Rita
Running, lifting, and competing without hip or back pain.
An avid runner and powerlifter, Rita was signed up to do a marathon and a powerlifting competition in late 2021. She was working on getting her mileage and lifting volume up, when her hip started hurting after a heavy sumo deadlift sesh. As with previous injuries, she figured that some rest and cryo would do the trick, but the pain was getting worse, to the point that it would hurt to just walk. She was limping around at work, and doing anything with her energetic twins was definitely out.
Rita considered physical therapy, but her insurance was requiring her to make an appointment with her primary doctor, who would refer her to physical therapy, which she would then have to wait for. She didn’t want nor did she have time to be jumping through annoying hoops; her events were a few months away, her mileage and weight load were not where they needed to be, and the pain only kept getting worse.
The final straw came three months in, when what was supposed to be an easy deadlift session turned out to be very hard and painful. By this point, the pain was making everything harder and miserable.
But as luck would have it, she saw a friend’s post on Facebook about Ninja Physio and decided to give us a call. She was set for an appointment the same week, and began her athletic rehab program immediately. No wait, no bs. Rita was able to resume her training quickly, and just a few weeks later, ran the 10k version of the race in Hawaii and competed in her powerlifting meet.
During the year since completing her program, Rita has deadlifted the heaviest she’s ever done, ran her fastest 5K, and completed the arduous Murph Challenge (with a vest)… all with no pain. She also regularly runs, and places, in the Centex Race Series (with the support of her husband, who pushes their twins uphill both ways), and serves the community through the City of Killeen and Team RWB Fort Hood.
What’s next for Rita? More powerlifting meets, two half marathons, a strong(wo)man competition, and a sub-22 minute 5K. I guess she’s just taking it easy for now.
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