The Missing Key to Solving Chronic & Recurring Running Injuries… When Doctors Have No Answers
For many runners, the hardest injury isn’t the one that knocks you out for a few weeks. It’s the one that lingers — the one that doesn’t respond to treatment and makes you wonder if you’ll ever run the way you love again.
A recent client reminded me how powerful the right approach can be when we look beyond surface pain and find the true root cause.
A Runner Searching for Answers
- Injured for over 10 years
- Groin pain and hamstring tightness
- Hip issues that limited stride and power
At best he could jog occasionally — at a 12-minute mile pace. He tried physical therapy, chiropractic, massage, and training tweaks, but nothing gave lasting results.
The Hidden Key: Myofascial Mapping & Root-Cause Healing
What made the difference was myofascial mapping, a gentle hands-on assessment where I feel the body’s natural rhythms through light clothing. This highlights “patho-anatomical landmarks” — the body’s signals of stress or dysfunction.
Using inhibitory balance testing, we identify the primary root cause — not only where the pain shows up but the single area driving it all. That primary driver may be a muscle, tendon, joint, organ, artery, vein — or even emotional/spiritual stress. The body records it all.
His Root Cause: The Gut
In this case the issue wasn’t the hamstring or hip — it was his gut. He had a chronic digestive condition managed with medication, and his body was protecting that area. That protection expressed as spasms and compression in the hamstring, groin, and hip. The tight muscles were an effect, not the cause.
The Healing Plan
- Identify specific foods triggering inflammation (everyone’s different; common triggers include gluten, oats, peanuts, corn, soy, MSG, etc.).
- Begin a targeted elimination diet to calm the gut.
- Hands-on integrative therapy sessions to restore mechanics and mobility.
We completed two sessions with this runner:
• First session — 1 hour of integrative manual therapy.
• Second session — 2 hours of Helix Biomechanics to restore natural movement of the back, hip, and sacrum.
“His latest gut scan showed no inflammation.”
The Results: From 12-Minute Miles to Sub-7
A few months later, he was back running every day. His runs now begin at 9 minutes per mile and build down to sub-7-minute miles. He feels stronger, freer, and is excited to race again.
What This Means for You
If chronic or recurring injuries — hamstring pulls, hip tightness, groin pain, or mysterious problems that leave doctors unsure — are holding you back, there is hope. Your body wants to heal. The answer is often finding the 1° root cause and guiding your body back to balance.
Ready to get your running & your life back?
If running is your passion and you’re tired of being sidelined, I’d love to help. Reach out for a healing session.
Call: 360-599-2217
Email: Ralph@RalphHavens.com
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