The alarm goes off…Tim gets out of bed but suddenly notices a sharp, piercing pain in his foot (the third morning in a row). Tim wonders why!
Tim addresses the problem…
Tim attends Spinal Care Clinics for weekly adjustments for a back complaint, which is improving to the point of enabling him to get back to running. “I get rid of one pain, and another one decides to appear!” Tim says, clearly frustrated. He’s training for a half marathon and was hoping to resolve his back issues in order to continue his training plan, only this has really thrown a spanner in the works.
The next morning, he travels to the clinic for his Chiropractic adjustment. Tim arrives at the clinic and is greeted by the Chiropractic Assistant, who asks in a jestful manner, “when are we going out for a run then, Tim?”. Tim replies “not any time soon, got a bad foot now”. “Go and tell your Chiro, Tim” the C.A. responds. Tim is puzzled…isn’t Chiropractic about the spine?
Tim hesitantly mentions his new complaint to his Chiropractor, but is pleasantly surprised when the Chiropractor starts to have a look at the foot, as well as his spine, to see what’s going on. The Chiropractor presses firmly on the arch of the foot, and Tim nearly hits the roof – “That’s it! AHHHHH!” After further testing of the foot, ankle and leg muscles, the Chiropractor recommends he adjusts some of these joints where appropriate, but that it’s important to inform the massage therapist, who can go to work on the issue.
A few days later and although there’s a slight change, the pain is still very much there. Tim attends the clinic for his massage and mentions the problem again. “Have you ever heard of cupping, Tim?” The massage therapist goes on to explain how they can use cups to release a lot of tension, increase blood flow and stimulate healing to the area. Tim is intrigued, but also a little nervous after the massage shows examples of the redness on the skin after the cups are applied. Tim is reassured “you may feel the cups slightly, but they don’t tend to hurt”, and then decides to try it.
How does cupping work?
Cups are applied to the calf and foot, with a noticeable feeling of pulling at the soft tissues beneath.
While the cups are left, the massage therapist can go to work on his back. At the end of the massage, Tim steps off the massage bench to get changed and feels a sense of lightness in the leg and foot. The pain is still there, but a lot less intense now.
“Drink plenty of water, Tim… it may take a few sessions to make some changes to that leg and foot”…
Tim continues on with the cupping for the next few weeks, and has a few extra massage sessions to optimise his recovery.
He was thrilled to be gradually getting back to his training, all the while also doing his homework as advised by his PT at the clinic – a golfball under the foot every evening with glute and core exercises to correct the position of his lower limb while running and help prevent the tension from returning.
Tim thankfully improved to the point of hopping out of bed with ease again, with enough time to continue his training for the half marathon!
In conclusion:
If you suspect you, or someone you know might be suffering from muscular pain, refer them to us, we may be able to help with our range of supportive therapies, so make sure you ask us about it!
Cups are applied to the calf and foot, with a noticeable feeling of pulling at the soft tissues beneath. 
