Why are you putting your internal hip rotation into your low back (pain)?

On October 12th, 2018 I wrote about utilizing the gluteals in internal hip rotation. You will have to go back and search FB for that article and video.
Assessing Internal hip rotation (in various ranges of hip flexion, extension, abduction and adduction) is a basic exam principle I examine on nearly every patient and athlete that comes to see me, regardless of their complaint. Other than breathing, walking is the next most under appreciated movement we undertake, and take for granted.

Lack of adequate internal hip rotation, in my clinical experience (20+ years), is all too often a fundamental parameter in hip, knee and low back pain. It is necessary to have unrestricted internal hip rotation during gait. Adequate internal hip rotation in the mid to late stance phases of gait is critical and is also paired with hip extension, in fact, one has to pass through adequate internal hip internal rotation to get to proper hip extension. Without one, we do not get the other. And, if the internal rotation is not imparted in the hip when the hip is supposed to be the one internally rotating, that demand is going to move up or down, caudally or rostrally, low back or knee.

Of interesting note, taking things deeper, the opposite arm is also going to go through internal rotation and extension at the same time. Impair one limb, and we can make a case, often enough, that the contralateral upper or lower limb is also challenged. This fundamental fact is one of the fascinating reasons Dr Ivo and I get so geeked out by gait and human movement. Because, it is very complicated. And if one is not looking close enough, paying enough attention with enough fundamental knowledge, things are going to get overlooked and missed when solving for "X" in a client's pain/problems/movement. Compensation will ensue, all too easily. Build strength on said compensations and we are off to the races in driving neuronal pasticity into potential asymmetries. If one is strength training a client without examining them and making specific corrections along the way, well, we reap what we sew. Ok, enough soap-boxing. -Dr. Allen

Here, don't take our word for it, . . . . .

"Correlation between Hip Rotation Range-of-Motion Impairment and Low Back Pain. A Literature Review."
Ortop Traumatol Rehabil. 2015 Oct;17(5):455-62. doi: 10.5604/15093492.1186813.
Sadeghisani M1, Manshadi FD1, Kalantari KK1, Rahimi A1, Namnik N2, Karimi MT3, Oskouei AE4.
"There is a hypothesis which suggests that a limited range of hip rotation results in compensatory lumbar spine rotation. Hence, LBP may develop as the result. This article reviews studies assessing hip rotation ROM impairment in the LBP population.
"Asymmetrical (right versus left, lead versus non-lead) and limited hip internal rotation ROM were common findings in patients with LBP. Reduced and asymmetrical total hip rotation was also observed in patients with LBP. However, none of the studies explicitly reported limited hip external rotation ROM."
CONCLUSION: "The precise assessment of hip rotation ROM, especially hip internal rotation ROM, must be included in the examination of patients with LBP symptoms."

Two out of Three ain't Bad...But sometimes it is

image credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Meatloaf_(1).jpg

“What do you mean my plantar fasciitis is due to my hip?”

I recently saw a 60 YO male patient with right-sided plantar fasciitis of approximately 1-1/2 months duration. It began insidiously with pain located at the medial calcaneal facet on the right hand side. He had localized tenderness in this area with some spread distally towards the metatarsal heads. He has ankle dorsiflexion was relatively symmetrical with mild impairment on the right compared to left but only approximately 2 degrees. He had hip extension is 0 degrees on the affected side and 10 degrees on the affected side. Sacroiliac pathomechanics were present as well with the loss of flexion and extension. He had a slight leg length discrepancy, short on the symptomatic side.

So what is going on?

Moving forward in the sagittal plane requires a few things:

Adequate hip extension

Adequate ankle dorsiflexion

Adequate hallux dorsiflexion with an intact Windlass mechanism

He has a diminished step length going from right to left. Because of the lack of hip extension, the motion needs to occur somewhere. His ankle dorsiflexion is almost sufficient but less sufficient on the right (symptomatic) side than it is on the left. He has adequate hallux dorsiflexion but lacks adequate hip extension. Like the song goes, begin "Two of of three ain’t bad". However in this case, it is bad. He has an intact windlass mechanism. In fact, a little too intact. This is causing a tug at the medial calcaneal facet, creating an insertional tendinitis that we know as "plantar fasciitis".

So we did we do?

• Manipulated the right sacroiliac joint

• Gave him lift she/spread/reach exercises

• Gave him shuffle walk exercises

• Worked on hip flexor lengthening

• Treated the plantar fascial insertion locally with acupuncture and laser therapy

Dr Ivo Waerlop, one of The Gait Guys

#gait, #gaitanalysis,#thegaitguys, #anklerocker#halluxdorsiflexion, #plantarfascitis

When the boot is the cause of your client's problems/pain.

Our Patreon site is LIVE.
Patreon Sampler video,
Here's the kind of exclusive stuff you'll get as a Patreon sponsor, even at the 1$ and 5$ tier levels. Stuff right from our clinics, right when we see them, as fresh as content can get.
Of course, the 10$, 20$ and 50$ tier contributors will get this stuff too, but also "juicier" stuff , so if you don't wanna miss a step, come on over to our Patreon page and join even the lowest tiers, become part of a more intensive advanced focus group with ivo and I weekly ! (And in the process you'll be helping us keep new, advanced stuff coming your way).

Part 2: The amputated hallux & the complex biomechanical fall-out from it.

Last week we promised Part 2 to this case, the amputated big toe.
Here is part 2. These are the complicated biomechanical fall-outs, so grab a big mug o' coffee and have at it !

In review, this person (all photos and case premissioned in swap for insight) had the distal hallux removed because of a progressive melanoma on the big toe. Can you believe that ! This is one more reminder that the sun and regular dermatologist screenings are wise.
This person had a complaint of progressing right gluteal and QL pain, spasm, tone and some persistent pain now in the 2nd metatarsal as well as some shoe challenges. We discuss this case briefly in and upcoming podcast, #139 or #140 we believe.

