I have to do in order to finish up. The coming week brings my last official day at Boulder Run Physio, although I will be there one day in August to give my research presentation! As a runner interning at a PT clinic that specializes in runners, you can probably guess the general field that I will be researching: running! One of the current trends in running technology is shoes that combine massive amounts of responsive foam with a carbon fiber plate in the midsole of the shoe, which combine to spring the runner forward, reducing the amount of energy required to run. However, the downside of these shoes is that they can cause muscular imbalances and stress injuries in the legs or feet when overused. I have begun research on why this occurs and which exercises can be implemented into a strength routine to reduce the injury risk. I will be writing a paper as well as giving a presentation to the PTs!
As far as the week went, the days seemed to be flipped, but other than that they both went to plan. Generally Tuesdays are more observational hours for me because most of the patients are not in to do an exercise routine, while Wednesdays are more heavy on exercises, which I assist with. This week, Tuesday brought nearly all patients who were rehabbing an acute injury and therefore had an exercise routine, while Wednesday was more chronic soreness and massage work. The highlight of the week in the clinic was when the runner who we have been seeing every week as she comes back from a navicular stress fracture was able to complete her first full body-weight run in almost 1 year! I also got more treatment on my ankle, which flared up after the race last weekend, and I now have more exercises to do to keep it under control.
Outside of the clinic, I remain exceptionally busy. This week marked the fourth of the last five in which I have not
had a true off day. I am starting to get burned out from this schedule, but I only have two more weeks at Domino’s and one more at the PT. And soon after that, I’ll be heading to school for the fall! Anyways, I prefer being this busy over having too much free time. In running, this week was my “down week,” meaning that I only ran 70 miles instead of my usual 95-100. One of my roommates is recovered from his small injury, and the rest of them are back from a trip, which gives me people to run with most days again. Today, one of my roommates and I went up to Rollinsville, a small mountain town with a great dirt road for running and did our long run with a big group of guys out there!
Next week I have quite a few loose ends to wrap up with this internship, starting with my final project, but I have loved all of my time out here and in the clinic, and I am planning to move back out after graduation!