So, I had my second PT visit earlier today, nothing terribly wrong per se, just taking some preventative measures as I had a sore hamstring few weeks ago and my glutes & lower have been bugging me for a few weeks. With that said, I figured let's get this checked out, and after listening to Jeff Harrell from the Big Ass Runner Podcast, take about some PT and having his running gait examined, I figured I would too.
The initial visit last week was about an hour starting with filled out the paperwork. From there I spoke to the PT (Melissa) about what was going on with me. She then had me do a few movements, squats and lunges to see what was going on. From there we did some stretching to see how much range I had in the hamstring area as well as the hip flexors. She totally confirmed what I suspected, that I have really tight hamstrings and hips. From there we went over to the treadmill for the gait analysis.
The running analysis showed that my hips were tilting few degrees forward which caused my knees and stride to also be a bit too elongated, which could be causing the glute strain/issues.
Melissa then suggested some dry needling in my hamstring and glutes.
What is dry needling? It's similar to acupuncture but apparently a bit deeper, more focused to get the muscles/area to really activate and release I think?! More info can be found here on the Mayo Clinic website
Did it hurt you ask… not really. I tried not to overthink the needle aspect as I'm not a fan of when I have blood drawn and all. I did feel the twitching for sure. It was a like a little muscle spasm. I was also a bit sore in the areas for the next 24hrs or so.
So, was it worth it? Yes, I think so. Like anything else, you have to do “the work”..i.e. pay attention and implement what the PT is telling you. Like playing an instrument, it takes practice or the lessons don't matter.
On the bummer side, my insurance didn't cover the expense, well at least not the place I went to, but the pricing for out of pocket was affordable so I went ahead.
The total investment was $220 ($125 initial intake and $95 for the 2nd visit) both with dry needling performed which I believe is $30 even if you have insurance as most insurances won't cover it so I am told.
Looks like I'll be adding the exercises that Melissa gave to me to my calendar a week out as to not forget to do them.
Perhaps an update in a few weeks/months to share any changes.