Let’s cut the fluff.

If you're a runner stuck in the injury cycle — constantly bouncing between niggles, flare-ups, or repeat injuries — you've probably been fed the same outdated garbage:

“We’ll do some dry needling, ultrasound, massage, and see how it feels.”

Here’s the truth:
That stuff isn’t fixing you.

Massage, needling, ultrasound, shock wave therapy — they might feel nice. You walk out thinking something happened. But under the surface? Nothing meaningful has changed.

No structural improvements. No capacity gains. No readiness to run.

Feel-good ≠ Functional

These are passive modalities. You lie there while something is done to you. But running? That’s an active pursuit. It demands tissue tolerance, joint control, coordination, and strength.
You don’t get that from being zapped or poked.

Passive treatments are like Panadol for a broken bone — they might take the edge off, but they don’t solve the issue.

Sure, some of those treatments can help symptoms settle. But they’re just the warm-up act. They don’t prepare your body to load, move, and tolerate the forces of running.

What Actually Works! Load-Based Rehab!

If you want to return to running — and stay running — your rehab needs to be built around one thing:

Progressive loading

That means:

Testing your actual capacity
Not just “how does it feel” — but how strong, stable, and controlled is the area under load?
Building a structured strength plan
One that evolves weekly. You should be progressing from basic activation to strength, then power, then plyos.
Running-specific prep
Think hopping, bounding, change of direction, landings — if your rehab doesn’t include these, you’re not preparing for real-world running.

Clamshells Aren’t the Answer

Still being given clamshells and Theraband side steps 3 weeks post-injury? That’s rehab for sedentary people — not runners.

If you run, your rehab needs to reflect that.

You need:

Full lower-limb strength work
Movement drills that translate to running mechanics
Plyometric prep and controlled impact training
A clear return-to-run structure

Return to Running Isn’t a Guess

This one’s important:

Just because you “feel better” doesn’t mean you’re ready to run.

If your rehab plan ends with “rest until it doesn’t hurt,” then suddenly sending you back into 5km runs — that’s a one-way ticket to Injury Town.

You need a progressive return-to-run plan, built around:

Tolerance to impact
Load progression
Monitoring symptoms during and after sessions
Volume control and pace regulation

Pain gone ≠ problem solved. Rehab isn't over when you're pain-free — it's over when you're robust enough to run without flaring up again.

The Bottom Line

You’re not fragile. You’re just underprepared.

And if your current rehab is based on feel-good fluff and outdated advice, you're not broken — you're just being poorly managed.

Want a rehab plan that gets you back to running stronger?

That starts with:

Testing
Training
Progression
And a return-to-run plan that doesn’t leave you guessing

I help frustrated runners and gym-goers recover from injury and get strong again — without clamshells or outdated physio advice.

👉 Book a discovery call [HERE]

Why Runners Aren’t Getting Better with Physio (And What to Do Instead)