A Gift For Visiting My Blog!

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010 At 10:29 pm

Thank you for stopping by. I hope you enjoy my blog. I welcome any comments or questions you may  have.  To show my appreciation for your visit here, I am offering my core exercises DVD — normally sold for $14.95 — for *FREE* to anyone who asks for  it.  Simply click the link below with your name and e-mail address and  I will send it right over. Thanks again and enjoy the day!

Use our online contact form to request your *** FREE *** DVD

Top 5 Runners Injuries AKA The Big 5

Monday, March 15th, 2010 At 2:17 pm

The days are warmer and the birds are back.  It is actually light when I get home from work.  What does this mean? For me it means running season.  The 5ks, 10ks, and marathons are all scheduled.

Don’t let the possibilities of running injuries stop you from all the fun! Here are the 5 most common runners injuries  AKA *The Big 5* to watch for:

1. Runners Knee/Chondromalacia Patella
   This is pain under and around the knee cap due to improper tracking  between the condyles of the knee.  It causes wearing of the underside of the knee cap and often leads to disorders of the knee such as tendonitis and other inflammatory disorders.
2. Plantar Fascitis
   This is an inflammatory disorder of the plantar fascia.  The plantar fascia is a band of tissue, much like a tendon, that runs from your heel to the ball of your foot.  A common complaint is pain upon waking in the morning.  Patients report the first few steps are very painful. It is also aggravated after running, walking, or standing for long times.
3. IT Band Syndrome
   This is also an inflammatory disorder of the a tendon that runs from your hip to your knee. It commonly cause hip and knee pain. If you’ve had this one you know how painful it can be.
4. Achilles Tendonitis
   This is inflammation of the achilles tendon.  The achilles tendon connects the calf to the heel. I commonly find this Inflammatory disorder with plantar fascitis.  Inflammation weakens connective tissue and can lead to achilles rupture.  Not good!
5. Shin Splints
   Generally it is inflammation of the posterior muscles behind the shin bone. It is caused by improper foot mechanics. Other muscles around the shin may also be affected such as the anterior tibialis muscles.

Do you notice a pattern here?

The common denominator is inflammation. Commonly Doctors are quite familiar with this pattern and treat the inflammation through rest, immobilization and NSAIDs ( non-steroidal anti-inflammatories).  If this does not work many times they do use cortisone through injections.

Why is this not enough?

That is because every condition that was described above is simply an explanation of the symptoms.  They are all describing the result of injury and the course of treatment only addressed the symptoms.  Little or no attention was put into the “cause” of the problem.

If the doctor or patient are pro-active they may seek out physical therapy.  A successful plan of therapy will address the actual cause of the symptoms not just the resultant symptoms.

Why Didn’t Physical Therapy Help?

Monday, March 15th, 2010 At 2:14 pm

I would like to answer this question with a case history. I was treating an ultra-marathoner who was preparing for his 10th 50 mile race. It was a big deal for him as 10 is a *big* milestone (understandably, not too many people have run 50 miles, no less have done it 10 times!).

A bad case of plantar fascitis!

The ultra-marathoner had a bad case of plantar fascitis. In an attempt to attain his goal, he ventured down a quest to find the cure for his condition. His quest started at numerous sports medicine doctors, months of physical therapy at 2 different locations and treatment by his chiropractor. Each one addressed a different aspect of his condition.

Here is how it went:

• The MD gave him NSAIDS and also use an injection of corticosteroids. This gave him temporary relief but when he went back to his routine it came back.
• Because of his determination he read how chiropractic may help. So his quest led him to so-called alternative medicine. This next stop was to his chiropractor who manipulated his pelvis and hip. The chiropractor explained this was causing an abnormal gait pattern (how you walk and run) which affected how he was landing on his foot. His chiropractor also gave him some custom orthotics to help with an over-pronation of his foot.
• The adjustments did not seem to help (although they gave him relief of some low back pain he was experiencing) and the orthotics seemed to aggravate his feet. Increasing foot pain was not the reason for this visit so the quest continued.
• His doctor then sent him to a popular physical therapy clinic. This was a busy operation and what we call a PT mill. He was brought in as a number and run through the conveyor line.
• After 8 weeks of ultrasound, stretches, band exercises and told to ice at home he was losing hope. The ultrasound and ice helped a bit, but the calf stretches seemed to hurt so he stopped.
• Next stop, a physical therapist (PT) that was recommended by another runner. The PT was also a runner so this gave him some comfort. The program there was better. The PT spent one on one time , did some “massage on the fascia” that seemed to help and reviewed some stretching and even focused on a balance routine. He was improving quite well, but each time he tried to run, it would come back.
• The PT advised no running! This advice is almost impossible for any runner to comply with but the ultra-marathoner was desperate.
• After a few months he was better. He was ready to start training again. The race was getting closer only a few months out. After a few weeks though, the pain returned. He decided he would just run through the pain. He would finish this race if it killed him.

Still determined…

Still determined, this patient decided to continue his search. He researched on the Internet and found a technique call Graston. That is what lead him to our clinic. Graston is a very effective soft tissue technique that utilizes stainless steel instruments to break up the scar tissue and adhesions that build up with injuries such as this. He was sure this would cure him so he came in looking for the miracle pill and he was sure this was it.

On evaluation day, we informed him there is no miracle pill. Graston is fantastic but it is not your solution. Actually, it is not the only solution. The truth is everything he did along the way was correct. He needed manipulation of his SI joint as the restrictions in his low back were creating an abnormal gait, just as his chiropractor said. He also needed the orthotics. He was ovepronating and it was causing extreme stress on his fascia (this is why every time he went back to running the pain returned).

“Well the orthotics made it worse,” the ultra-marathoner shared. That is because of the adhesions and scar tissue that has built up over time. This is where the Graston will come in. It also needs to be applied to the calf, quad and low back as there are many muscular imbalances either as a result of this journey or one of the original causes.

We made all the corrections and treated him up to the race. We are happy to report the ultra-marathoner finished the 50 miles virtually pain free!

Important Takeaways

The moral of this ultra-marathoner’s story is two-fold:

• First, pain is usually not where the problem is.
• Secondly, the whole lower kinetic chain must be addressed when dealing with any runners injury.

This is why we have a multi-discipline clinic that combines the benefits of chiropractic, physical therapy, strength and conditioning for any injury. For additional information on Plantar Fascitis or the lower Kinetic Chain, view our article entitled Plantar Fascitis & Other Lower Leg Injuries or email us with any questions or comments.