Before we add our final thoughts to this case, lets cap our post from last week.

-Without the hallux, we cannot wind up the windlass and shorten the distance between the first metatarsal and heel, thus the arch will splay (more permanently over time we suspect) and we cannot optimize the arch height.
This will promote more internal spin on that limb because of more midfoot pronation and poor medial foot tripod stabilization.
- More internal limb spin means more internal hip spin, and more demand (which might not be met at the glute level) and thus loads that are supposed to be buffered with hip stabilization, will likely be transferred into the low back, and or into the medial knee. Look for more quad protective tone if they cannot get it from the glutes. Troubles arise when we try to control the hip from quadriceps strategies, it is poorly postured to do so, but people do it everyday, *hint: most cyclists and distance runners to a large degree).
- anterior pelvis posturing on the right, perhaps challenging durability of the lower abdominals, hence suspect QL increased protective tone, possible low back tightness or pain depending on duration of activities
- These factors are likely related to his complaints in the right gluteal and low back/QL area.

Now, onto our next thoughts.

- when the hallux is incompetent, in this case absent, there are few other choices to gain forefoot purchase on the ground other than more flexion gripping of the 2nd toe (then the 3rd, then 4th). This is a progressing "searching" phenomenon for forefoot stability and without the function of the big fella, the 2nd toe will begin a hammering phenomenon, often, but not always. We would not be surprised to see hammer toe development in this case, but this person is now very aware of it, and can at least now fight that battle with increased awareness. There is some mild evidence of this on the side lateral photo.

- We are happy to see that the proximal phalange was spared. The adductor hallucis is inserted medially there, and this will help to reduce bunion generation risk (medial metatarsal drift). Comparing the photo and the radiograph is a great example of how far back/proximal the 1st MTP joint is. One could easily assume that the entire hallux was resected from the photo, but the radiograph shows otherwise.

- Toe off is obviously going to be compromised. The patient cannot adequately stabilize the 1st metatarsal (MET) and this will mean a compromised foot tripod, medial foot/tripod splay, arch pronation control challenges but toe off stabilization is going to have to be met by the 2nd and 3rd digits, as discussed above. They are not suited to be the major players here, they are synergistic to this end. Do not be surprised to see one of 2 strategies at toe off here:

1. heavy medial foot tripod toe off, dropping into the void and this maximize the internal spin challenges and minimizing the requisite foot supination stiffness generation phase that should be normal at toe off

2. avoidance of the above, with a forced conscious forefoot lateral toe off, a supinatory strategy, to avoid internal limb spin, more toe hammering, and the lurch heavily and abruptly off of the right foot and onto the left limb.

3. taking #2 further, any time there is perceived challenges or deficits in strength, endurance, proprioception, balance, power and the like, the brain often will create a premature departure off of said limb, creating a requisite premature loading onto the opposite limb. This can cause a phenomenon well loosely refer to "catching" in the contralateral quadriceps mechanism. These clients, with their abrupt loading pattern onto the opposite limb will most often have troubles getting into initial gluteal hip stabilization strategies, and thus default into a quadriceps strategy, that in time can lead to quad shortness and increased tone, which can cause more compression across the patellofemoral joint and cause knee pain. This is more of a compression/loading response issue rather than tracking phenomenon, which we see at the typical diagnosis. We often look for causes in the opposite limb for contralateral knee pain. IT is quite often there if you are looking hard enough for it. Fix the problem, not the symptom.
There is a long host of other things than can arise from here, including heavy contralateral (in this case left sided) foot loading challenges, often more forefoot initial loading, and all of the problems than can arise when this pattern is cyclical, but that would take this post far too deep and long. So, . . . . another time.

4. Shoe fit, we could make the case that a shoe that nicely hugs the forefoot, as opposed to a wide toe box'ed shoe, could help fight off the risk of 1st metatarsal abduction and thus bunion formation risk. However, one cannot dismiss the wider toe box giving the remaining toes a better environment to engage without hammering with over use of long flexors. We might suggest a trial of an elastic sleeve, one often used for plantar fascitis symptom management, placing a snug one around the forefoot when ambulating. This could help keep that metatarsal snug and stop the bunion-like drift we would be watching for.

have at it gang, cases like this are far and deep and require deep understanding of normal and abnormal biomechanics, and the rabbit hole deep myriad of compensations that can be engaged.

have a great weekend !

Shawn and Ivo

Hallux amputation: Part 1 . What is next for this person ?

The stuff we get/see.
Hallux amputation.
What would you expect to present in this case ?
We will dive into this one next week, but here are some cursory things to consider:

It is the right foot.
-Without the hallux, we cannot wind up the windlass and shorten the distance between the first metatarsal and heel, thus the arch will splay (more permanently over time we suspect) and we cannot optimize the arch height.
This will promote more internal spin on that limb because of more midfoot pronation and poor medial foot tripod stabilization.
- more internal limb spin means more internal hip spin, and more demand (which might not be met at the glute level) and thus loads that are supposed to be buffered with hip stabilization, will be transferred into the low back, and or into the medial knee. Look for more quad protective tone if they cannot get it from the glutes. Troubles arise when we try to control the hip from quadriceps strategies, it is poorly postured to do so, but people do it everyday, *hint: most cyclists and distance runners to a large degree)
- anterior pelvis posturing on the right, perhaps challenging durability of the lower abdominals, hence suspect QL increased protective tone, possible low back tightness or pain depending on duration of activities

- there is so much more, we are just wetting your appetite here on this one.
see you next week on this one gang !

Ivo and i are in the studio for another podcast this afternoon, hope you got to #137 this week ! lots more goodies to come !

cheers, shawn and ivo

Photo permission by patient

Lumbar spine mechanics and boots

Your footwear can affect your hips and low back ? Yes.

