Back To Pain-Free Running Following Brain Injury & Partial Paralysis

Working with Deb was an amazing experience at the end of 2024. She came to me after being referred by an Orthotist (thanks Heidi!) who after assessing her, knew she needed some specialist help with running mechanics and technique.

Deb’s symptoms were fairly common – overuse from running – but her journey to get there was far less so…

After suffering a terrible road bike accident the previous year Deb was left with a brain injury and partial paralysis on her right side.

Being the warrior that she is, Deb tackled her rehab head on so she could return to triathlon training as quickly as she possible.

The problem was that the slight paralysis on her right side had altered her running technique, which was having a knock-on effect on her left side.

Deb came in to see me to begin the right process…

1. Movement Assessment – to establish the cause of her overuse symptoms
2. Skill Development – to address the specific mechanical issues that were contributing to Deb’s pain
3. Create a Rehab Strategy – to get the right balance of Skill Development and Performance Training

The last step here is crucial – too much time on Skill Development and progress back to training is slow. Too much time in Performance Training and you might find yourself in a place of too much too soon.

Deb was a star as a client and stuck to her homework exercises and training strategy perfectly, then after only a few months was back to a full training schedule!

Onwards and upwards!

In Deb’s words…

“After suffering a cycling accident I developed slight paralysis in my right foot and to be able to continue to run I adapted to running on my toes.

A few months later I started to have pain in the left calf/ankle which was causing me significant pain when walking and running.

After weeks of seeing Drs and physios I was told it was my achilles and I should stop running.

I was referred to Orthotics to see if they could help but due to the high toe running I was told that Orthotics couldn’t do anything, but I was recommended seeing a movement coach/specialist and this was the best advice I received.

I was then able to find Pete who after putting up with my craziness worked really hard with me. He looked at the way I stood, the way I walked and my running style when I was full of energy and also fatigued.

It became quite obvious to Pete very early on that the problem was coming from my right hip (which is also dropped) and because of this was having to over use my left leg to propel forward, which was contributing to my pain.

With Pete’s help, personalised strength exercises and also techniques to stop this happening I am now back running further, faster and happier than before the accident.

With Pete’s help I have found my love for running again and I will forever be grateful for his help.

I continue to complete the exercises Pete advised and this is helping massively.

Being pain free is a huge benefit but after being told for months to stop running, Pete was able to find a way for me to run more – and comfortably – proving he is an expert in his field. I would highly recommend his services.“

– Debbie Bowen