This post is long overdue. The season has been extremely busy but finals just ended and hockey will have a bit of a break until after Christmas while each hoops team still has a game this week. The last couple weeks were filled with lots of games, workouts and preparing for the end of the semester. I haven’t been able to sit down and really digest a good book, but what I try to do is read some articles and one very good one is Why Shoes Make Normal Gait Impossible? This is a very good read about the effect that shoes has on the human body. This goes along with another great read by a good friend of mine, Art Horne, who put out a book on barefoot training, entitled Barefoot in Boston.
I also just picked up a copy of an outstanding book regarding gait from Dr. Thomas Michaud, called Human Locomotion. I’m excited to delve into this one as the topics in the table of contents really jump out at me. Dr. Michaud has published numerous book chapters and journal articles on a variety of subjects ranging from biomechanics of the first metatarsophalangeal joint and shoulder, to the pathomechanics and management of vertebral artery dissection. In 1993, Williams and Wilkins published Dr. Michaud’s first textbook, Foot Orthoses and Other Forms of Conservative Foot Care, which was eventually translated into four languages and continues to be used in physical therapy, chiropractic, pedorthic, and podiatry schools around the world. In addition to lecturing on clinical biomechanics internationally, Dr. Michaud has served on the editorial review boards for Chiropractic Sports Medicine and The Australasian Journal of Podiatric Medicine. Over the past 30 years, Dr. Michaud has maintained a busy private practice in Newton, Massachusetts, where he has treated thousands of elite and recreational runners.
Dr. Michaud is offering the book at the student price, which is $20 off the regular price of $100. That’s a great deal for a book that covers many gait related issues that plague so many athletes. You can pick up a copy at www.HumanLocomotion.org, when you click on “The book”, be sure to click the link asking for student pricing. I put the synopsis of the book that is on the back cover below if you want to find more info about the book.
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In the course of a year, more than 1.9 million runners will fracture at least one bone and approximately 50% will suffer some form of overuse injury that prevents them from running. Despite the widespread prevalence of gait-related injuries, the majority of health care practitioners continue to rely on outdated and ineffective treatment protocols emphasizing passive interventions, such as anti-inflammatory medications and rest.
With more than 1000 references and 530 illustrations, Dr. Michaud’s text on human locomotion presents a logical approach to the examination, assessment, treatment and prevention of gait-related injuries. Beginning with a complete review of the evolution of bipedality, this textbook goes on to describe the functional anatomy of each joint in the lower extremity, pelvis, and spine. This information is then related to normal and abnormal motions during the gait cycle, providing the most comprehensive description of human locomotion ever published.
Human Locomotion also discusses a wide range of conservative interventions, including a detailed guide to manual therapies, a complete review of every aspect of orthotic intervention, along with illustrated explanations of hundreds of rehabilitative stretches and exercises. The final chapter summarizes state-of-the-art, proven conservative treatment interventions, providing specific protocols for dozens of common gait-related injuries, including Achilles tendinitis, plantar fasciitis, stress fractures and hamstring strains. Whether you are a chiropractor, physical therapist, pedorthist or podiatrist, this text provides practical information that will change the way you practice.
Here is a review of Charlie Weingroff’s Training=Rehab, Rehab=Training DVD set by up and coming strength and conditioning coach, Cheri Pearce. Cheri interned for me last spring, and then spent the past summer interning at Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning. She came back as a volunteer this fall and is heading off to intern at Cressey Performance in January. She has been extremely busy but found time to review this DVD set that I can’t recommend enough. If you haven’t picked up this set yet, you are missing out. I’ll have a link after the review on where you can pick up a copy.
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At first glance of Charlie Weingroff’s DVD set I thought it was going to be beyond my scope of knowledge. Never judge a DVD by its cover. The first 10-15 minutes are Charlie in a nutshell. He is a WWE fan, Golf expert, fantasy sports participant and Green Lantern fanatic. He is human ladies and gentlemen, not just some ridiculously smart Physical Therapist/Strength and Conditioning Coach. He gives props to his influences such as, Gray Cook, Vladimir Janda, Shirley Sahrmann and Mike Boyle as the basis for his current philosophies on rehabilitation and training.
One point Weingroff makes clear, that no matter what field you presently reside, basic principles for the human body remain the same. This is why he is actively trying to bridge the gap of between the doctor, physical therapist and strength coach. He believes that each professional plays an integral part in the steps back to performance and encourages you to surround yourself with colleagues of similar conceptual belief systems.
Furthermore, Weingroff is not your typical boring classroom teacher. He is animated, passionate and accessible. His personality draws you in and keeps you wanting more. I found myself looking up articles he was referencing because I want to know what he knows. As I watched the lecture and practical based DVDs I was nodding in agreement with his ideas simply because they made sense. He easily explains difficult concepts in a way any one can understand. What I admire most about Charlie Weingroff, while his opinions are his own he will distinctly define what is fact and how he arrived at that conclusion because he has the knowledge to back it up. He truly wants you to be a better trainer, coach or therapist and that comes through on the DVDs.
