Running shoe prescription: what do we REALLY know?
IS THIS A GOOD SHOE FOR ME? Well...Who knows??!!
Imagine you’re back in high school chemistry. You take 5 units of compound A and mix it with 5 units of compound B. You knew exactly what chemical reaction you were going to get. Unfortunately, the consistency that exists in a chemistry lab does not exist when you are dealing with people.
That’s a problem when you are a healthcare provider. Nobody ever knows for sure how a person is going to react to a drug, a surgery or a rehabilitation exercise protocol. Give the same rehab protocol to 10 different people with Achilles tendinopathy and you will not get the same outcome. More likely, you will get 10 different outcomes. The reason we don’t know is because there are so many variables – acute vs chronic, what part of the tendon, nutritional status, stress, genetics, occupation, mobility, stability/motor control, psychosocial fear about their condition, daily postural habits, medications etc., etc.
This brings me to the topic of this post: Footwear.
Read articleAn addendum: Orthoses.. looks like anyone can prescribe them, but.. Should just anyone?
Just to illustrate what a complete and utter balls up this issue has become, I have added a commentary to the article I wrote on Tuesday. This is a tale of naked greed and deception, intrigue and blatant lying. Read on if you dare!
Read articleOrthoses.. looks like anyone can prescribe them, but.. Should just anyone?
I have been pondering this question for some time, years actually. My prudent voice told me it was too risky to discuss because I would invariably p*ss someone off if I said what I really thought. However, my righteous and indignation voice feels I have to speak up, because things just seem to have got out of hand..
Read articleA comprehensive and pictorial essay on tumours that masquerade as sports injury. 1 CME point
So.. we have looked at the general rules for spotting tumours that masquerade as sports injury. Let's now take the next important steps: Identify the actual tumour, map its prognosis, examine its distribution, and talk about treatment.
Read articleWhat you absolutely, positively CANNOT afford to miss. Tumours that pose as sports injury. 0.5 CME credits
“A brain scan revealed that Andrew Caddick is not suffering from a stress fracture to the shin”
Joe Sheldon, Sports Commentator.
Neoplastic disease masquerading as a sports injury. Miss this one at your peril..
Non-resolving or atypical pain as a result of sporting injury is a far from uncommon event in active patients. Benign tumours, including osteoid osteoma, aneurysmal bone cyst and chondroblastoma can mimic the symptoms of common sports-related injury e.g. muscle or tendon injury.
Read articleOne of the most asked questions: How long will my shoe last? So, what's the answer? 0.5 CME credits
I recently was interviewed for a running magazine on this very topic, and I thought I would share my thoughts from that interview, and.. expand a little.
This is one of the most common questions clinicians and retail get asked, and of course, it is completely different from sport to sport.
Read articleTendinopathy.. or.. tendinitis? Have we come full circle.. or.. what the HELL is it!!
There are very good reasons we stopped calling tendonitis "tendonitis", and replaced it with tendinopathy.
It all got back to making the diagnosis, which most of you know I am a huge fan of! If you do not make the diagnosis, it is pretty difficult to formulate a treatment plan, and nowhere is this more evident than with the extremely tricky issues that occur around tendons!
Read articleSegmentation: The scourge of the running footwear industry!
Motion control, Neutral, Cushion and Structured Cushioning.. the bedrock of running shoe classification for at least 35 years, and one that remains in about 99.9% of retail to this day. And, it really worries me, because.. it is all wrong!
The Running Event 2015 - Postcards from the edge!
I just arrived back in France after a hectic 2 week trip to the USA, primarily for The Running Event in that home of barbeque.. Austin, Texas.TRE is an event I always look forward to, primarily to check out all the new footwear trends, but also to meet with friends and colleagues and totally geek out on all things running. This year was no exception, except for one exception.. where is the innovation?
This was a trend I observed at the Outdoor Show in Friedrichshafen, Germany, earlier this year, lots of shoes.. lots of posturing, but also a ton of copying and little if no innovation. So let's take a look at the highlights and lowlights of TRE and try to get a handle on just where, if anywhere, the industry is headed.
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