89NorthtoNirvana: Escape from L.A.

89NorthtoNirvana: Escape from L.A.: Thanks for checking out my blog 89NorthtoNirvana. Between being exhausted, being busy and having very limited access to wifi it's take...

How Tucking Your Tail Hurts You

I recently discovered a great animation that illustrates something I struggle to explain to all my clients, and want to share it here with you. As if collapsing on the couch, driving your car and slumping in front of your computer isn't enough, many of my clients working with personal trainers, pilates instructors and virtually all my yoga clients are being told to "tuck their tail."

Not only does this cause too much lordosis of the lower spine and inhibit healthy hip movement, it puts the sacro-iliac joint (which supports your entire body) in an unstable position. This makes the "SI" joint and the oh, so popular L5-S1 joint exTREEMLY vunerable to injury. These two chronic conditiions are the most common complaints in my practice along with rotator cuff injuries. And amazingly, the chronic shoulder injuries are directly related to tucking the tail because when the pelvis is unstable, the neck and shoulders try to hold us up.

Now I know this is a lot to get your head around. Don't feel bad, it confuses many fitness professionals as well. So do yourself a favor, take 4 minutes and watch this clip which beautifully illuminates the movements of the sacrum and why, especially when loaded, (which is anytime you're not lying down!) your sacrum needs to be "nutated" that is, slightly tipped forward, so that your tail is out behind you. If your sacrum is slightly arched (think happy dog), then you're back wont' be over arched or "sway backed." Hint: This is also why no matter how much you stretch them, your hamstrings are always tight. Are you listening yoga people?

Tucking the tail also prevents the deep stabilizing musculature of the spine and pelvic floor from firing correctly so that the big muscles of the back are always overworked. Sound familiar? That's a whole lot of stuff than can be fixed, just by changing the orientation of your tail! 

I know this can be hard to actualize in your own body without help, which is why I'm here for you, ever on the cutting edge and outside the box, to help you sift through the tremendous amount of (often erroneous and misleading) information out there. If you want to explore this in your own body, call me. This is a game changer.

PS: If you found this helpful, please share it with a friend and subscribe to this blog.


Yours in Health,

Kerry 
www.InspiringMotion.com

818-469-0445

Verdict is YES on Barefoot Shoes

Barefoot shoes. I know... a contradiction of terms. The Vibram Five Fingers barefoot shoes allow you to experience all the healthy movement your foot should have without the abuse to the soles of the feet that going barefoot can bring.

I've been wanting a pair for a couple of years now, but after reading Born to Run by Christopher McDougall I had to have them. Set in the worlds of ultra marathon racing and the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico's Copper Canyon, this page turner is part mystery/adventure story, part evolutionary anthropology and orthopedic science, concurrently tracing the history of running and the running shoe.

What I found so exciting was that in my practice many people come to me because of foot pain. What I typically see are "fallen" arches, pronation and astonishingly weak feet.  Dr. Gerard Hartman who trains the world's finest long distance runners concurs. "The deconditioned musculature of the foot is the greatest issue leading to injury." It seems radical, but the more we put our feet in shoes that stabilize and cushion, the weaker our feet become.  According to Dr. Brant, chief of rehab at the U.S. Public Health Service Hospital in Louisiana, "A barefoot walker receives a continual stream of information about the ground and about his own relationship to it, while a shod foot sleeps inside an unchanging environment." He points out that most of the foot ailments he sees in his waiting room are unheard of in cultures that go barefoot.

I have training in foot rehabilitation, but it just didn't seem like enough. I went on a mission to find more foot strengthening exercises and with almost no exception found only stretching exercises. Finally, I developed my own protocol for strengthening feet. One client who had stopped walking (!!!) because her feet hurt so much can now use the treadmill at the gym and walks 3 miles around the park without pain. But now there's more! Five Fingers give us a way to strengthen our feet without fear of injury from sharp stones or broken glass. A protective glove for your feet rather than a straight jacket!

I've had my Five Fingers for about three weeks now. I LOVE them!  First let me say that I only wear them on dirt trails and grass. I bought the trail runners specifically because they have a sole that gives traction on the scree of the local hills. After a 4-5 mile hike my feet feel like they've had a major workout. In a good way! What do I love about my Five Fingers? Let me count the ways:

• After hiking my legs feel fabulous!
• I move more from the hips and less from the knees. The action of flexing and extending the leg is evenly distributed through the feet, ankles, knees and hips, instead of overworking the knees.
• My core is noticeably more engaged.
• There is more connection with the outside of the foot, so my foot has to WORK from outside to inside, the way it's meant to, strengthening with every step.
• I can feel the vibration of my steps into the bones of my legs which builds bone and stimulates the sense receptors of the foot, ankle and hip joints, improving balance and proprioception.
• They are lighter on my feet than athletic shoes or hiking boots. My feet feel free!!! 

All this with a 3rd degree sprain of one foot and ankle last July and broken metatarsal on the other in Nov. Foot rehab works! My Five Fingers are the icing on the cake.

What would I caution about using Five Fingers to strengthen your feet?

