St. Ambrose University (SAU) senior and heptathlete, Maxwell Stoos, 22, Pleasant Valley, is looking forward to the walk, not only as a soon-to-be graduate majoring in business management, but also making significant strides on the track team in its spring season.
As a runner and indoor heptathlete, his event is punishing.
“It’s seven events that include the 60-meter dash, 60-meter hurdles, both long and high jumps, shotput, pole vault and a 1K run,” he says. “I’m just grateful to finish out my college career.”
His senior year was in question after shooting pain in his right shin forced him to limp into class last year. “I was training for the Bix. I have flat feet so I need arch support. I was training in the wrong shoes. I was putting in a lot of miles to run the Bix, then went into SAU’s 2023 fall training season.”
Stoos says he was racking up a lot of miles, training for multi-events that include both running and jumping. “It was just too much. My Achilles started to hurt, then I got shin splints, and then I got to the point where the pain was unbearable. “My leg swelled up and I was literally limping to class.”
An appointment with SAU’s Team Physician, Dr. Andrew Bries, ORA Orthopedics, and an MRI revealed the cause was a stress fracture. “Dr. Bries said the stress fracture had formed on my right tibia. He put me in a boot and it was touch and go. If I did any more running, I’d break my leg.”
Time and tibias heal, albeit slowly, and rehab tested Max’s patience. “It was back to square one, but my goal was to run again for my senior spring track season.”
Max met his new ORA Physical Therapy team: Brittany Jordan and Caitlyn Mejia at ORA’s Davenport clinic, just a few miles from the SAU campus. Both understood his goals to allow his bone to heal, while navigating an eventual return to his elite level of running.
“I spent a month on the underwater treadmill as Caitlyn designed workouts to maintain my cardio fitness and running form without putting pressure on my shin,” describes Max. “It’s a great experience to be able to run in the water without any weight-bearing stress.
“Caitlyn eventually transitioned me from the pool, to its steps, and finally back on land where Brittany took over to work on my agility, strength, and range of motion.”
“When we first met Max, he was in a boot and very weak,” recalls Brittany. “We knew he wanted to compete again, so we designed a rehab plan combining both pool and land workouts to achieve his goal of competing in spring conference meets.
“He is a very motivated and goal-oriented patient who did exactly what he needed to do.”
Throughout January, Brittany says he made excellent progress. He built back his strength and balance with workouts to rebuild muscle and regain quickness along with using the agility ladder, box jumps and other PT techniques in her arsenal.
Max with his ORA therapy team, Brittany Jordan and Caitlyn Mejia.
“By mid-February, I actually got healthy enough to compete in a conference meet. I had learned when to push through the pain and when to stop.”
“The challenge with elite runners and dedicated athletes of all ages is really understanding why we put them through specific rehab regimens that also help them to become knowledgeable about their limits. Max asked questions and he learned how to train successfully and safely,” adds Brittany.
“He did lots of running and jumping. His track events are really demanding, so we continued his education and reiterated the continuance of exercises. We talked about his current team strengthening plan and even added some suggestions and exercises so each of his legs were strong on their own.
“By the end of rehab, we made his training as sports-specific as we could. He’d run across the gym and we’d work on foot coordination, motor control, and keeping his ankles stable.”
“They explained why I was doing certain exercises, and I felt like they understood my goals. I learned to manage shin-splint pain, and I have a foundation of knowledge of what I can do to prevent further injury.
“I felt like a VIP. They really worked with my school schedule. It was like I had personal trainers and a personal gym.”
The rehab plan paid off as Max has resumed competing in the spring track and field season. Off the field, after graduation he has his eye on a sales career that will keep him in the Quad City area where he hopes to run recreationally in local events.
“You’ll see me in the Bix for sure along with local 5K’s. I want to run for fun and run longer distances. I am really looking forward to graduation and beyond.
“I have no pain and have even picked up pickleball.” Look out, Quad City pickleballers!
