Well I am a day into my Minimalist Footwear trial. After Day One, or really 1/2 day, I noticed no soreness or discomfort. My feet did not hurt but were a little fatigued as would be expected. I did try the shoes out walking over some small stones that I scattered about the parking lot of my office. Surprisingly to me they felt fine. Probably felt them a bit more than a standard cushioned sole but not as much as I expected. The thing I did notice is that you do need mindful of “stubbing” your toes as there is not the protection in these shoes as there is in standard footwear.
I did have several people comment and ask about the shoes. This is something that is to be expected if you decide to give these shoes a try. They are a bit odd looking and peoples natural curiosity will make them ask you about them. Even with the most disguised pair I could find I had two different people approach me while I was grocery shopping.
More to come later…
I have decided to try the Vibram FiveFinger shoe out for myself. I will post regularly as I break my feet into this new style of gait. I chose the KSO Trek (brown in case anyone was curious ha ha) model as it seems the most versatile and least noticeable when wearing. This model is purported to be better with off pavement use than the Bikila LS and other shoes.
At first blush they definitely take some time to get used to the feel of the toes being spread apart versus bunched together as in a typical shoe. The other thing to note is they definitely take some practice to get them on. I was informed and later read for myself that you are to get the toes in first then slip the heel of your foot in. A trick I have found that has worked for me to get them to slide into the toe slots easier, is to wiggle my toes as if playing the piano as I slide them on. This seems to more easily separate the toes and get them into their appropriate slots.
As for comfort they feel good on and with the minimal walking I have done they seem to be ok. I am still adjusting to this style of walking although I do not believe it will take me long to adjust as I am a typical lateral foot striker anyway.
As discussed initially on my first post on these shoes the normal contact pattern with traditional footwear is heel to toe and with minimalist footwear it is lateral forefoot contact to heel and toe simultaneously.
The premise is that the distribution of the forces is spread more evenly across the foot with the minimalist or “barefoot” style shoe as compared to a heel to toe pattern. With the forefoot contact pattern there needs to be less cushioning because of this equal sharing of the contact forces.
I will check in next Monday with another post. Weather permitting we will be doing some camping and hiking this coming weekend and that will give me a chance to test the off pavement aspect of these shoes.
I have been asked numerous times about the safety and validity of the Five Finger type shoes. Vibram first came to market with them and now there are other variations of them being sold. There is a study done by Harvard University and funded by Vibram examining the differences in barefoot and traditional running styles. The study has an inherent bias due to being funded by the company the produces the shoe. This is not an uncommon thing but needs to be noted.
This is the link to the study. http://www.barefootrunning.fas.harvard.edu/index.html
Initially I was against barefoot running due to the factors of force transmission through the extremity and previous information on the subject. This study shows that there is evidence that heel strike may not be as beneficial as once thought.
The thing that MUST be acknowledged that any time you make drastic changes in an activity you must do them slowly and gradually. So if you decide to try out this type of footwear you will need a significant amount of time to adjust to the new style of walking/running. DO NOT throw out your old shoes and go “Cold Turkey” into the barefoot/minimally shod trend. Begin with an hour then slowly increase your time only increasing once you are able to do the previous level without any pain or soreness. This may take a week(s) or more. Do not rush the switch and if you cannot progress past a point then this style is not for you.
So even though this may seem like a politicians cop out, I will keep my mind open and continue to read through the research before making a final conclusion. I am more open to the idea now than I was before but still need more independent research to be done in order to make a final judgment on this style of running.
Always consult a physician or PT before making any drastic changes. This is meant only as an opinion and not as a recommendation one way or the other.
Many people have good intentions with stretching muscles, however go about it the wrong way. By wrong way, I mean much too aggressively. A basic guideline I tell people is if it hurts or you are gritting your teeth, then it is too aggressive. Our body has a built in protective mechanism against injury. When we trigger this mechanism the result is muscle contraction. This is the opposite response that we want. If we are trying to stretch we are attempting to lengthen the muscle and a muscle contraction of course shortens the muscle.
So when we stretch our muscles too aggressively and begin getting reflex muscle contractions we are essentially playing tug of war. This normally does not result in lengthening or stretching of the muscles.
Therefore if you are trying to get the muscles to loosen up, stretch etc do so slowly,gently and progressively. This will prevent the reflex muscle contraction and you will be able to achieve your goal faster, easier and with far less discomfort.
Over the next several weeks I will be adding video links to this blog demonstrating different common exercises I have people do here at Momentum Sports Rehab. They will be categorized by body part. These are intended as references to patients that have already been instructed by a Physical Therapist or Doctor. They should not be initiated without instruction or evaluation first by a Dr or PT. Not all exercises are good or advised for all patients and this is why an evaluation is a must.
