The Marathon Runner and Foot Pain – Raszika's Story
Kalamász “Raszika” Zsanett recently successfully completed her first marathon (Sri Chinmoy Marathon Lázbérc, 4 hours 51 minutes). Raszika is a yoga instructor and, besides yoga, running is her “second love.” She began preparing roughly two years ago, running 50–70 km per week. So far it sounds straightforward, but about a year ago she developed foot pain while running that did not go away — by spring it had worsened so much that she underwent manual therapy and received softlaser, cryo and shockwave treatments, yet her complaints persisted. That’s when she started using a Runner Pro electrotherapy device regularly.
Dr. Zátrok Zsolt (ZZs): How did you get in touch with me?
Kalamász Raszika Zsanett (KR): I received several different therapies for the foot pain, but I didn’t feel a significant improvement, which pushed me to keep searching for a solution. That’s how I found your blog and posted my questions, to which you replied soon after — your suggestions convinced me.
ZZs: Runners commonly suffer from inflammation of the fibrous sheet that supports the arch of the foot (also called the plantar fascia). It usually develops where the fibrous sheet attaches to the heel bone. It’s a stubborn condition — foot pain often accompanies a runner for years.
KR: Yes. I can confirm that. I was diagnosed with that condition and received treatments for it. Of course I changed running shoes, tried various creams, insoles and heel lifts — all to no avail.
ZZs: Since you’d already had almost every available physiotherapy treatment, I recommended a method that’s less known and less used here: microcurrent treatment. You used a Runner Pro sport electrostimulator regularly. What did you notice?
KR: I am absolutely certain that electrotherapy played a key role in allowing me to complete both the preparation and the race. Despite your advice, I couldn’t bring myself to reduce my training load. I really wanted this marathon. 😊 I consistently did 40–70 km per week. Because of the foot pain I often had to grit my teeth at the end of workouts, but the Runner Pro treatment always put me in a “run-ready” state by the next day. Primarily, it helped me to be able to keep going.
Right: microcurrent treatment for plantar fascia and Achilles tendon pain
ZZs: What would have happened if you hadn’t balanced your training with the treatments? Of course that was a rhetorical question! What treatments did you use to hold yourself together?
KR: You gave me very thorough advice on this and it proved to be very good. By constantly training I was working against the healing process, so I used the stimulator to support recovery.
I never went out for a run without first doing a warming stimulation on my calf. After the treatment the tendons and muscles felt noticeably more flexible. This kind of stimulation is excellent because it pushes the pain point further back. The pain doesn’t occur from the start and often doesn’t appear at all. It was important for me to be able to follow my training plan.
I use a recovery program after almost every workout. That’s another big advantage of this stimulation. Often after a hard session I couldn’t stretch because my muscles were so tight. The stimulator, however, doesn’t cause cramps; on the contrary, it thoroughly moves and relaxes the muscles.
And of course I had to deal with the pain itself. If it was strong I used one of the TENS programs because I found their effect to be strong and fast. If it wasn’t significant, I ran a microcurrent treatment that promotes healing.
ZZs: How do you assess the role the Runner Pro played in your being able to complete the distance?
KR: I’m completely sure I wouldn’t have gotten this far without it. I felt the softlaser treatment was mild, and cryo didn’t help. I found shockwave therapy to be effective, but the treatments often made me tear up because they were very painful for me. Not to mention that I had to travel for the treatments, wait, and of course pay for them. I certainly spent more on those treatments than the Runner Pro cost. For me, the most effective approach was the combination of shockwave therapy and microcurrent.
The stimulator treatment is completely painless. I take it out when I need it, not when I get an appointment.
ZZs: What comes next now that you’ve achieved your goal?
KR: I’m reducing my running load and letting the microcurrent’s healing-promoting effect do its work. 😊
ZZs: What race are you preparing for now?
KR: I’m eyeing a trail race at the end of August (24.5 km, 1100 m+ elevation). I haven’t registered yet, but soon… I hope I’ll be fully healed by then.
Zátrok Zsolt: Thank you for sharing your story! What would you say to others suffering from similar problems?
Kalamász Raszika Zsanett: I love my Runner Pro. It helped me through the difficulties of preparation. I find it very useful for warm-up and recovery. It offers countless possibilities that I haven’t even explored yet, because I had a single goal: to be pain-free so I could achieve my aim. The Runner is incredibly versatile — I can’t wait to use it for muscle preparation as well.
This is a device every runner “deserves”.
Raszika uses a Runner Pro device for her training
