Anyone who followed the blog over the winter will probably remember that I tore my achilles back in February. Toss in the broken ankle 18 months ago and various other old injuries and I’ve been walking like a 60 year old rather than a 40 year old. A friend recommended I speak to her mother- Sue Read of Working Bodies in Keswick. Sue is a sports massage specialist, practising and teaching it to others and I booked an appointment with her. She duly went to work probing and kneading at my lower limbs. She was soon identifying knots and lumps of scar tissue that reminded me of incidents and injuires I’d forgotten going back to achilles injuries from running on soft sand as a 9 year old! An hours workover served to begin to break down some of the scar tissue (although apparently things are a real mess and there is not much healthy stuff down there).
On my current trip to the Lakes Sue invited me to bring Jane along so that she could learn to help identify and treat my leg issues. Great…. Now whenever I’ve annoyed Jane she can just flex her knuckles and tell me its massage time… given that we are aiming for 7-8 on a pain scale of 10 its not an entirely pleasant process!
The proof is in the pudding though. After Jane and Sue loosened off my calves, quads and IT bands yesterday I went for a wee 12k run over Latrigg and felt stiff and slow but given that a couple of weeks ago my achilles were screaming at the thought of me jogging that’s an improvement.
Today I went a little further: I was dropped with the bike at Seathwaite and went on foot up to Styhead Tarn, round the Climber’s Traverse to the Napes and threaded the Needle. There was a cold wind and the rock was very greasey as a climber on the Needle posed for a photographer in between blowing on his fingers and waving his arms to stave off the hot aches. I climbed Arrowhead Ridge and carried on over Westmoreland Crags to the top of Great Cable, then it was down to the col and up Green Gable and onwards to drop down beneath Gillercombe Buttress and down the Sourmilk Ghyll path.
I recovered the bike and headed for Seatoller and the dreaded pull up the first part of Honnister Pass. The reward is the great single track around and down into Grange. Had a first here as I broke my chain. TCL Training came in useful as I whipped out my chain tool and spare links and was on my way in 15 mins. I carried on up the west side of Derwentwater on the undulating bridleways forming part of the coast to coast route and round into Keswick 5 hours from being dropped off. Safe to say the legs are working better than they were. Cheers Sue!
If anyone wants her contact details just drop me an email. If you need advice on prevention, treatment or rehabilitation of a muscular or skeletal injury you wouldn’t regret it.
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