This month by month guide by Lucy Macdonald, Specialist Physiotherapist, supports you throughout your marathon training by giving you all the knowledge you need to make your training effective and time efficient, prevent pain, know how to respond if injury strikes, get rid of your fears and get you across that finish line.
After twenty years of experience enabling thousands of people like you to accomplish marathons, train optimally and achieve their goals, Lucy Macdonald and her team at Octopus Clinic are here for you so that you have all the training and injury prevention advice you need.
If injury strikes you can email them to receive individualised advice and exercises from their library of online physio exercise videos. You can see Lucy and her team either in person or remotely by video link so, if you can’t get into London, you don’t have to miss out on their expertise, just call 02075838288 or book online. Whether you need a course of treatment or a one off second opinion they provide discounted packages tailored to your needs. Initial consultations include a written diagnosis, treatment plan, exercises, running technique modifications, holistic recovery advice, training drills and hands on treatment.
Lucy also produces weekly videos so be sure to catch them by following Octopus Clinic on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, or you can email info@octopusclinic.com to join her montly newsletter.
You can read more about Lucy Macdonald and the Octopus Clinic team on the website and and check out more than 200 five star google reviews for inspiration. In the meantime here’s one for starters:
‘Cannot recommend enough. I was struggling with knee problems in training for a marathon and was totally overwhelmed and confused about what to do and who to see. Lucy has been absolutely incredible, sorting out my knee INCREDIBLY EFFECTIVELY and QUICKLY but also reassuring and calming me – she understands that people running a marathon for charity have often gone through something, and that training is an emotional challenge as well as a physical one. She has been worth every penny and I urge you to go visit the clinic if you’re struggling with an injury!’ Alice James
How can I recover more quickly? What running shoes should I buy? Is there any truth in ‘no pain no gain? What can I do now to motivate myself over the next six months? Should I get old injuries checked out now? What are the three most important things about a running programme? What distance should I be aiming for every week? How should I use intervals? What should I be eating? When do I need to see a running physio or running coach?
What stretches should I be doing and how should I be doing them? What other exercises should I be doing? Do I need to warm up? Should I be taking protein or other supplements? How does stress and sleep affect my risk of injury and illness? Do back supports, knee braces, ‘skins’ or other gadgets work? How do I know if I am seeing a decent Physiotherapist, Osteopath or Chiropractor?
How can resting my injury cause more harm than good? How do I know if I am over-training? Should I be doing Pilates, Yoga, swimming or other types of exercise? Should I use ice or heat if I am injured or in pain? What injuries can I run through and which ones should I get checked out? When should I get a second opinion from another physiotherapist?
Should I worry about clicking joints? Could stretching be making my pain or injury worse, even if it feels good? I am behind schedule in my training, what should I do? When should I go back to running after being injured? When should I see a Physiotherapist, GP, massage therapist, Osteopath, Chiropractor, sports therapist or acupuncturist?
What should I eat and drink on long runs? Can a physio help my injury at this stage of the game? I have done no-where near 26 miles how am I going to manage it on the day? What is carb loading?
Should I run the marathon if I am injured? Do I have to taper? What physio or medical input can help me at this stage? Can I take painkillers or anti-inflammatories and run the marathon? Can you give me any last-minute tips for completing the marathon?
Hover over the specific body parts and find out more
Use your mouse to hover over the dark grey dots and click through to the specific body parts to get advice about your injury.
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