Marathon running has become a rather strange social phenomenon over the past decade. It is one that I can’t say that I fully comprehend given the history of running in this country.
There was a time not so long ago – maybe 30 or so years ago – when training for a 5K was the departure point for new and experienced runners alike. This was during the initial “running craze”, when many people turned to running as a way to get up and move and get active. After you ran a few 5Ks, it was a natural progression in thinking to run a 10K. Maybe you would, maybe you wouldn’t. Then, you might decide to progress to a half marathon. You rarely had people going into the sport at the marathon end of the spectrum.
Somewhere along the line, running a marathon entered into the collective psyche of the couch potato.
There is a lot of finger pointing that goes on in health care.
As a physical therapist, I have to look no further than members of my own profession. Many physical therapists point their fingers at chiropractors, claiming that they see patients more frequently and far longer than they need to be seen. Or that they use passive approaches and dis-empower patients. Or that all they do is manipulate, and that chiropractors think it is a solution for everything.
I have heard the diatribe many times before, and I am sure I will hear it many times again.
Of course, when you point a finger at someone, three point back at you. As for what happens to the thumb, we can discuss that later.
What this amounts to is that there is crap to be found in every profession. It is not just in someone else’s profession, not just on the other side of the fence. It is in your own backyard. The bell curve of clinical excellence has outliers on both sides. It is where we put the focus that is the problem.
If there was an Olympic event for back surgery, then the United States would be a gold medalist year in and year out. The United States is not only number one in the world in back surgeries performed annually, but it is also number one in the world in failed back surgeries annually. More than 20,000 lumbar spinal fusions are performed annually in this country. There are eight times as many spinal surgical procedures are carried out in the United States per capita as in Britain. Either the United States just coincidentally happens to have a lot of bad backs, or there are a lot of surgeries being performed needlessly.
There is also a direct relationship between the number of spinal operations performed in any one geographical area and the number of orthopaedic and neurosurgeons in that area. That being the case, the likelihood of you having surgery prescribed for you is related more to the demographics of your locale than it is to "getting the patient better".
Lumbar spinal fusion is costly – from an economic standpoint, and from a societal one as well. This is a consumer issue with some staggering numbers and facts.
This is the third in a series of RunSmart videos. The series is on-going, with a new video released on a monthly basis. These videos complement the material presented in the book “RunSmart: A Comprehensive Approach To Injury-Free Running”. The full series of videos can be found here. A transcription of the video will also be available with each post.
For those of you that are interested in a more interactive learning environment, consider attending a four hour RunSmart Level One program. You can further your education with the Level Two and Level Three programs which will focus on the application of RunSmart principles to both coaching and training program development and running injury recovery.
In this video, I will discuss the three keys to running mechanics. There are a number of simple cues that can foster an improvement in your running mechanics.
I hope you enjoy the video series. If you would like me to address any specific aspect of the RunSmart approach, drop me an email or add a comment to this article.
This past week, I gave a 3 hour presentation at the Texas Physical Therapy Association’s Annual Conference – my third consecutive appearance at our annual meeting. The presentation was entitled “Mechanisms Of Therapeutic Exercise Progression”.
Exercise – and the parameters required to optimize the responses to it – is a large part of my daily world. Whether it is a program for injury recovery, injury prevention, or performance optimization, the parameters and dosage of exercise are critical. They are intimately related to whether or not we “turn on the gene” – or don’t.
The problem is that the application of therapeutic exercise, in my humble opinion, is a little behind the curve relative to what we actually know takes place at the cellular level. I see this problem with personal trainers, physical therapists, physical therapist assistants, chiropractors, and even physicians.
Apparently it is a topic that the physical therapy community in Texas is interested in. My session was very well-attended, with over 55 participants in a standing-room-only meeting room.
It is quite amazing how when you decide to run for President, all of your past political successes and failures are scrutinized in the public spotlight. Texas Governor Rick Perry has come under scrutiny – thankfully, I might add – for his health care policies in the state of Texas.
Governor Perry has been very vocal about his 2003 tort reform and the effect it has had on physician recruitment in Texas. But I think that the only doctor that would approve of this statement might be a spin doctor.
Has Governor Perry’s tort reform in Texas changed the health care playing field? Or has his health care agenda been a miserable failure in more ways than one? Does any of this bode well for his role in national health care reform should he become President?
Runners have an infamous phrase that will almost invariably enter their vocabulary at some time. I hear it from injured and non-injured runners alike. Almost every runner will utter these words at some point during their running career:
“I need to be upping my mileage”.
I have a hard time maintaining a straight face even as I type these words.
Upping my mileage. The scourge of the modern day runner.
If increasing running mileage had a direct relationship with running performance, then the United States should own the world of distance running, especially marathon distance and beyond. There are far more runners in this country running 80 – 100 miles (or more) per week than any other place on the planet, yet we have not won an Olympic marathon gold in more than 27 years.
What’s wrong with this picture?
Allan Besselink, PT, DPT, Ph.D., Dip.MDT has a unique voice in the world of sports, education, and health care. Read more about Allan here.