If you have been with us even a short while, this study should be of zero new value to you. But this study looked at the ankle dorsiflexion restricting firefighting boots on the low back.
We know that there are several force dissipators in the lower limbs, those being hip flexion, knee flexion and ankle dorsiflexion not to forget the all important foot pronation. When one of those is compromised, the job of that joint complex typically gets shunted elsewhere, and often proximally into the body.
Obviously, above ankle boots will restrict ankle dorsiflexion. Imagine an ice skate laced up all the way, or a ski boot, the ankle dorsiflexion virtually disappears. The came can happen in an inappropriately laced hiking boot or high ankle trail running shoe.
This will hit home the posts earlier in the week on the "z-angle" we discussed and Gray Cooks video from the weekend.
It is possible if you dial back the ankle dorsiflexion you cheat hip extension, or you make the lumbar spine extend into more lordosis than it is happy to perform.
You just cannot rob Peter to pay Paul all the time. Eventually Peter is gonna get pretty pissed.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/…/article/pii/S0003687017301333

More on the Z-angle

More on the "Z-angle". Why your hip and ankle have to talk to each other.

We have been saying this kind of stuff for years, but in this video perhaps Gray Cook says it in a way that will resonate well with some when we can be a bit too wordy at times, Gray is always eloquent and well spoken. We often discuss this ankle and glute relationship he mentions in a topic we refer to as "the Z- angle". And, we discuss the greater global ramifications of unresolved ankle sprains. Search our blog for these terms and topics.
It is rare that our in-office therapy and our corrective home work for a client does not address both the ankle and hip simultaneously. We know this tight relationship exists, and so should you.
In many of our podcasts and blog posts we pound sand on the fact that just because you have ankle mobility on the exam table does not mean you will have it available in some movement patterns or in some of your sport movements. And, ankle functional impairments are key players in multiple injuries and impaired movement patterns. We like the "software vs hardware" terminology he uses, we will be borrowing that verbiage in the future, it is a nice way to tighten up a dialogue without getting wordy. Great job as always Gray !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U93MoOxN49c

Glute fatigue in low back pain.

Sagittal trunk flexion and extension in patients with chronic low back pain.

The study found the duration of gluteus maximus activity was shorter in the back pain patients than in controls during the trunk flexion (p<.05), and it ended earlier during extension. Nothing new here for many of our followers, but it is always worth discussing.

We have talked about the fatigue factor and endurance factor of the paraspinals in low back pain in previous podcasts, maybe a year or two ago. But, in looking for something else in particular today, I came across this article from 2000.
It once again suggests the critical function of the glutes, all 3 divisions and that they do play multiple parts other than just hip stability and movement. We see plenty of clients who have poor development of the upper iliac and sacral divisions of the glute max. This could be from anterior pelvis tilt presentations, faulty movement patterning, or even failure to get to end range hip extension to work on developing that portion of the muscle. Regardless, this once again proves that we are an under-developed glute species and all this sitting is a problem, and even the standing desk trend, will not fix this. The body must move, it must be loaded through to the full range of motion and we must incorporate compound movements with load if we are to get even close to the opportunity to see folks with healthy glutes and thus healthy hips and spines.

"RESULTS:
During early flexion, lumbar paraspinal and biceps femoris were activated simultaneously before gluteus maximus. At the end of flexion and during extension all investigated muscles were activated and relaxed in order. Lumbar paraspinal and biceps femoris muscles were activated in a similar order in low back pain patients and healthy controls during flexion and extension. However, the duration of gluteus maximus activity was shorter in the back pain patients than in controls during the trunk flexion (p<.05), and it ended earlier during extension. Active rehabilitation did not change the muscle activities of lumbar paraspinal and biceps femoris in the back pain patients, but in the measurements after rehabilitation the onset of gluteus maximus activity occurred later in flexion and earlier in extension."

"CONCLUSIONS:
The activity of the gluteus maximus muscle during the flexion-extension cycle was reduced in patients with chronic low back pain. The gluteal muscles should be taken into consideration in the rehabilitation of these patients." - Leinonen et al

Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2000 Jan;81(1):32-7.
Back and hip extensor activities during trunk flexion/extension: effects of low back pain and rehabilitation.

Leinonen V1, Kankaanpää M, Airaksinen O, Hänninen O.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10638873

Video case: Ankle dorsiflexion ? Um, maybe, maybe not.

The more i talk to people about ankle rocker and ankle dorsiflexion, the more i realize they just do not have all the anatomical understanding behind it. But how does one apply the concepts if they don't fully understand it ? It is baffling.
The client should be assessed both passively and actively. When you look at someone's ankles during their gait, do you look at the knee response at ankle dorsiflexion  or at heel rise or during forefoot loading? Do they momentarily hyperextend the knee? Flex the knee? Rotate the foot or leg internally or externally ? To they prematurely heel rise ? Do they prematurely unload the limb and lurch to the other limb thus shortening step length? Do they progress strongly to the lateral forefoot during loading or do they find a middle ground and begin the pronation phase timely with a proper progression to the medial foot tripod ?  Remember, what you see is their strategy, not their problem, do not correct what you see, correct the cause of what you see.

In this video, look at the excessive right knee flexion that occurs here during active ankle dorsiflexion. One must understand what this could mean, and then should be able to see some of the causation during gait. One of the calf complex muscles crosses the knee, one does not. One of them is short on this right side in this client with acute achillies tendonitis. It is not necessarily the cause, but it a piece of the puzzle. Both the clinician and the client do not realize that there is often a knee flexion response during active and passive ankle dorsiflexion assessment, especially when there is mechanical pathology. Having a foam roller under the knee can really bring it out, as in this case. But, remember, this should not be the standard of your assessment, because you are putting slack into the posterior mechanism.

Podcast 113: The Hip-Ankle "Z" angle, It is all you need to know.

Plus:  Bringing together hip extension, ankle dorsiflexion, looking at the 6 locomotion compensations to strategize around impaired ankle dorsiflexion during gait/running.

