It is estimated that there are now 40 million (or more, depending on the study) runners in the United States. There are almost 11 million of those runners that are running twice per week or more. In the context of health benefit, the rising numbers are good.
There is a sad reality attached to these numbers as well. The research would indicate that at least 60% of all runners will be injured in any given year, and that 70% of injuries are recurrent. For those who like to do math, that amounts to 24 million injured runners, of which 16.8 million runners will have recurrent problems.
When you start doing the math on running injuries, some frightening economic numbers rise to the surface.
Bob Dylan got me thinking today. His lyrics have a way of doing that to me. Much like any good book of poetry, you can listen to the words, or read them on the page, and there will always be some new meaning or insights to be found.
I have always been fascinated and inspired by the power and beauty of the singer-songwriter. First of all, it is quite an undertaking to peel away layers of your own soul and reflect upon the raw emotions that lie under the surface. That is tough enough. Putting them into rhyme and verse is yet another compelling task. But beyond all of that, there is a real vulnerability in baring your soul to the world – one person, one guitar, one song – raw and uncensored. Powerful stuff – even when there is a full band behind the lyrical musings.
It is now just about impossible to watch a sporting event without seeing the stuff. Reams and reams of bright, colorful tape have now been stretched over countless athletes. The already-colorful London Olympics quickly became the London Technicolor Games.
Kinesio Tape has become an everyday sight since the Beijing Olympics, and it’s perceived impact is spreading rapidly through the general populace. If I didn’t know better, I would say that it could very well be the next greatest thing since sliced bread.
But much like Rod Tidwell in “Jerry Maguire” would say, “show me the science"! This brings me to today’s question: is kinesio taping placebo or panacea?
We The People.
These are the epochal first three words of the US Constitution – a work of not only political significance but also containing tremendous individual and global significance.
With that said, there is a lot of talk amongst the political parties – both conservative and liberal, right and left – about the Constitution these days. There seems to have been a barrage of hyperbole in this election cycle about how the government or any given political party is straying further and further away from the Constitution, and how we as a country might remedy that ill.
Claims like that certainly shouldn’t be taken lightly on any day. But today – Constitution Day - it becomes more readily apparent. No, it is not just another Hallmark Day. Today is a day to reflect on the US Constitution, its significance, and how we should not let politicians play frivolously with its wording and intent.
President Kennedy’s “Man On The Moon” address to Congress on May 25, 1961 probably sounded like a far-fetched idea to many. How could it not? Putting a man on the moon by the end of the decade must have sounded like a crazy idea at best.
But as we all know, the glimmer of an idea that started with the X-15 program in 1959 was made a reality on July 21, 1969 when Neil Armstrong walked on the surface of the moon. As it turns out, Kennedy’s vision had months to spare.
Right now, we have another seemingly far-fetched goal in front of us: health care reform. I think that the powers-that-be would do well to learn some lessons from NASA. Here are nine lessons to consider.
The dog days of summer are over, and September is now well and truly upon us. With that comes some new beginnings – school, college football, and cooler weather in Austin – maybe. With it also comes new endings - the Republican and Democratic National Conventions are now just a thing of the past – fortunately.
I suspect we can all take a deep sigh of relief for both.
This episode of the Rhubarb Report brings a mix of beginnings and endings from sport and politics.
There are those that propose that Mechanical Diagnosis And Therapy – otherwise known as MDT or the McKenzie Method – is somehow an incomplete approach to assessment and treatment, especially when it comes to athletes and sports injuries. I have had clinicians ask me, “What do I do when McKenzie doesn’t work?” I have had clinicians tell me that MDT “leaves some things on the table”. I have had clinicians tell me that “it doesn’t address [insert obscure irrelevant minutiae here]”. Unfortunately, I hear these claims in the sports medicine community on a regular basis.
As one of about 350 clinicians worldwide that have attained the highest level of training in the McKenzie Method, there is no doubt in my mind that MDT is a comprehensive, athlete-centered and exercise-based approach to the care of musculoskeletal injuries in sport. With that said, here are 7 reasons why MDT is the future of sports medicine and what makes it appealing to clinicians, athletes, and coaches alike.
Up to 60% of runners will sustain an injury within any given year. Poor running mechanics, in conjunction with poor, ineffective and outdated training methods, can pose a significant injury risk. "RunSmart" was written to address these issues in the running community.
"Running Injuries: Etiology And Recovery- Based Treatment" (co-author Bridget Clark, PT) appears in the third edition and fourth editions of "Clinical Orthopaedic Rehabilitation: A Team Approach" by Charles Giangarra, MD and Robert C. Manske, PT.
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.
Top 5 finalist in three categories: "Best Overall Blog", "Best PT Blog" and "Best Advocacy Blog".
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