Seton Rehabilitation Services will be on hand during the Austin Marathon Sunday, Feb. 15 as the official medical sponsor for the race. Should any of the estimated 13,000 runners need assistance, physical therapists, as well as doctors, OTs, nurses and medical support staff will be on hand to render aid. Seton physical therapists provided some tips once you finish and leave downtown and are recovering at home or in a hotel.

Soreness versus Injury

Sometimes it's difficult to distinguish post exercise soreness from an injury caused by overuse. This may be especially true if you are running at your best pace during the AT&T Austin Marathon. Listed below are some guidelines on how to treat post exercise soreness and how to determine whether you may have an injury that requires professional medical care.

Treating Soreness

• Don't let soreness keep you in one position for a long period of time. Light exercise and frequent movement keeps blood circulating and assists in eliminating waste products created by exercise.
• Elevate legs above your heart for 10 to 30 minutes at a time.
• Stretch overly tight muscles and/or get a sports massage.
• A cold bath can prove soothing to micro trauma from running long distances. This works well after long runs and soon after a race.

IS IT AN INURY?

• All long-distance runners endure discomfort, however, if you experience pain that is localized and increases during running, you likely have an overuse injury. Examples of localized pain are anterior knee (patellar tendon or runners knee), lateral knee (iliotibial band friction syndrome), hamstring, low back and foot (plantar fasciitis) pain.
• Flexibility should be relatively easy to regain following challenging runs. If you are unable to regain flexibility, you may have a biomechanical imbalance that could lead to an overuse injury.
• Unusual wear patterns on your shoes may also indicate a biomechanical imbalance that needs to be investigated.
• If you notice declining performance without an obvious reason, such as the flu or time spent on family or work commitments, you may need a sports rehabilitation evaluation.

If you have one or more injury symptoms, you may benefit from a sports medicine consult. Ask your physician about a referral for a thorough individual assessment at one of our convenient sports medicine sites. Should you need treatment, we can provide a wide variety of therapies tailored to your needs.

CENTRAL:
University Medical Center Brackenridge - (512) 324-7600

Seton Medical Center
Outpatient Rehabilitation
(512) 324-1875

NORTH:
Seton Northwest
Sports Medicine & Hand Therapy
(512) 324-6070

Seton Cedar Park
(512) 324-5320

Seton Pflugerville
(512) 324-5352

SOUTH:
Seton Southwest
(512) 324-9070

SURROUNDING AREAS:
Seton Highland Lakes
(512) 715-3055

Seton Highland Lakes at Marble Falls
(512) 715-3055

The Austin Marathon and Half Marathon Health & Fitness Expo

Seton Rehabilitation Services will contribute to a panel discussion at the expo, Before, During and After the Race- Rehabilitation Interventions to Keep You Running Your Best Race. While you're there, stop by the Seton Rehabilitation Services booth and discuss any issues you may have with your running.

Admission: Free

Parking: Parking is available onsite in the event center garage ($7/vehicle).

Hours:
Friday, February 13 from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, February 14 from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Location:
Palmer Events Center
900 Barton Springs Rd.
Austin, TX. 78704

Saturday, Feb. 14th, 2:00-2:45 p.m. Before, During and After the Race- Rehabilitation Interventions to Keep You Running Your Best Race

Charlotte H. Smith M.D. (Medical Director, Rehabilitation, SETON Network)
Gladys Cruz Nicholls P.T. (SETON Rehabilitation Services)
Drew Summers P.T (SETON Rehabilitation Services)
Diane Merwarth P.T. (SETON Rehabilitation Services)
Cindy Boyd P.T. (SETON Rehabilitation Services)
Ben Ness P.T. (SETON Rehabilitation Services)
Trent Schuneman PTA (SETON Rehabilitation Services)

One Year Ago

What if you had to create a small city from scratch and you were given six months to plan it out and only six hours to erect it? That's what the Seton Family of Hospitals does when it commits to being the medical sponsor for the Austin Marathon and Half-marathon each year.

At 7 a.m. Feb. 17, the Seton Medical Tent opened, supporting the 13,000 runners who needed assistance during the 2008 AT&T Austin Marathon. Seton volunteers also staffed 27 satellite medical aid stations that were located one mile apart along the marathon course.

While race day dawned with perfect weather, Saturday was another story. Runners, race organizers and health professionals cringed as thunderstorms rolled through Travis County bringing torrential downpours, heavy winds and colder temperatures. However, right about sunset Saturday evening, the clouds broke and the promise of a glorious race start was forecasted - answering the hopes and prayers of the 13,000 runners and 225-plus Seton medical volunteers.

The starting weather was perfect by many standards - but along with the low temperature of the day must also come a high temperature, which was forecasted for 70 degrees. The trick for the Seton's medical team then became to determine how fast the heat would arrive before the majority of the runners crossed the finish line.

At one point, the medical tent with its 50-plus volunteers was filled to capacity. All of the beds, whether designated for sports therapy, wound treatment, major or minor treatment, were all occupied. Even the 15 self-treatment chairs in front of the tent were half-occupied by runners icing their knees or rehydrating their bodies.

The one variable that changes each year is the weather, so every type of scenario is planned for well before race day. In the past, the temperature has ranged from a low of 14 degrees to a high of 92 degrees. If the temperature hovers at either of these extremes, the number of runners seen by the medical team will increase significantly.

Austin Marathon Medical Directors

Pierre Filardi, M.D., Anesthesiology, Austin Marathon Medical Director.

Dr. Filardi has volunteered many times and has served as Medical Director for many years. His interest in doing so is because he has been a runner for 27 years and triathlete for eight years, one race competing in and finishing as an Ironman. Dr. Filardi's particular interest is in the physiology of training and racing. His biggest personal interest in being medical director was to bring an athletes perspective to the job and elevate the standard of care and sophistication of the medical support to a level consistent with what other cities are doing with their marathons. Introduced the team to the potential life threatening hyponatremia condition and helped obtain onsite blood testing.

Charlotte H. Smith M.D., Austin Marathon Co-Medical Director.

Dr. Smith is a board-certified Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation physician and the Rehabilitation Medical Director for the Seton Family of Hospitals. An Austin native, Dr. Smith received her medical school and residency training at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and returned to Austin to begin her private practice in 1990.

Dr. Smith is a member of the American Academy of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, American Medical Association and Texas Medical Association. She serves as the Chair of the Travis County Medical Society Delegation and served as the Co-Medical Director of the 2005 Travis County Medical Society Walk With Your Doctor. She has received awards for clinical excellence and lectures frequently about various rehabilitation topics including sports medicine. Special interests include Pilates training and running with her husband, Dr. Ames Smith, and their two children.

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