The new Riovana Sports Recovery Center recently opened to service athletes, specifically runners. It’s a spa and clinic in one. While most of us visit a doctor’s clinic only when we’re already injured, the Riovana Sports Recovery Center hopes to change all that by espousing the value of preventive maintenance: getting treatments done even before injury. Simply put, it’s the place to go for pre-race conditioning or post-race recovery treatment, or just to give your body a treat after regular training.

IT’S A PHYSICAL THERAPY CENTER

Owned and operated by MultiSportMatrix, a company with big names in the Philippine sports medicine scene, such as Dr. Gar Eufemio, Dr. Jun Rafanan, and Coach Jim Saret, the center is like the physical therapy area of a sports center with high-tech medical equipment, namely one of three cryo machines in the country, laser and ultrasound. They also offer sports massage, acupuncture by Dr. Philip Tan-Gatue, platelet rich plasma (yes, just like what Kobe and Tiger do!), hydration therapy / oxygen supplementation, kinesio taping, and stretching.

For injured runners, they recommend that you be assessed first in a clinic since the center is manned by nurses and physical therapists.  Having said that, there will still be appearances by doctors as well as conditioning and running experts (need you ask who the running expert will be if it’s in RIOvana?!)

- Riovana Sports Recovery Center Staff (L to R): Tintin, Aileen, Nia, Tina, Dianne, Laura -

As for the staff, I must say that I was quite impressed. When I entered the center, they were very warm and accommodating; they welcomed me with smiles, explained each service, and answered all my questions. I heard the staff—most have a background in nursing or physical therapy and are athletes themselves— were hand picked by Dr. Eufemio himself. With such wonderful and professional personnel like that to spend a full hour or more of treatment with, I felt very comfortable and at ease.

IT’S A SPA

The center is clean, air-conditioned, and spacious enough for each of the beds in a cubicle. There are around six rooms in the center, two of which can be opened and converted into a couple’s room. There’s a room for stretching and another for acupuncture. There’s also a clean shower room for runners who wish to undergo treatments after a run. During the session, there’s relaxing music playing in the background, much like those in spas.

TREATMENTS

Riovana Sports Recovery Center offers the following treatments:

De Luxe Package……….P1000.00
I. For the lower back and both lower extremities
II. For the neck, upper back and both upper extremities

Includes the following:
- Ultrasound/Laser Therapy – Helps decrease inflammation and increase flexibility
- Sports Massage
- Full Body Stretch
- Cryo-therapy – This literally “freezes the pain away…”
° Additional P50 for every modality in excess

Elite Package……….P1800.00
De Luxe Packages I and II combined!

Couples Package……….10% discount
Come in with a partner and get 10% off

For Patients with a Physical Therapy Referral……….P500.00 (for the first body part)
Inclusive of all modalities and exercises
° Additional P50 for every modality in excess

Pre-Event Stretching……….P150.00
Full Body, Approximately 30 minutes

Acupuncture Treatment……….P1200.00

Promotions:
- Pre-pay for 6 sessions and get 10% off
- Pre-pay for 10 sessions and get 2 sessions free
- Combine any package with acupuncture and get 20% off

TBR REVIEW

Thanks to Dr. Eufemio, I got to try a complimentary Elite Package last week.  Dianne, a license physical therapist and an athlete herself, took care of me for almost an hour and a half.  The Elite Package usually takes 2 hours, but due to my hectic schedule, Dianne and I focused on certain areas, particularly my shins, big toes, and Neuromas, instead.

- Dianne with the cryo, ultrasound, and laser machines -

We started with the Ultrasound, a non-invasive and no-pain treatment where Diane placed gel on my skin and used a contraption to decrease inflammation and improve flexibility.  This was actually very relaxing.  This was followed by the Laser therapy where I pointed out specific areas that were painful or tight. Dianne said this could reduce the nodules in muscles much like what a deep tissue massage would do but without the screaming and yelling.

I thought I escaped a deep tissue massage, but it was the third service in the package. Dianne massaged my shins, ITB, and foot, areas that I pointed out needed releasing.  If you’re not in a rush, you can have a full body deep tissue massage. It’s part of the package.

Next, we used the Cryo machine, one out of only 3 cryo machines in the Philippines.  This was my favorite!  It works like an ice pack on your body, but reduces the time from the usual 10 minutes to 3 minutes and without the mess.  It feels cold, but completely relaxing too.

Dianne would’ve ended the entire treatment with stretching, but I had to rush out to pick up the kiddos in school.  So, I passed on the treatment and yet, I felt like I had the works done. I felt completely rejuvenated and my muscles were relaxed and loose.  I felt so great I was tempted to do a tempo run that evening, but I decided against it.