Interested in our stuff ? Want to buy some of our lectures or our National Shoe Fit program? Click here (thegaitguys.com or thegaitguys.tumblr.com) and you will come to our websites. In the tabs, you will find tabs for STORE, SEMINARS, BOOK etc. We also lecture every 3rd Wednesday of the month on onlineCE.com. We have an extensive catalogued library of our courses there, you can take them any time for a nominal fee (~$20).
 
Our podcast is on iTunes, Soundcloud, and just about every other podcast harbor site, just google "the gait guys podcast", you will find us.

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http://traffic.libsyn.com/thegaitguys/pod_113f.mp3

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Show links:
Exercise releases hormone that helps shed, prevent fat

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/10/161004130812.htm

Lifelong strength training mitigates the age-related decline in efferent drive.

Unhjem R, et al. J Appl Physiol (1985). 2016.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/27339181/

Telemeres and aging
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/28/does-exercise-slow-the-aging-process/?_r=0&module=ArrowsNav&contentCollection=Health&action=keypress&region=FixedLeft&pgtype=Blogs

Using Virtual Reality in Paraplegics:
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/aug/11/brain-training-technique-restores-feeling-and-movement-to-paraplegics-virtual-reality

Above ankle brace:
https://www.edgemobilitysystem.com/products/brace2play-above-the-joint-ankle-brace?variant=21314299587

Weak toe grip strength
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/304271421_Weak_TGS_Correlates_with_Hallux_Valgus_in_10_12_Year_Old_Girls_A_Cross-_Sectional_Study

Altra Lone Peak 3.0
https://www.altrarunning.com/men/lone-peak-3-neoshell-mid

Who Rules -- The glutes or the quads? Well, it is complicated.

We have often talked about how important it is to be able to achieve terminal hip extension for an athlete, and arguably for everyone. This means one must have strength of the glutes into that terminal range so one can actually achieve the range of motion and access it functionally. If one does not, then extension movements may occur in the lumbar spine via some anterior pelvic tilt. However, one must not dismiss that upright posture needs sufficient quadriceps strength as well -- meaning, hip extension and knee extension get us to an upright posture and make locomotion possible. If we make the hip flexors or quadriceps tight, due to weakness of the lower abdominals or glutes,  we get anterior pelvic posturing and less hip extension (these are admittedly very rough principles, we all know it is far more complex that this).  What I am saying is that there is an interaction amongst groups of muscles, functional patterns of engagement, recruitment and whatnot. 

One must clearly realize how much knee and hip motions are coupled and work with and off of eachother.  If we bend over in a squatting type motion, we are in hip flexion and knee flexion. When we stand, hip and knee extension. These guys play off of eachother.  One must consider these issues when movements are more advanced and loading and loading rates are magnified, such as in squatting type lifting.  

A few weeks ago Bret Contreras in conjunction with Strength and Conditioning Research put out an article by Yamashita , yes, a 1988 article.  "EMG activities in mono- and bi-articular thigh muscles in combined hip and knee extension."  What this article looked at was what happened during isolated hip extension and isolated knee extension, and more importantly, what happened to the forces when both joints loaded simultaneously, paired in generating extension at the hip and knee, as in a squat. 

This article suggested that when hip and knee extension forces are generated in conjunction, the knee extensors are more activated than if the same force was generated in isolation. What this seemed to suggest is that during the extension phase of a squat, it is easy for the quad thigh muscles (rectus femoris, vastus medialis in this study) to to try and rule the movement, from an activation perspective -- the hip extensors (g. max and semimembranosus) take second seat.  We have talked many times about the dangers of this principle when we frequently say "the glutes should be in charge of the hip, not the quads, when the quads try to apply dominant control of the hip motion, trouble may ensue." Admittedly, this may not be entirely true and it is very loosely stated, but the principle has some sound value when it is approached from how we intend it to be heard, that many athletes do not have sufficient glute strength, hip extension range of motion, and poor control of pelvic neutral. So, they dump into the quads because as we see here in this study, they are very appropriately positioned to help synergistically drive the positioning for, and activity of, hip extension motor pattern production. Is this why we see small buttocks and large quadriceps in distance runners, and the opposite in sprinters ?  We think so, but we need to dive deeper into the research to prove or disprove it, but the principles seem to make sense.
This is why I like to initially drive my glute and hip extension work with my clients in a more knee flexed position, such as supine bridges.  I cannot say it better than Bret Contreras did when he reviewed this article,  

"So exercises that involve less knee extension (glute bridges, hip thrusts, deadlifts, pull throughs and back extensions) will tend to produce much greater hip muscle activation than those that involve more knee extension (squats, lunges, and leg presses), although there are always other factors involved of course!".  

If you are not following Bret's and Strength & Conditioning Research's work, you are missing out, They are thorough and insightful, they do their homework, learn from them.
We clearly need to dive into some newer research on this topic, we will see if we can squeeze out the time. 

- Dr. Shawn Allen, the other "gait guy"

Here is an embedded code for the beautiful slide that accompanied Strength and Conditioning Research's summary of the study. If you cannot find it above in this post, goto their Facebook page and scroll to Sept 22nd, 2016. You will find it beautifully laid out there.  Beautiful job S&CR!

<iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FStrengthandConditioningResearch%2Fposts%2F982124818565207%3A0&width=500" width="500" height="731" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true"></iframe>

Yamashita  1988. Eur J Appl Physiol Occup Physiol. 1988;58(3):274-7. EMG activities in mono- and bi-articular thigh muscles in combined hip and knee extension.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3220066
 

David and Goliath: The calf and the glute.