• Start slowly, test the waters. Don't start with a 10 mile run. Strength takes time to develop.
• Stick to grass and other moderately uneven surfaces to start.
• Avoid long walks on concrete.
• Severe Morton's Toe (long second toe) may be hard to fit.
• Expect flack from professionals who believe that feet are natively flawed or that we were never designed to walk on two feet.

Remember you can always reach me at Kerry@InspiringMotion.com or at 818-469-0445. Phone consultations are always free.

I'll see  you on the trail with happy feet!

Namaste,

Kerry

The Overuse Epidemic in Kids Sports-Play Safe

Seeing school buses and hearing my local high school band practicing reminded me that school is back in session and along with it fall youth athletic programs. According to John Smoltz, former Braves pitcher, “Sports is about a lot of things, and it teaches you a lot about life. We want to bring back the fun and capability of children to play for a lot longer than they are.”

What Smoltz is referring to is the increase in sports injuries in middle and high school students. Annually 3.5 million children under the age of 14 suffer a sports injury. High school students incur 2 million injuries annually. Youth shoulder and elbow injuries are creeping toward epidemic proportions and ACL injuries remain one of the most common injuries. According to the STOP (Sports Trauma and Overuse Prevention) overuse is to blame for 50% of middle and high school injuries.

The STOP Sports Injuries campaign was initiated by the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) as a result of the growing problem of overuse injuries among young athletes.

While we want our children to succeed both academically and physically, we also want them to avoid injury so they can stay physically engaged throughout their lives. However sports are competitive and coaches may not always distinguish between a child who needs a little push and a child that is already pushing too hard.

One mother brought her son to me for massage because he was complaining of sore muscles. Every part of his body hurt and his muscles were riddled with trigger points. No child should be that sore. The young man, who was a freshman in high school and playing football confided to me that at 5 feet and 140 pounds, his coach was pushing him to gain another 40 pounds to play defense!

Since then I have worked with more than a few children who were living in constant pain from extreme training and overuse injuries. Over training can interfere with growth plate sealing and “diseases” like Osgood-Schlatter Disease, which is the most common cause of knee pain in children, and is simply an overuse injury.

My goal here is not to give you one more thing to worry about, but to provide a little insight so that if a kid you know complains about being in pain all the time you have resources. As they say, “Let’s be safe out there.”

Check out http://www.stopsportsinjuries.org for Tip Sheets, Conversation Starters and Injury Prevention Tips for parents, kids and coaches including tips for specific sports.

I hope the kids you know enjoy their upcoming season, play hard and win often!

Diary of a Severe Sprain or, did you know…?

Diary of a Severe Sprain or, did you know…?

Did you know that soft tissue injuries, tendons and ligaments, take 6-9 months to heal?

The Injury:

On July 4th I stepped in a pothole and badly sprained my ankle, tearing outer and inner ligaments and tendons. (Lateral ankle sprains account for 90% of all ankle sprain injuries and interestingly, lower leg injuries account for 90% of the rescues in Yosemite National Park!) Luckily it was a holiday and I was able follow the recommended procedure to RICE: Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevlation for the first 24 hours. I was on crutches for the better part of a week, icing 3-4 times a day for 45 minutes. Why so long you ask? Though 20 minute icing is often recommended, I could feel that the cold did not begin to enter the deeper parts of the joint until after 20 min. The swelling was intense, and also quite colorful!

Six weeks later there is still some swelling and I am still icing once or twice a day, long after most people would have quit. Why still icing? The deep ligaments of the ankle are not well vascularized, which is why joints take so long to heal. Increasing deep circulation is essential!

 The Compensation:

Often underestimated is the compensation that happens throughout the body from even an insignificant injury. It amazed me is how much both feet hurt, even though I’d sprained the ankle. The left foot hurt because it had to bear most of my weight. My right hip was tight from shifting weight from the injured foot and I  developed a weakness in my right knee. My balance on the right side was bad! Even my hands and shoulders hurt from the crutches and my groin has gotten tight because I wasn't able to sit cross-legged for a month!

The Rehab:

Every day after the first week I did gentle foot movements. Sprain patients are often advised to spell the alphabet with their toes to maintain mobility. The thing that helped the most were the Yamuna Foot Savers and Gyrotonic. Yay Foot Fitness! They did wonders to release the tension in both feet and the hip, and helped my ankle take quantum leaps forward. Last week I took the dogs on their first careful hike to Runyon Canyon and today we were able to go to the Santa Monicas, staying on the relatively smooth fire roads. Amazing how much walking off street helped my ankle. Get off the sidewalk!

Back in the Saddle:

I still have a little pain on twisting; there is still some swelling and weakness. I’m almost 6 weeks in and there is a lot of strength, flexibility and balance training ahead of me. All this from one mis-step in my own ‘hood. I’m grateful that I was able to work with the injury (and thankful for the holiday that first day!). It was a bummer to be sidelined from backpacking and kayaking for the summer, but the Sierra’s await me the last week in August. I can’t wait!

Remember, 6-9 months for full recovery from a soft tissue injury and you want to do the work to prevent re-injury or problems in peripheral joints further down the road.

If you or anyone you know has the misfortune of experiencing a severe sprain please call me for free advice on healing protocol or for help in rehabbing and speeding recovery of your injury. This goes for auto accidents as well! I can be reached at 818-469-0445 or through the website at www.InspiringMotion.com