'Jersey Women Strong' Runner Overcomes Weaknesses With Physical Therapy

Each month, Iron Physical Therapy highlights a special patient to tell their inspiring story. We want to honor people who go all in - body, mind and spirit. They show us what’s possible - that you can move on from a setback to do amazing things...to challenge your body, to chase your dreams, to address future pain in a healthy way, to #getbetterbebetter. Read Charlene’s story below and then click here to read more inspiring patient stories.

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Charlene was Iron Physical Therapy’s December Patient of the Month from our Midland Park, NJ clinic! The pain experienced by this hard working, runner mom not only affected her performance on the road but also her daily activities. She worked so hard in physical therapy, so watch out for Charlene as she keeps hitting the pavement this year!

What brought you into physical therapy?

One day, Dr. Wortman came to our Jersey Women Strong team practice to share stretching and strength exercises for runners. I had been experiencing heel pain for several months at this point, and after meeting her, I decided to make an appointment for an evaluation.

She was able to identify that the heel pain was actually related to an achilles issue and not plantar fasciitis, as I thought it might be. I had tried all of the at-home remedies for plantar fasciitis with little improvement.

Any advice for others who are putting off physical therapy?

My advice to anyone who experiences ongoing pain would be to have it checked out sooner rather than later. In my case, the pain that I experienced during the first mile of any run eventually became pain that started when I stepped out of bed and often lasted throughout the day. By going to physical therapy, I have learned that this issue stems from imbalance and the need for strength training and stretching. I now immediately notice the difference when I do not stretch or do my exercises regularly.

What accomplishment in physical therapy are you most proud of?

Over the past month, I have been able to increase to four mile runs. Prior to physical therapy with Dr. Wortman, I couldn’t go without pain during and after a run.

What are you most excited to get back to doing after physical therapy?

I am looking forward to being able to continue to running pain free and to increase my mileage again.  My last ten mile race was over a year ago, and I would like to train for a half marathon in the spring.

As a running mom, what lessons from PT do you think your kids could also learn from?

My kids learn about the importance of all types of exercise in their physical education classes at school, and they always ask what I am doing at physical therapy. It’s fantastic to hear them relate what they are learning to my experience.