Just What You Knead?

Fleet Feet Sports on Bardstown Road

So you started running in December, you’ve steadily increased your mileage, you are only a couple of weeks from, the Half marathon (I just can’t call 13.1 miles of running a MINI ) and suddenly you are dealing with sore knees, tight hamstrings, and aching Achilles.  I used to think this type of ailment was just part of the package.

After 10 marathons and years of training I figured, you run long and far enough and you start to break down.  “Not so” says the owner of Fleet Feet Sports.  Jeff Wells is nearly certain he can cure what ails you.  Stop by his Bardstown Road store and complain of an injury and you’ll soon find yourself lying on the floor with a small ball about the size of a tennis ball (only harder) under your hamstring.

If it’s your calves you might find yourself using a The Footballer.  For larger muscles Jeff will get you going on the The Quadballer.  Weird names for tiny contraptions that can make a huge difference in your performance and recovery.  Jeff used them to work on gobs of runners prior to the Papa John’s 10 Miler last weekend.  Since then he tells me “happy customers” have been flocking back to Fleet Feet raving about how much better they feel.

Trigger Point Performance Therapy is the official name of these gadgets. Look them up online or drop by the store.  Either way you’ll get a brief history of the company’s founder Cassidy Phillip.  He is an elite athlete who developed fibromyalgia and began looking for a cure.  What he’s created are a series of tools that release tension and create blood flow which in turn offers relief to the tight and sore muscles.  The 53 year old Wells swears by this trigger point therapy “I started using these in December and within 4 months I was able to take 2 minutes off my 5K time. It’s like the   therapy is turning back my performance clock”.  A combination of the Footballer, or Quadballer, or TP Ball and your own body weight knead the muscles.    Wells uses the example of a knotted bungee cord: “You don’t pull on the cord to loosen a knot, you apply some pressure to get it moving and then work it out.”  Apparently the same theory is working for those who are believers in Trigger Point Performance Therapy.

“So I thought I’d give it a try” said the interactive reporter.   I left Fleet Feet with two of the TP Balls and the promise that if I sit in my car with one under my bad hamstring and the other behind my lower back I WILL BE ABLE TO ARRIVE 14 hours later in Florida with a lot less discomfort than I am used to.  I hope to prove the Trigger Point Performance Tools’s claims correct.*  And once I make it to my destination I will take a long, comfortable run on the beach.      Kirby

*Here are some of the claims on the Company’s website.

Research has shown how these products:

  • Increase circulation and elasticity within the muscle
  • Improve strength and range of motion
  • Improve balance and power
  • Improve gait and structural integrity
  • Enhance sports performance   Using Trigger Point tools to create additional blood flow will limit the amount of wear and tear on your client and empower the client to aid in their own recovery from each personal training session. The Trigger Point methodologies allow clients to maximize their training within the gym with your assistance and while at home to better prepare their body for the next session.  www.tptherapy.com

Fleet Feet Sports is located at  1512 Bardstown Road  Louisville, KY 40205
502-479-8786

Have something you would like Kirby to Try? Contact her:KIRBYADAMSLOUISVILLE@gmail.com