THE VERDICT

Thumbs up to the Riovana Sports Recovery Center.  It’s a novel idea that promotes proper care and therapy for athlete’s bodies to prevent injury and allow us to perform at our best at all times.  The fact that it is backed by top sports and medical experts and manned by knowledgeable and accommodating staff who go out of their way to provide the best service in a comfortable, relaxing setting makes a visit well worth it.  The facilities are clean and well-equipped, price is reasonable, and the location is convenient and accessible.  Perhaps the only downside I foresee is that it will be hard to set an appointment when the rest of the world hears about this gem of a place for relaxation and recovery secretly hidden atop Riovana Running Store.

CONTACT DETAILS
Riovana Sports Recovery Center
Mezzanine Level, Active Fun Bldg., 9th Ave. cor. 28th St. Bonifacio Global City
Open from 10am to 9pm daily
Phone: 478-9408
Mobile: 0916-353-4485
Twitter: msmxrecovery

After 25 days of wobbling like Erap, I can finally say good riddance to my cane and meds!

– I had to buy a cane in Megamall just to get around during the first week of injury. Our rolling computer chair came in handy too as my makeshift wheelchair hah!. Yes, that’s how bad it was -

– Arcoxia – my best friend in times of injury -

– Fastum Gel – I’d put this on my foot after hot compress twice a day -

Next goal: Trying to run again. (Insert sign of the cross here!)

Or, I could have been participating in my 3rd triathlon, Animo Tri at Ayala Alabang this morning.  Lord knows how hard I trained for the swim portion of that race.

Or, I could have spent my Sunday morning the way I usually do for the past five years, running long and slow in the company of friends.  By now, we should be finishing up a run and heading for a sumptuous breakfast. I can almost smell the coffee.

But, here I am at home patiently waiting for my house guest, Morton Schmorton Neuroma, to get his lazy butt off our couch and head back to wherever he came from.

It’s been 17 days since my last run.  Yes, I’m getting impatient and frustrated. Ako pa?! But, swimming has kept me sane for the past week.  I’m not freaking out because I’m getting some training in with the swim.  At least, I’m not completely losing fitness.  But, there’s also something about the water that’s keeping me calm. Maybe it’s about following nothing but black lines from end to end in complete solitude and silence that’s given me some sense of peace.  Maybe it’s the fact that I feel I’m progressing with a new activity (I can swim 1k now with ease. Me? Who would’ve thought?) that’s distracting me from this long road to recovery.  Maybe I’ve finally matured as a runner and accepted the fact that there will be set backs like this every once in a while.  Whatever.  For now, I’m just going to be following those black lines under the pool and hope it takes me somewhere.

You can imagine my surprise when, after pinching and pressing on the injured left foot, the doctor tells me: There’s no fracture. My guess is that it’s Morton’s Neuroma.

I was ready to jump for joy and pop the wine bottle to celebrate along with the birthday boy hubby and swim squad buddies Adel and Bic who came with me, but then, I had to stop and ask: Wait a minute. What’s Morton’s Neuroma? And, is that better than a fracture?

WHAT IS MORTON’S NEUROMA?

Runner’s World describes it as a “pinched nerve between the metatarsal bones in your foot.” Yes, it’s a nerve problem, not a muscle or bone problem.

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS?

It could be Morton’s Neuroma if you feel a tingling sensation in your toes (which I used to feel periodically after long runs) and pain in the ball of your foot which can lead up to your toes (which I feel now every time I take a step!)

HOW DO YOU GET MORTON’S NEUROMA?

- Wearing high heels. (Occasionally guilty)
- Wearing tight shoes while participating in high-impact sports like running. (Frequently guilty)
- You’ll be more prone to this if you have bunions, flat feet, or hammer toes. (Bunions and flat feet. Forever guilty)

HOW TO TREAT IT?

My doctor did this:
- He injected steroids and anaesthesia to relieve the pain
- He prescribed Celebrex and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
- He advised me not to wear my shoes too tightly
- He ordered rest from running for one week. If his prognosis is correct, I should be well in a week. If there’s still pain, he will order an MRI next week. (Positive thinking, guys!)
- And best of all, he allowed me to swim! Woohoo!

I would’ve done cartwheels in the doctor’s clinic if I could when he shared the good news. Or, if the hubby was not around, I would’ve hugged that good doctor after calling him “my miracle doctor” (which I really did!) No words could describe how happy I was—and still am—over this news.

