One of the primary bastions of endurance sports training concerns “logging in the miles”. Many call this LSD training – LSD standing for Long Slow Distance.
I always like to keep one phrase firmly in the forefront of my mind - “long slow distance makes for long slow [insert here: runners, cyclists, etc]”. The human body adapts to the training demands imposed on it. With that said, if you are training at a slow pace, then it stands to reason that you will get really good at running at a slow pace. I have yet to meet an athlete that was training to get slower.
You have probably encountered this thinking before – put in a bunch of miles at a slower pace in order to “build your aerobic energy system”. This will then lead to gains in endurance sport performance – or so the theory goes.
Get busy living. It was as simple as that.
For 17 days I was in a hospital room at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario – one of the best teaching facilities to be found anywhere in the region, if not the nation. I was under the care of highly-trained gastroenterologists that would lead me back to a world of health.
That’s the logical side of me speaking. For all intents and purposes, it felt like being in prison – or what I would imagine that feels like. Suddenly I was away from my family, my friends, and school. It was a long 17 days. There was a lot of time to wonder. And reflect. And mourn. And wonder some more. And think. A lot.
The world of orthopedics has grown significantly over the past three decades. There has been a huge growth in technology, and this has had a huge impact on surgical and diagnostic procedures.
But how much impact has this had on true patient-focused care? The majority of patients in the orthopedic realm are non-surgical and require effective, conservative care. Just take a look at those with back pain as a prime example of the challenges facing orthopedic clinical practice these days. More and more clinical guidelines are indicating support for fewer and fewer assessment methods and treatment interventions. Costs continue to rise. Patients are unable to access their provider of choice given the antiquated gatekeeper model. The health care system as we know it is failing the patient, in terms of access to care, fiscal responsibility and outcome. Such is the world of back pain – as but one orthopedic example.
Mechanical Diagnosis And Therapy, or MDT, will redefine how orthopedics is practiced – by providing a framework for problem solving, diagnosis, and patient-focused care.
There is nothing like a humanitarian effort to put pride in ones’ heart. Helping your fellow man – or woman – is something that I think provides value in our lives.
We see the signs of these efforts in health care on a regular basis now. Just a few days ago, I was witness to some placards on 6th Street, asking people to make donations for health care for a baby in China. Another example is “Floating Doctors” - a medical group that provides free health care for people in remote regions of Haiti, Honduras, and Panama. These are all admirable, socially-conscious efforts.
My question is this: how many of these same people are staunchly opposed to universal health care in their own backyard?
Our lives are filled with moments, memories, events that forever put their indelible stamp upon us and change our lives and the ways in which we view the world. Often these challenges will require us to dig deep within ourselves. February 18, 1981 was one of those days. The memory of that day never strays very far from me.
February 18, 1981 was probably much like any other February 18. There was snow on the ground and it was the dead of winter in Canada. No surprises there. Hockey season was in full swing. The Toronto Maple Leafs were sliding into the playoffs, only to eventually lose to the Stanley Cup champion New York Islanders 3 - 0. No surprises there either.
I was in the tenth grade at the time - 15 years old but, perhaps more importantly, just 4 feet 8 inches tall and a whopping 68 pounds. Yes, you read that correctly.
Of course, there is a story that goes along with this – and many life lessons learned. Here is my story.
This is the 10th in a series of RunSmart videos. The series is on-going, with a new video released on a biweekly 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 compilation of the first 10 videos will be available on Vimeo as well.
For those of you that are interested in a more interactive learning environment, consider attending a Level One (half day), Level Two (one day), or Level Three (two day) RunSmart program. The Level One program is 4 hours and focuses on basic training principles and running mechanics. The Level Two program is 8.5 hours and focuses on injury prevention and performance optimization. The Level Three program is a two day, 15 hour program that includes a comprehensive approach to running injuries. The next Level One program will be offered in Austin on March 24, 2012. The next Level Three program will be offered in Reno, Nevada on May 5 – 6, 2012 at the University of Nevada.
In this video, I discuss “foot strike”. There is much discussion and debate in the running community regarding foot strike. But does this debate address the important issues that truly affect running mechanics and performance? Foot position relative to center of mass may in fact be more important than the actual strike pattern of the foot.
On Monday night, basketball fans at the Erwin Center got to see two teams headed in very different directions. Fans were given a fine example of the characteristics of a good basketball team, and one not-so-good team.
For those who may be wondering, the team headed in the downward direction is none other than the University of Texas Longhorns. On the upswing are the Baylor Bears. Oh, how times have changed.
The Horns were on a four game winning streak heading in to Stillwater for Saturday’s game against OSU. I, for one, was starting to get, well, almost optimistic. Perhaps they might be able to finagle their way into the Big Dance in March. A big maybe, but after 4 straight wins, it was conceivable.
But over the span of two games, Longhorn fans were subjected to the harsh reality of the 2011-2012 season.
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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