Today, we are addressing the question, "What risk factors are associated with Achilles Tendinopathy?" The Achilles tendon is vital to our performance as runners as over 50% of the push-off from the ground comes from the energy production of the elastic properties of the Achilles. To help us address this question we will take a quick look at a systematic review which looks at a number of different studies and tries to pull out the main themes to make sense of the data as a gro

Today we are looking at a research article that is trying to determine if assigning a shoe based on the shape of the bottom of your foot will help reduce injury rates. This study was performed by the Air Force and was performed on their cadets that were undergoing BMT (Basic Military Training). Research studies for athletes that come from military institution can be interesting because they typically have many people that participate in the study. The study concludes there is

Piriformis plays a very important role for protecting the hip, sacroiliac joint, and the pelvic floor. The muscle is often seen as the "guilty party" when it comes to blaming that "pain in the rear." Sometimes this is reality and sometimes piriformis is falsely accused, but either way it is indeed a very active muscle in your toosh. Dysfunction of Piriformis Encourages Poor rotational stability of the hip joint Sacroiliac joint instability Pelvic floor instability (through co

Endurance athletes can be sticklers when it comes to what they put down the hatch. They have to be picky because they are pushing their bodies well beyond simple physiology. At times however one can become so driven by goals and the athlete's "mental block" that a simple everyday compound can gradually run low. If this compound runs dangerously low an individual can have some very serious complications. In today's world SALT is considered bad and for good reason.....because i

Balance and Coordination? Is it necessary for me as a runner? Am I even lacking? To understand balance and coordination in the human body you have to break down 3 systems in the human body. The body utilizes three systems including the visual, proprioceptive, and vestibular systems. While we rely on the visual system predominantly, we must use a collaborative effort from all three systems to maximize our coordination. Without realizing how critical these systems are to our hu

Chances are you've come across the concept of kinesiotape. You've seen it, read about it, watched videos, asked your friends, and probably tried it yourself. Whether you found it valuable might have depend on your application technique. Kinesiology tape is not something new as it was created back in the 1970s. The origins of the tape were a valiant attempt to create a tape that would assist in the healing of damaged tissue as opposed to taping techniques at that time which we

Foot problems for runners are nearly inevitable. The problems hopefully will be minor with the early detection and corrective action. Three common foot afflictions for runner's feet are achilles tendinitis or bursitis, plantar fasciitis, and posterior tibialis tendinitis. These are far from the myriad of potential foot problems, but they are assuredly the most frequent we see in the clinic. Pay particular attention to the -itis ending of all these conditions. The suffix -itis

Foot problems for runners are nearly inevitable. The problems hopefully will be minor with the early detection and corrective action. Three common foot afflictions for runner's feet are achilles tendinitis or bursitis, plantar fasciitis, and posterior tibialis tendinitis. These are far from the myriad of potential foot problems, but they are assuredly the most frequent we see in the clinic. Pay particular attention to the -itis ending of all these conditions. The suffix -itis

So you were enjoying a nice run, training for your next football or soccer match, cutting out of a pick and roll, or rounding hard around second trying to stretch a triple and you pulled up a little ginger. No matter the sport the incident of a pulled hamstring can be incredibly painful out of the gate and if not properly tended to can turn into a nagging issue. Chronic hamstring injuries create not only a physical barrier but a mental barrier as well. The best piece of advic

Essential Four Pack Exercises for Runners and athletes

Many runners that we know or we have treated have a very familiar story. When we ask about the warm up for training and races, the story usually sounds similar to this... TPT, "tell me about your routine before you run." Runner, "well, I usually stretch a little, swing my legs a few times, jog slowly, then take off running." TPT, "ok, that's a start. Now tell me how long this warm up might last?" Runner, "oh, I don't know 3 or 4 minutes." TPT, "hmm, let's start by obliteratin

Our bodies were meant to move. Move in multiple ways in fact. Truth be told when we don't move, many body systems can malfunction. Those that participate in running and jogging will attest to the "high" that the activity can bring. Squeezing in those precious miles to satisfy their souls. Most runners are going to put in hundreds of pain free miles, but there will come a time when our bodies won't cooperate. How we adjust at that point will affect our tolerance moving forward

We find one of the most overlooked beauties of running is the simple fact that so little equipment is needed. Being practical you throw on a shirt, shorts, socks, and shoes. Four items...check! Throw on a watch for some techie flare and we're all set. If it were only that easy, right? If you have ever spent hours on end googling reviews of the best running shoes for the year, sat endlessly in the running store trying on shoe after shoe after shoe, or begged anyone and everyon

Whether you are in search of a new running shoe or are unsure if your current shoes have reached their limit, you can perform this quick screen to make your determination. First you'll need a flat, hard surface to perform your screen. If you're shopping then just drop the shoes onto the floor or onto the shoebox to perform the following tests. A little knowledge of the anatomy of a tennis shoe will help your understanding. We recommend you perform the following tests on any t

Many runners are obsessed... let's say it again... OBSESSED with numbers. Distance, time, pace, miles, kilometers, volume, total mileage, heart rate, calories, number of macros, number of micros, cost of apparel... the list goes on and on. Some even pay attention to a term called cadence. If you have heard the term cadence, you might know what one should strive for but have you asked yourself, why? Let us back up a bit and talk about the term cadence. What Is Cadence? Cadence