For now, I am in full bed rest—well, until this evening—which is truly a major feat for me. I am relieved. I am thankful. And, boy oh boy, am I blessed to have the chance to run again soon.

As much as I detest Kanye for treating Taylor Swift so rudely, I would have to admit that his voice—and that song of his above—has been playing on my mind almost the entire day.

What doesn’t kill me will only make me stronger.

As soon as we arrived from Bohol, I headed straight for an xray, the results of which I’ll present to Dr. Canlas tomorrow when I visit him. I’m no doctor, but I am freaking out over what I’ve seen below…

Does it look like a fracture to you? I’m trying to be optimistic about this, but it looks like I fractured my middle toe, doesn’t it?  Well, I can tell you this, it definitely feels like it.

After seeing the results this afternoon, I gave myself 30 minutes to be completely worried and depressed over this as I binged on a Starbucks oatmeal cookie and tamarind candies. After that, I took control and allowed Kanye to win me over.

What doesn’t kill me will only make me stronger.

What doesn’t cripple me will only make me a better runner.

What keeps me from running for now will only make me want to run even more.

Let’s see what tomorrow will bring.

It was time to flip the family calendar last night from one month to the next, an event that my kiddos look forward to every month as they get to choose which stickers to apply for upcoming activities. They have stickers for family trips, haircut, sleepovers, and more while I just pull out a thick, black pentel pen, search for the Sundays, and scribble the races I’m joining on that month.

Last night, as I was about to turn the page to April, I got the shock of my life. On March 1, exactly a month ago, I wrote down the two words every runner in the world dreads: STOP RUNNING. And, only then did I realize that it’s been a full month since I had completely stopped running due to my injuries.

I yelled in horror to the hubby, “Aaah, I’ve had zero runs for one full month!” He replied nonchalantly “What about Condura Half?” Oh yeah, forgot about that. Perhaps I should’ve said “I’ve had zero training runs for the entire month of March.”

Training runs are the runs I live for. While I have goal races, such as dream half or full marathons here and abroad, I believe it’s the regular runs—those solo 10k runs on the road or speedwork at Ultra—that keep me happy. I never could relate to runners who cringe at another long run or those who run to get the program over with so they can reach their marathon goal. I run because I just want to. If I don’t, I am incomplete.

Hopefully, I don’t reach my 2nd month Zero Runniversary. After all, I registered for Greenfield City Run this April 19.

I followed 2nd mommy’s advice.  In a little over two hours (I move fast, don’t I?), I was already lying on the massage table of Intercare Center, awaiting my very first Myotherapy session. 

Myotherapy, according to the Intercare website, aims to isolate specific problem areas and fixes it, something that your typical massage therapist is not trained to do. Myotherapy is a muscle treatment and relaxation therapy that results in the reduction of tension; with the direct effect of releasing muscle spasms, improving circulation and bringing about proper functions and a healthy tone to ailing muscles.

I was excited.  I thought this could be the answer to finally popping those stubborn nodules that weren’t hit by dry needling.  At the same time, I was nervous and apprehensive.  Thoughts of me screaming in pain, collapsing, or fainting floated about in my head.  I shut my eyes and repeated the mantra, no pain, no gain.  Then, to add to the anxiety, my therapist enters the room and he is…a man!  I had never been massaged by a guy before!  Clad in a robe with only my underwear underneath, I lay on that massage table, closed my eyes again to repeat a new mantra:  Bahala na!

The therapist first asked me to lie on my stomach while he placed heavy heating pads on my back for around 10 minutes.  I felt like I was melting; I actually fell asleep here.  

He re-entered the room to begin the deep massage session.  He used slow, steady strokes, as if he was squeezing all the tightness out of my body.  He started on the right leg and found nodules in my calves and hamstrings.  What?  That wasn’t even my injured leg yet.  As he tried to pop those bubbles, he asked me if it was painful.  He said I could scream if I wished, as others have done in the past due to the pain.  Surprisingly, the pain was manageable for me.  I learned that taking deep breaths as he pressed on a nodule helped to ease the discomfort.

Now for the exciting part.  He started massaging the left injured leg.  He found nodules almost everywhere: calves, hamstrings, ITB, hip, and up to the back.  I pointed out some lumps on my ITB and asked if he could pop those nodules too.  He pokes at them and says “Oh they’re not nodules ma’am.  They’re just fat deposits.”  Great.  I believe that was the one time I wish I had nodules instead.

He went on to massage my back and shoulders which were all, as expected, very very tight.  I end the session in exactly one hour, completely relaxed and satisfied.  