The first exercise has been posted. Check out the links page periodically for new exercises and or reference videos.
Happy Holidays!!!!
I have added a few links to videos of my recent participation in the 2010 Dallas Invitational Judo Tournament. I competed in the Heavyweight 30-30 Masters Division and took first place. I have also added an Aikido video. To watch these videos check the links posted on this blog in the category Sports Activities, or go to the Momentum Sports Rehab Facebook page.
People often come in to see me and tell me that they have had an orthopedic problem for 6 months or more. They say that it just recently had gotten bad enough that they had to see a doctor. This is probably more the case than the person who within the past month or two developed a problem and then were sent to see me. The first example is the one that prolongs recovery.
There are many factors that prolong recovery but the biggest culprits are chronic inflammation, progressive weakness of stabilizer muscles and compensation/substitution patterns. Examples of substitution patterns are shrugging the shoulder up when the arm won’t raise correctly or limping on a bad knee.
These patterns can become so entrenched that even after the muscles are working normally again, it is difficult to perform the activity without the substitution pattern. That is why people limp long after their knee is healed and functioning normally.
Simple math will tell you that if you wait 6 months to address a problem versus addressing it at 2 months, you add 4 months to the recovery time. The additional 4 months of inflammation and substitution can easily add another month or more to the recovery time once treatment is initiated.
So the take home message is that if something has been bothering you consistently for 2 months, it is time to seek treatment. If it was going to go away on its own, it would have by then. An additional 4 months or more will not likely change things for the better. The sooner that you treat a problem, more often than not, the faster it will resolve and thus speed up your recovery.
People often ask me how long an injury will take to heal. That is always a tricky question. So many factors come into play with healing. The persons age, previous injuries to the same area, other medical conditions, and one of the biggest factors, the patients willingness to adhere to advice given by the doctor and physical therapist.
That advice typically consists of activity restriction and or modification, performance of home exercise/PT programs and then progressive return to activity. Whether the injury is a broken bone or strained muscle, time is essential. Tissues can only repair themselves just so quickly. Each time you re-aggravate the injury, it slows the healing process and lengthens the time to recovery. People often feel like if they work through the pain they will heal faster. That is simply untrue.
The phrase No Pain, No Gain is actually a misnomer. What it should read is, No Fatigue No Gain. Pain is typically followed by inflammation. Inflammation causes the muscles to decrease in activation resulting in weakening of the muscle. Soreness is acceptable however pain should not be.
The other part of the No Pain No Gain fiction is that it relates to all training and treatment. This is also untrue. Training uninjured muscles compared to injured is as different as apples and oranges. While they are both fruit they are different and the same can be said for injured and uninjured tissues.
The best way to speed your recovery from an injury is to give your body time to heal itself. This is done by reducing inflammation (activity reduction and modification, ice), adherence to home exercise programs, attending your physical therapy appointments if indicated for your injury and finally patience. The last bit of advice is often the hardest, but without it, it makes the rest nearly impossible to do.
While driving the kids to school the other day I saw a woman jogging in the park. She was carrying dumbbells in her hands. It was not the first time I have seen this nor the last I suspect. The question posed is this, are the benefits of weighted running greater than the negatives?
That question requires a bit of qualification. If you are doing the weighted running for weight loss and general strengthening then the answer is no. It is not beneficial to carry weights or wear ankle weights during running or walking.
For every 1 lb of weight you add 3 lbs of pressure to your feet, ankles and knees. If you are already 10-20 lbs over weight that pressure will likely make it difficult to sustain the exercise program due to pain and fatigue. If you are able to sustain the exercise regimen you may be prematurely wearing out the joints of your lower extremities and increasing your chances for the need of orthopedic surgery.
My advice if you want to combine resistance training and aerobic exercise is to stop every 1/4 mile and do 5-10 push ups. You will get the desired effect of the resistance training without the added strain to your feet, ankles, knees, hips and your spine.
Studies show that adults can lose 1-3 liters of body fluids per hour in warm and/or humid climates. In these situations it is necessary to drink 6-8 ounces of fluids every 15 minutes. Thirst is an indication that dehydration has started, so don’t wait until you are thirsty to drink fluids. In arid climates it is particularly important to replace fluids with drinks containing electrolytes to prevent hyponatremia, a condition caused by the unchecked loss of electrolytes. Symptoms include dizziness and disorientation and can result in cardiac arrest if the electrolyte imbalance becomes severe enough.
Sports drinks products are not complex chemical compositions. It’s tremendously easy and inexpensive to make your own sports drink:
One cup of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of Morton Lite Salt (not regular salt, this is half salt, half potassium chloride)
One packet of Kool-Aid mix (optional)
2 quarts of water