-by Dr. Shawn Allen

I recently saw yet another bulbous chronically inflamed achilles tendon, this one in an elite runner, a masters 1500 American record holder, so no slouch (this is not their photo, obviously) This thing had been baking for almost a year and they had achieved periods of zero pain and abilities to run and then flare ups would occur. There was a focal bulbous swelling (about 3/4 of inch in size) about one inch above the achilles insertion. The swelling was tendon intra-substance, not pre or post achilles soft tissue, this was clearly the tendon proper, you must be certain of this. There were no tiny nodular densities noted within the tendon proper (this is done slowly, with lotion, and fine palpation to look for nodules that might suggest enlarged microtears, not a full proof exam measure, but one I have made a habit of). The calfs were of equal size and shape.

The length of the posterior mechanism (gastrocsoleus-achilles complex) was good and ankle rocker was good.  Calf strength, especially top end plantarflexion, was obviously and predictably weak. Lying prone it was clear to the naked eye that the same side glute was smaller. We know that a muscles maximal contractile force (strength) is the maximal contractile force produced per square centimeter of the cross sectional area of the muscle.  Now, as a loose and low tech discussion here, moving through  the sagittal universe we like to use our glutes and calf to push. If that glute is weaker, who is going to do all this work moving forward ? The calf is certainly in line to help out, (yes, there are others).  

There was clearly gluteal weakness, same side quad tightness (this is obvious if you look at this from an anterior pelvis posturing perspective), lack of terminal hip extension range amongst other clues. But today, I wanted to just bring this principle forward to look all the way up the chain. Too many achilles tendonopathies get dozens of treatments of ultrasound, e-stim, acupuncture, cold, laser, orthotics, stretching, IASTM and the list goes on.  There is nothing wrong with eccentric loading therapy for this posterior calf-achilles mechanism as long as it is not painful but one must find the reason behind this tissue failure. Local scraping is a silly choice over this tendon, do not be a fool, use your head. But, you must look at other failures along this chain. This client had obvious pain on heel rise in the office, but after 30 minutes of serious motor pattern restoration into hip extension and proper gluteal recruitment in all 3 cardinal planes of loading this client had pain free heel rising. Now, caveat, we tested this 3 times only, obviously this will not hold.  But it gave us a clue, and proof, that restoring the proper posterior chain loading order and patterning, and restoring proper hip and pelvis stability loading patterns was a key parameter.  

These are tough cases these achilles beasts. They will frustrate you to no end because they are frequently slow responders and frequently because there are several failed neuro, ortho and biomechanical components that must be addressed. But, these cases are more about being smart than volume treatments with passive modalities.  And, it is near impossible to ask an elite runner not to run -- if you want to build a running practice, you will have to be smarter than all of the others in your community and not reflexively say "stop running".  Tell them "lets just be a little smarter than we have been Mr. Jones", people want to be smarter and they want to be part of a team.  Runners will find another doctor if you tell them to stop running (though, it is sometimes briefly necessary when they are just being knuckleheads about it), just get smarter, educate them, and spend some time with your client working through the bugs. I have not had ultrasound, e-stim, cold packs, hot packs, laser or any such toys in my office in my 19 years of practice for a reason, I spend 45 minutes with people and work through the bugs.  Sure, go ahead and judge me, tell me I am missing out on tools to help, I am ok with you saying that. But I get results most of the time. Do I sometimes fail though ?  Yes, we all do, I fail from time to time, but I tell my clients, "you will give up on this process before I do". I am just too curious for the deeper answers. I am in it to fix it, not to bandaid it. Anyhow, enough of my egoic rant, that was ridiculous, sorry, I just get really pissed off when I see someone who just fired their therapy place after 20 sessions of ultrasound, laser, e-stim, cook-booked rehab and stretching. We can and must do better than that dear brethren. But I guess that is why you are here with Ivo and myself, a team approach to getting wiser, here at The Gait Guys.

Oh, need research proof ?  Here . . . 

Neuromotor control of gluteal muscles in runners with achilles tendinopathy.   Franettovich Smith MM1, Honeywill C, Wyndow N, Crossley KM, Creaby MW. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2014 Mar;46(3):594-9. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000000133.

CONCLUSIONS:

"This study provides preliminary evidence of altered neuromotor control of the GMED and GMAX muscles in male runners with Achilles tendinopathy. Although further prospective studies are required to discern the causal nature of this relationship, this study highlights the importance of considering neuromotor control of the gluteal muscles in the assessment and management of patients with Achilles tendinopathy."

Bam ! 

- Dr. Shawn Allen

How are your hammy’s?

Another tool for you, in addition to making sure the gluten are on line, to improve ankle rocker and hip extension.

“This study concludes that neural mobilization techniques are a useful adjunct to static stretching, without any risk of adverse events or injuries. Athletes or trainers can consider using one or both types of neural mobilization techniques to enhance muscular flexibility. Dosage of the neural mobilization as well as the proposed working mechanism behind the increase in hamstring flexibility can be found in the full text of the article.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26482098

Phys Ther Sport. 2016 Jan;17:30-7. doi: 10.1016/j.ptsp.2015.03.003. Epub 2015 Mar 17.
Short term effectiveness of neural sliders and neural tensioners as an adjunct to static stretching of hamstrings on knee extension angle in healthy individuals: A randomized controlled trial.
Sharma S, Balthillaya G2, Rao R, Mani R .

Screens are valuable. But, only if they screen all the pertinent areas, only if the screener knows what to look for, and only if one realizes they are just a screen and not a platform for corrective exercise prescription. Guys like us and Gray Cook have been saying this for years.

Arm and leg swing gait quiz. Today I combine concepts from my previous quizes ! This one may really put you to the test. 

Two women walking on a sloped beach. They are arm in arm.

Take the principles I have taught you on slope walking, functional leg length differentials to level the pelvis, and arm swing to answer the question.

Here is the question: Are these two more likely to walk “in phase or out of phase”? 

* Do not mistaken the question for anti-phasic or phasic. These are two different concepts. If you are out of the loop on these 4 terms, just search the blog for them. Then come back here to answer this brain thumper.

Make for your case in your head and then scroll down to hear my reasoning for my answer.

This is an EXTREMELY difficult mind bender of a question. You will need to understand the concepts of 2 prior blog posts to even get to the starting line of the solution.  These are the questions I will often pose to myself so that I force the mental gymnastics of gait biomechanics, and quicken my “gait mind” so that I can leave room for processing unique factors in someone’s individual gait. If you have to take time to process the basics, you are gonna run out of time during a consultation and your client will notice you scratching your head. This is a maturation process, you must put in the work that Ivo and I have, if you want to solve the really tough cases. Simple cases are a break, a vacation if you will, they are welcome during a clinic day, but it is the tough cases that make you stretch that truly fulfill your day.  When you are in the clinic, you have to think fast, efficiently and effectively. Recently I had a powerlifter drive from out of state to see me. His case problems were unresolved for many years.  The treating clinician was on the right page, doing a great job actually, but there were so many issues going on that it was hard to see the root of the problem so the case was just being more “managed” than solved. His case was much like this one, all of the findings and factors were related but because I had seen this hodge podge of complaints before (right foot, right knee, left hip, low back, pelvis distortion and a classic Olympic lift compensation fail) so I knew quickly how to piece it all together into a logical solution and find the single spot to focus the therapy, at the root of the problem. My point is that I had done the hard “head scratching” work long ago, so I readily was able to dismiss the distractors and recognize this beast for what it was.  

Back to the two ladies beach walking, I am basing things on a simple assumption that on most beaches the slope gently levels out at the water line, and that the sand several feet up the beach from the water is on a steeper incline, simple tide erosion principles.  Thus, the woman higher up on the beach will be on a steeper slope, this means more beach side leg knee flexion which means less hip extension, meaning a shorter right step length.  This will impair left arm swing, likely shortening it. Less right hip extension will be met by less left arm extension (posterior arm swing behind the body). This often leads to left arm cross over, arm adduction. 

Here is where things get squirrelly. The lady lower on the beach is on a slightly more gentle slope but her issues are the same just muted slightly. So her right beach side leg is in less flexion at the knee and hip, so hip extension is greater and step length will be longer (relative to her friend higher up on the beach). However, she (ocean side lady) is being led by the impaired arm swing, as discussed above, of the lady on the beach side.  That is, if in fact she is being led or if she is the leader. Oy ! There is the brain bender !  

One must consider who is the more corrupting force. In this case, the more corrupting forces will likely trump out the cleaner forces. The ocean side lady is clearly going to have a “more normal” gait with more normal arm and leg swing and step lengths, quite simply the slope she must negotiate is less so there is less corrupting forces on her. The lady on the beach side is having to accomodate more to her greater slope. The lady up the beach is working harder to keep her pelvis level, her eyes and vestiular apparati on the horizon, her differing step lengths from pulling her off from a straight line course, to keep her from falling over (the steeper the slope, the greater the balance challenge to fight from falling into the beach or falling down the slope. Laws of physics say that things roll down hill, so she is fighting this battle while trying to walk a straight line down a sloped beach, with a friends arm in tow).

So, with all that said, one could logically assume that the gal up the beach is definitely working harder, she has greater differing arm and leg swings from side to side, different step lengths, greater struggles with staying up on the slope when gravity wants her to move down the slope, she has more left arm flexion and adduction to help pair with the struggling and perpetual right hip flexion (and loss of right hip extension), she will have to demonstrate more spinal stiffness to deal with these limb girdle torsional differences side to side and a host of other issues I have outlined in these prior “beach walking” quiz posts. Clearly beach side lady is working harder. Thus, just to maintain her gait posturing up on the slope, she will have to dominate the gait. If she gives in to the signals of her ocean side gal, she will have to soften her slope work strategies and she will move down the slope to easier ground. 

Now, back to the question: Are these two more likely to walk “in phase or out of phase”? 

Who truly knows is the answer ! However, we know beach lady is working harder and must continue to do so to stay up on the slope, so her left arm will remain dominant and the ocean side gal will have to accommodate to a very jerky yet cyclically synchronous gait. To walk linked together they will have to find some rhythm. Walking slower will be easier for them to find a harmoniously rhythm. However, one could make the case that “out of phase” gait will be easier (mental image to help you, if they tie ocean side lady’s right ankle to beach side ladies left ankle you will create “out of phase” gait. Thus, the ocean side lady will not mirror her beach side friend. Thus, when beach lady has right leg in extension, ocean side lady will have her left leg in extension. Why? Well, the left arm swing , their point of union, is the trouble zone. With beach side lady having the left arm in more flexion and adduction, the ocean side lady has to accommodate and meet that troubling arm swing. This means her right leg will be in extension at the same time beach side lady has her left leg in extension. This will be more accommodative work for ocean side lady, but she will just have to go with it. Failure to do so will pull her friend down off the beach and making life harder for her friend.

So there you have it. The person up the slope is working harder to stay here, the person down the slope is working harder to accommodate to a gait that their  lower slope is not requiring. Thus, they are both working hard, but for different reasons. But the winner, the dictator, is the one with the greater slope risk. And thus, she will dictate an “out of phase” gait of her ocean side partner, if they are to still walk embraced. 

How did you do ? Can you make a case for “in phase” as the solution ? I can, but I think that “out of phase” is more likely, for the above reasons.

Thanks for playing  this tough one. Congratulations to you if you followed things smoothly. IF you did not, go back and play the mental game again, I think these are important fundamentals everyone should have if you are doing gait work.

Dr. Shawn Allen

What’s wrong with this picture? (Besides the fact that you probably shouldn’t run with your dog on asphalt) 

There’s been a lot of incongruency in the media as of late. This particular gal, with your head rotation to the right is going against the harmony of neurology and physiology. Let me explain…

 This particular gal, with her rotated to the right is going against the way the nervous system is designed to work.

In a post  in the last week or so (the massage cream one and  incongruent movement) we talked about tonic neck responses. When the head is rotated to one side, that upper and lower extremity should extend while the contralateral side should flex. This poor gal is fighting her own neurology! 

 Also note that she really doesn’t have that much hip extension on the right and increases her lumbar lordosis to compensate. Gee whizz. You’d a thought they would have done better…

 So much for the photo op : -) 

“When you run up a hill, most of the cross over gait disappears. Runners will tend toward beautifully stacked lower limb joints.”- Dr. Allen

Are people running up a hill more likely to tend towards a cross over gait style, in other words tend toward a more narrow gait step or a wider gait step ?

Watch people run up hill closely. Even if they are cross over (narrow foot fall) runners, when running up hills a few things will negate much of the narrow foot fall.

1- Running up hill requires more gluteals, more power is needed for all that extra required hip extension to power up the hill. More gluteal max use can, and will, spill over into the posterior fibers of the gluteus medius and this will tend to abduct the leg/hip and reduce some of the cross over tendency.

2- When one runs up a hill, there is a forward pitch of the upper torso, often with a some degree of forward pitch occurring at the hips. More importantly, because one is running up hill, they are stepping up and so more than normal hip flexion is necessary than in normal running. The forward pitch of the body and the greater degree of hip flexion is the culprit here. If the hip/leg is adducted in a cross over style, adding this to a more than normal flexing hip, it will create a scenario for anterior hip impingement and risk of femoral acetabular impingement (FAI) syndromes. Go ahead, test it for yourself. Lie on your back and flex your hip, drawing your knee straight up towards your shoulder.  Pretty good range correct ?  Now, flex the hip drawing your knee towards your navel, adducting it a little across your body. Feel the abrupt range of motion loss and possible pinch in the front of the hip ?  FAI.  This is what would happen if you utilized a cross over gait, narrow foot strike gait. The goes for mountain/sleep hill hikers as well. 

This is why, if you are a narrow foot striker, a near-cross over type of runner, you will see it disappear when you run up hills.  

If you get anterior hip pain running up hills, force a wider step width and reduce the possible impingement at the anterior hip joint. Just make sure you have enough ankle dorsiflexion to tackle the hill in the first place. If not, you may welcome some foot and ankle stuff to the table along with the hip.  

Likely obvious stuff to most of the readers here, but sometimes it is nice to point out the obvious.  Hills, just because they are there, doesn’t mean you have the parts to run them safely.

Dr. Shawn Allen

Podcast 106: Understanding Tendonopathies & Asymmetrical Bone density in athletes.

* Plus the global effects of Hallux Limitus, & Chronic exposure to routine high-impact, gravitational loads afforded to the support limb preferentially improved bone mass and structure

Show Sponsors:

newbalancechicago.com
Altrarunning.com

Other Gait Guys stuff

2 Podcast links: 

http://traffic.libsyn.com/thegaitguys/pod_106f.mp3

http://thegaitguys.libsyn.com/episode-106

B. iTunes link:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-gait-guys-podcast/id559864138

C. Gait Guys online /download store (National Shoe Fit Certification & more !)
http://store.payloadz.com/results/results.aspx?m=80204

D. other web based Gait Guys lectures:
Monthly lectures at : www.onlinece.com type in Dr. Waerlop or Dr. Allen, ”Biomechanics”

-Our Book: Pedographs and Gait Analysis and Clinical Case Studies
Electronic copies available here:

-Amazon/Kindle:
http://www.amazon.com/Pedographs-Gait-Analysis-Clinical-Studies-ebook/dp/B00AC18M3E

-Barnes and Noble / Nook Reader:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/pedographs-and-gait-analysis-ivo-waerlop-and-shawn-allen/1112754833?ean=9781466953895

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/pedographs-and-gait-analysis/id554516085?mt=11

-Hardcopy available from our publisher:
http://bookstore.trafford.com/Products/SKU-000155825/Pedographs-and-Gait-Analysis.aspx

________________________

Show Notes:

New device to get people with paralysis back on their feet
Scientists have tested the world’s first minimally-invasive brain-machine interface, designed to control an exoskeleton with the power of thought
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/02/160208124241.htm

Splicing out torsions, and aberrant foo types ? Club foot ? etc
http://gizmodo.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-crispr-the-new-tool-1702114381

Scientists Capture Crispr’s Gene-Cutting in Action
http://www.wired.com/2016/01/crispr-modification/

The UK Just Green-Lit Crispr Gene Editing in Human Embryos
http://www.wired.com/2016/02/the-uk-just-green-lit-crispr-gene-editing-in-human-embryos/

Asymmetries in limbs
http://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/Abstract/publishahead/Musculoskeletal_Asymmetry_in_Football_Athletes___A.97584.aspx

Tension or compression ?
link to full text: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3676165/

Concept: the forces have to go somewhere, it is a “passing the buck” system.  
We did this blog post here to explain:
http://thegaitguys.tumblr.com/post/138680011664/the-banana-toe-the-force-has-to-go-somewhere

The new muscle discovery !
http://www.rmtedu.com/blog/tensor-vastus-intermedius
http://www.rmtedu.com/blog/tensor-vastus-intermedius
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26732825

tendinopathy vasculature: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4650849/

tendinopathy treatment paper: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2505250/

“Is your client feeling better because they are truly fixed, or have your prescribed corrective exercises merely raised the capacity and durability of their compensation ?  Welcome to a global industry problem.”  -Dr. Allen

Which hip will have troubles extending ?

Remember this quiz question from 2 weeks ago ? I talked about how the body will compensate to level the pelvis (and eyes and vestibular apparatus).

Lets go further down the rabbit hole.  Here is your question of the week (you may have to go back and review the prior blog post if you are unsure of how the body will cope with the slope.  Here is that first blog post.

Question: Which hip will have troubles getting into hip extension and thus terminal glute-hip-pelvis stabilization ?

Answer:  scroll down (at least think about it for a second)

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Answer:

The leg on the up slope of the beach, the non-water side leg will have to be in a modest degree of knee flexion to shorten and accommodate to the slope. A Flexed knee is not an extended one and it will be far more difficult to extend the hip and get into the glutes. Propulsion will also be compromised.  For you indoor small track runners this will happen to you on the inside leg on the curves of the track. This is why we see so many hamstring injuries during indoor track.  Think about it ! It is not just bad luck.  Go ahead, tally up  your teams history of hamstring injuries, you should find more on the left leg for track runners. It is simple applied biomechanics.   Also, imagine the altered demand on the quadriceps on that flexed knee (the right knee in the picture above, and the left knee in circle track runners). Furthermore, what is the likelihood that the right pelvis will deviate into an anterior tilted posture ? You bet ya, a greater tendency, and thus a possibly shortened quadriceps/hip flexor mechanism.  Do you think this could inhibit hip extension and gluteal function ? You bet ya.  Oh, and one more thing, if you are true gait nerd, you should have asked yourself one more question, what about ankle rocker ?  Yes, you will need more ankle rocker on the beach side foot (flexed knee side). When the knee flexes, there must be more ankle rocker for this to occur, if not, you may implode into some unwelcome arch collapse, because arch collapse offers more false ankle rocker. What a mess huh !   Now, do not be shocked EVER again when your client’s come back from a sunny beach vacation from walking the beaches for hours every day, and find themselves a stark raving mad mess.  It is not the salty ocean air or the tequila, it is the slope. One could make a case that walking up and down the beach should balance things out, but that is only if we are balanced and symmetrical when we start out. Gravity always wins.

One final rant. If you are offering “corrective exercises” to your clients, you had better know at least the basics of movement and biomechanics. And further more, you had better know how to examine for them, and that means hands on assessment of the body, not just looking at how your client moves through a battery of tests. If the prior blog post (here) and today’s blog post principles are not remedial principles of knowledge for you, offering corrective exercises without this knowledge and a physical exam to confirm your assumptions is fraught with disaster, or at least helping your client to build deeper compensations on their prior compensations. Is your client feeling better because they are truly fixed, or have your prescribed corrective exercises merely raised the capacity and durability of their compensation ?  This is the kind of stuff that keeps my new patient scheduling booked at 4-8 weeks out … . .  frustrated clients.

This is why we do not offer online consultations like some do. Because, we have not figured out how to obtain the third dimension needed in our gait and movement observation (thank you Oculus Rift, the future is near) but more so, we cannot take that information and put it together with our own physical examination to determine whether if what we are seeing is the actual problem, or a compensation. Here in lies the pot of gold.

Another clinical pearl from Dr. Allen

Dragging your tongue ? When the tongue of your shoe keeps getting pulled to the side. Do you know what it means ? It means plenty, if you are sharp.

By: Dr. Shawn Allen

This one pisses off most people it happens to. Why does it typically happen only on one side, on one shoe ? Look at the photo case above. Look closely to the left foot, the tongue of the shoe is pulled laterally compared to the right, or shall I say, dragged.

This is a fairly common phenomenon, and there is a reason for it, several actually. So, no, you do not need to staple the tongue to the shoe upper, or tighten your shoe laces, or stitch the tongue to the medial shoe upper. You need to stop externally spinning your foot in your darn shoe.  What ?!

Yes, you very well may be avoiding normal internal rotation progression of the pelvis over the fixated limb. Loss of internal hip rotation is often a common finding clinically. As one passes the swing leg forward, the forward progressing pelvis eventually meets this loss of internal rotation over the fixated leg and femoral head. The swing leg none the less progresses further forward to get to its’ heel strike and the stance phase leg has to externally spin over the ground (I like to give the analogy of putting out a cigarette butt on the ground or squishing a bug (PETA don’t come after me)). This is called an Abductory or Adductory twist (good video demo here) depending on whether your reference point is the forefoot or rear foot. Regardless, the heel is spinning inward, the forefoot is relatively spinning outward. This spin of the foot inside the shoe (this happens minutely just before the shoe spins on the ground) and pulls the tongue laterally with it.  

This problem can also come from, and often does, a premature heel rise from things like a:

•  loss of ankle rocker
• short calf
• lack of hip extension
  
• hallux rigidus / limitus or even a painful big toe
• etc

There are even several other causes I will not list here today, I could have you waste your whole day on the list and the mental gymnastics of things to consider. Basically, anything that impairs the stance phase mechanics creating a premature heel rise or failure of completing internal hip rotation can cause an Abd/Adductor twist of the foot/heel and drag the tongue laterally. Sure, there are others, but the purpose of my blog post here today was to explain a neat little biomechanical phenomenon that  has huge clinical insight if you know what it means.  You cannot fix this problem if you do not do a physical exam, understand clean and faulty gait biomechanics, and maybe can even find small objects in a dark room.  What I mean is it takes some educated exploration and a curiosity to want to fix things.  

There are clues often right in front of you, all you have to do is pay attention and sometimes ask a simple question. 

“Mr. Jones, when you stick out your tongue, does it drag laterally ?”  

Ok, maybe not that exact question. But, when I see a loss of internal rotation or terminal hip extension in a runner, and when I have time to explain things deeply with a openly receiving client, I might start the conversation with that fun question and then explain what I really meant was the tongue of the shoe on that affected side. 

You can’t swallow bandaids to fix things, as much as you wish it was that easy. Sure, you can avoid all of this fun by buying a shoe that has the tongue of the shoe sewn to the medial upper of the shoe, but then you wouldn’t have to fix anything.  Where would you “get your fun on” then ?  Be brave, go all in, fix the problem dammit.  

These are the things that keep me up at night. Welcome to my nightmares.

Dr. Shawn Allen, one of the gait guys

Photo courtesy of this weartested.org link: http://weartested.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/altra-superior-2-top-socks.jpg