By the time I got home, the kneecap pain which bothered me for two full weeks (even at rest) was completely gone.  GONE!  Not even a hint!  I woke up this morning and cheered as I realized that it wasn’t a dream.  The leg is still completely pain free as I write this.  I could do cartwheels right now but I run the risk of tightening my ITB again, plus being laughed at by the baristas here at Starbucks, so maybe I’ll do a little happy dance in a week or so.

The Myotherapy session at Intercare is P1,100 a session.  Pricey, if I may say so, but truly worth it.  I have promised myself a massage session (not necessarily at Intercare unless I win the lotto) every other day until Condura race.

INTERCARE BRANCHES:

MAKATI - Intercare Bldg.,
8420 Kalayaan Avenue, Makati City.

Tel Nos: 890-3378 – 79           
Fax: 890-2547
Mobile: 0922-811-3651, 0920-953-2309

ALABANG – Unit D, Upper GF, Westgate Tower, Investment Drive, Madrigal Business Park, Alabang, Muntinlupa
Tel Nos: 807-6863    
Mobile: 0922-811-3649, 0917-866-4156

GREENHILLS – 26A Eisenhower Street 
Greenhills, San Juan. 

Tel Nos: 724-6631

Telefax: 722-1846
Mobile: 0922-811-3650, 0917-859-9479

Big big thank you to Kim!  You didn’t have to call, but you did.  And, it made such a big difference!

Last month, I created the “TBR 2 x 6 Recovery Program” which goes like this:

MON:  Spin 1hr + Weights (Upper body)
TUES: Swim, min 1km
WED: Run, min 5km + Weights (Lower body) + Hatha Yoga (PM)
THUR: Spin, 1hr + Weights (Upper body)
FRI: Swim, min 1km 
SAT: Bike out + Weights (Lower body)
SUN: Run, min 5km + Bikram Yoga (PM)
* Plus: sports massage twice in a week

Why 2 x 6? Because it’s twice per week for each of the six activities: run, swim, bike (this is actually thrice), yoga, weights and my favorite, massage! There’s a REST DAY that pops up in there every week depending on my sched with work and the kids. But, for the most part, I’ve stuck with the program the past month as best as I can.

To be honest with you, I don’t know what I was thinking when I created this program. It’s almost like a serious triathlete’s training program, but without much of the distance and intensity as I don’t want to injure the few body parts I have that are functioning properly.

So far, it’s given me a lot of benefits, from keeping the injury blues at bay to strengthening all the other muscles that were never touched by running.  But, the biggest benefit so far is this: Running pain-free twice this week!  Yes, I think I’m finally on my way to full recovery!  Crossing my fingers!

This was the first time I had tried out this home service massage agency and, with one look at the masahista before me, I knew I hit the jackpot.  I asked her in the vernacular “So, can you give me a super super super strong massage, especially on my thighs?”  She nodded shyly, but even if she had said otherwise, I wouldn’t have believed her.  This girl was going to squeeze out all the tightness from my poor legs.

While other masahistas would give equal attention to every part of the body, this one took extra care of my legs.  Or, shall we say, she gave it some hard pounding and beating due to its misbehavior over the past few weeks.  Aaah, it was so painful but it was just what I needed.  All the while, as I lay in bed, I had my eyes shut tight in pain but I was thanking the high heavens for sending me a masahista who knew how to loosen up my tight muscles.  Yes, there is a God!

I realized a couple of days ago that, by February 7, it will be the 2nd anniversary of my knee injury.  Since Singapore Marathon, I’ve been able to run easy 5ks with manageable pain on the left knee, but I haven’t ran any of those feel-good, lung-busting, I-want-to-scream-because-I-am-so-happy runs that keeps all of us runner’s alive and wanting more.

Out of panic, I dialled my PT’s number yesterday and yelled these exact words in his ear: “I need your help!  It’s the 2nd month of my injury already and I don’t know what else to do!”  By the afternoon, I was in Moro Lorenzo, this time for a consult with my lifesaver Dr. Canlas and my two favorite PT’s by his side.  

With one look at the wicked knee and a brief exchange of words among the three of them, the good doctor said it was an ITB problem.  No drama from me; I kinda knew it due to the ITB tightness I felt for the past few days.  I endured the dreaded massage on my ITB, corrected my form on some drills, and learned more strength training exercises for my quads at the gym.  After that, I headed home unsure of how long it will take for my ITB to cooperate and just loosen up.  Aaaah!

So yes, TBR has an ITB problem.  Wish I could say WTF but that is so not me.  I’m more inclined to LOL with tears rolling down my cheeks.  OMG, I am really going insane!