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SPC Blog
We share actionable advice about pain management, injury, strength training, exercise, rehab, and how to make healthcare work for you.
5 Contributors To Your Running Form That You May Be Missing
We perform running analyses every day. Viewing your running pattern lets us see you move from one phase of running to the next, from stance to float to swing. There is always something present that would fall out side of what others consider perfect form. Over striding may be present. You may appear to pronate too much. You may be a heel or forefoot striker. We may see that your knees hit together. But we do not start with a running analysis. The insights above may get you back to running. However, the truth is that analyzing running gait is not enough. The how and why someone runs with their current pattern or why they keep having an injury cannot be determined by watching them
Factors to Consider After Knee Injury
Returning to Activity, Physical Therapy, and Neuromuscular Fatigue Neuromuscular fatigue has been implicated as a significant problem for individuals returning to sport following an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury and reconstruction. Due to the high rate of re-injury in those that have had an ACL reconstruction, one hypothesis is that neuromuscular fatigue will negatively impact strength performance, postural stability (single leg balance), and biomechanics during jumping and landing. It blows my mind that a female athlete with an ACL tear is 16 times more likely than a healthy female athlete to tear an ACL again. The interplay between a previous injury, the resulting changes to the input to the brain, modified motor planning, and re-injury is an interesting development in research. Today I wanted
The Effect of Knee Injury on the Brain
Physical Therapy Research The connection between your knee, an injury, and the brain is not straightforward. However, when you hurt your knee or any other joint there can be issues that lead to future problems. A recent article dove into this topic: Grooms D, Appelbaum G, Onate J. Neuroplasticity following anterior cruciate ligament injury: a framework for visual-motor training approaches in rehabilitation. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2015;45(5):381-393. Why is this important for physical therapy? The control of our body is dependent on three systems: visual, vestibular, and somatosensory. The visual system contribution is obvious – the eyes. Due to changes in information coming from the body (somatosensory) due to the ACL tear, the motor control system becomes more reliant on the eyes. If we
Strength Training for Triathletes
What to do if you are an often injured triathlete that has tried to stay healthy? Why did you get into triathlon? Do you love the challenge? Do you like the training? Do you like the chronic calf cramping, back pain, neck pain, sore shoulder, or weird knee pain that seems to happen when you step off a curb? Do you like hearing you have weak glutes or it’s just that your hip keeps falling out of alignment? My guess is those last two are not why you started and continue to do triathlons. Triathlon combines three separate sports into one: swimming, biking, and running. The training is long with a focus on technique and conditioning. You may have been attracted initially to the idea
5 Contributors To Your Running Form That You May Be Missing
We perform running analyses every day. Viewing your running pattern lets us see you move from one phase of running to the next, from stance to float to swing. There is always something present that would fall out side of what others consider perfect form. Over striding may be present. You may appear to pronate too much. You may be a heel or forefoot striker. We may see that your knees hit together. But we do not start with a running analysis. The insights above may get you back to running. However, the truth is that analyzing running gait is not enough. The how and why someone runs with their current pattern or why they keep having an injury cannot be determined by watching them
Factors to Consider After Knee Injury
Returning to Activity, Physical Therapy, and Neuromuscular Fatigue Neuromuscular fatigue has been implicated as a significant problem for individuals returning to sport following an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury and reconstruction. Due to the high rate of re-injury in those that have had an ACL reconstruction, one hypothesis is that neuromuscular fatigue will negatively impact strength performance, postural stability (single leg balance), and biomechanics during jumping and landing. It blows my mind that a female athlete with an ACL tear is 16 times more likely than a healthy female athlete to tear an ACL again. The interplay between a previous injury, the resulting changes to the input to the brain, modified motor planning, and re-injury is an interesting development in research. Today I wanted
The Effect of Knee Injury on the Brain
Physical Therapy Research The connection between your knee, an injury, and the brain is not straightforward. However, when you hurt your knee or any other joint there can be issues that lead to future problems. A recent article dove into this topic: Grooms D, Appelbaum G, Onate J. Neuroplasticity following anterior cruciate ligament injury: a framework for visual-motor training approaches in rehabilitation. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2015;45(5):381-393. Why is this important for physical therapy? The control of our body is dependent on three systems: visual, vestibular, and somatosensory. The visual system contribution is obvious – the eyes. Due to changes in information coming from the body (somatosensory) due to the ACL tear, the motor control system becomes more reliant on the eyes. If we
Strength Training for Triathletes
What to do if you are an often injured triathlete that has tried to stay healthy? Why did you get into triathlon? Do you love the challenge? Do you like the training? Do you like the chronic calf cramping, back pain, neck pain, sore shoulder, or weird knee pain that seems to happen when you step off a curb? Do you like hearing you have weak glutes or it’s just that your hip keeps falling out of alignment? My guess is those last two are not why you started and continue to do triathlons. Triathlon combines three separate sports into one: swimming, biking, and running. The training is long with a focus on technique and conditioning. You may have been attracted initially to the idea