Cheri
I am the strength coach to many high-level high school and collegiate basketball players. I am constantly researching and looking for the best and most-effective ways to design their programs to improve performance and keep injuries at bay. I can confidently say that this DVD is the most comprehensive resource on basketball strength and conditioning that I have ever seen. The templates for the weekly workouts are invaluable to a strength coach. Often times, with so much information out there, it can be very confusing as to which program is best. Coach Patel explains the best program outline based on what he has found to work over the years.
I loved the part on Coach B’s warm-ups and soft-tissue work and particular attention to loosening up the hips. Tight hips will take the explosiveness right out of a player’s game, but Coach B shows you things you would never have thought of and that can be implemented with minimal equipment, anywhere!
Coach B takes you through a program start to finish with multiple options to fit your current needs and weight room specifics. I have come across many other basketball DVDs that are not practical, take too long and just won’t work in the real world setting. I have noticed our workouts are becoming much more efficient and effective based on player feedback and the quality of the movements. I am presenting at a state basketball clinic in a few weeks and I will highly recommend Coach Patel’s DVD to all the coaches in attendance.
This DVD has it all: program templates, visual examples and explanations and more. You are getting the experience and expertise of one of the best basketball strength coaches in the world in a matter of 3 hours’ worth of highly instructive DVD! This is a ‘must have’ investment for any basketball coach, player or strength coach. I have already implemented many of the things that Coach B has in his DVD with my players. I highly recommend this DVD to any coach or player that is looking to gain a ‘secret advantage’ over their opponents!
To pick up a copy of the DVD click here and scroll down the page.
Kyle Newell, MS, CSCS, CISSN
You know those fancy, air-filled, arch-cushioned, expensive-as-hell sneakers that you buy to enhance your performance? Well, what if we told you they were most likely not only decreasing your performance, but increasing your likelihood of injury? You would probably call us crazy.
Barefoot training has recently become popularized as a potential benefit in injury rehabilitation programs. It is also purported to serve as an additional means of injury prevention and to enhance athletic performance. However, limited clinical research is currently available to justify this practice and even less information is available describing how one may go about safely implementing a barefoot training program. My good friend, Art Horne, explores the scientific and theoretical benefits concerning the merits of barefoot training in this book and offers real life solutions and alternatives to all the things separating you and your feet from mother earth, including examples of specific programs and training progressions. By the time you are through with this book, you will be part of the movement and your feet will be on their way to a happier, healthier version of their formerly miserable selves.
Art is a professional that I have alot of respect for. He practices what he preaches and is continuously looking for better ways to help his athletes and staff. He brings in the best speakers to his annual conference (www.bsmpg.com) and refines his skills. Barefoot training is something that Art is very passionate and knowledgeable about. Through his passion, he wishes to share his experiences and what he has learned. You will not be disappointed with this book (also available on the kindle).
Welcome to Barefoot in Boston.
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In the first round of Alleviating Ailing Ankles, I discussed the function of the ankle joint and demonstrated a few exercises to help achieve additional range of motion in dorsiflexion. While on the surface it seemed to be a very extensive article, luckily for you and I alike, the foot and ankle are extremely complicated and thus true ankle health and “mobility” is a multifactorial issue, and often just training “dorsiflexion” is not sufficient.
In this article, I will discuss with you further the structure, function, and pathomechanics of the ankle in another critical motion to foot and ankle health—subtalar inversion and eversion—and also give you a few practical solutions for restoring mobility.
Why do we want eversion?
While dorsiflexion is often trumpeted as critically important for ankle health (and it is) we often forget the importance of the “red-headed step child” of movements, eversion. Like most things in the body, rarely does a joint move one way without there being other accessory joint movements. With regards to the ankle, pure dorsiflexion is nice, but in gait dorsiflexion occurs with eversion and also abduction, which the sum of the three create “pronation.”
Unless the joint is adequately mobile in all three planes of motion, we are doing our athletes a disservice as they will eventually seek and find mobility in places where they should not. Those familiar with the concept of joint by joint training can certainly appreciate this idea—our body is composed of relatively mobile joints connected via relatively stable segments.
Understanding the mechanics
As you will remember from AAA: part 1, pronation or supination at the subtalar joint can help the ankle achieve additional dorsiflexion or plantar flexion range of motion, respectively. But what exactly is the “subtalar joint”?
The subtalar joint is composed of three articulating facets—anterior, middle, posterior—between the talus and the calcaneus. The flat, calcaneal anterior and middle facets offer a gliding motion, whereas the posterior facet is saddle shaped, which permits triaxial movement. The joint is reinforced by a joint capsule surrounding the anterior and middle facets and a capsule surrounding the posterior facet. It seems that the collateral ligaments of the ankle play a role in the position of the subtalar joint, including the oft-injured anterior talofibular ligament (ATFL).
Anyone that has worked with field and court sport athletes has undoubtedly dealt with his fair share of athletes with ankle injuries. The ankle is the most frequently injured joint in sport accounting for one-third of all injuries. As the Western approach to medicine is highly reactionary in nature, we typically follow ankle injuries up with rest and taping to assist the body in stabilizing motion. Unfortunately in many cases, this is not enough to restore proper function at the ankle and leads to a loss of ankle dorsiflexion and an increased likelihood of repeated ankle injury in the future.
