Nina Bondre, CPO, recently attended a running clinic hosted jointly by Ossur and the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF). The running and mobility clinics are focused on helping people with amputations return to running. The event was held at the Catholic University Cardinals Stadium in Washington, DC on June 23. On a rainy Saturday morning, volunteers and participants assembled to listen to the coaches, Bob Gailey, PhD, PT, and Peter Harsch, CP. The participants were split into those with little to no running experience, and those who already run and are looking to fine tune their techniques.
Participants were paired one-on-one with volunteers. Both participants and volunteers included a variety of ages, experience levels, and a mix of CPOs and PTs. There were so many volunteers at the event that some participants were able to work with two volunteers for the duration of the event!
The intro running group was taught by Bob Gailey. Over the course of several exercises, participants "built up" how they ran, starting with putting more weight on their prosthetic side, adding speed, and adding the motion of their arms, with several other phases in-between. The idea is to slowly transition from walking to running, by adding on an element of running with each progressive step. Nina got to work with a 70 year old participant who was determined to run. By the end of the day she was able to jog and was thrilled! It was the first time she had run in years.
If you are interested in a look at future Ossur clinics, click here.
For some photos of past Ossur running and mobility clinics click here.