The effectiveness of physiotherapy during the Comrades Ultramarathon

Linda Exelby

doi:10.4102/sajp.v42i4.801

Abstract

Physiotherapy stations along the Comrades Marathon route provided treatment for musculoskeletal problems. Common muscular conditions encountered were fatigue, cramp and strains. These were treated with ice massage, conventional massage or a combination of the two. Every runner was also encouraged to stretch the affected muscles. Joint related injuries were strapped. Questionnaires were sent to runners to assess the effectiveness of the treatment received. Most runners reported that the treatments helped. In spite of the limited treatment time available nearly half of those treated gained lasting relief.

Highlights

One of N atal’s m ain annual events, for both spectators and runners is the C om rades M a ra th o n — a 90 kilo m etre race run over hilly terrain
N o t only is ice less expensive than ethyl chloride but it is safer as it can n o t reduce skin tem peratures to dangerous levels. This form o f treatm ent was chosen, as studies have shown that that skin and superficial muscle tissue tem peratures can be decreased within 2 to 5 m inutes in this way.6 2.2 The conventional massage technique used was palm ar kneading to the whole muscle
The results showed that all three treatm en t options gave sim ilar effectiveness. 91 per cent of the runners perceived the treatm ent given to be effective

Summary

Introduction

One of N atal’s m ain annual events, for both spectators and runners is the C om rades M a ra th o n — a 90 kilo m etre race run over hilly terrain. The climatic conditions are not favourable during y the race, the m ajority of running being done in the heat o f the day w hich is seldom below 20° C entigrade As N o akes1points out tem peratures such as these are associated with a high risk of heat fatigue especially in less trained subjects. C oupled with this is the high incidence o f d eh y d ratio n 2 w hich occurs during the race. The demands of this race cause new running injuries an d /o r aggravate previous training injuries

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion