Podcast 88: interpreting Shoe Wear patterns & Running Surface Effects

Show sponsors:
www.newbalancechicago.com

Plus: Biometrics in Pro Sports, Epigenetics and How Exercise changes our DNA, Hip Dysplasia,, Pavlik harnesses.

We hope you find today’s show helpful. Remember, we don’t know everything, and we do not expect everyone else to know everything either. We are just bringing our logic and knowledge and hopefully truth to the web … . . Please, Correct us when we are sharing inaccuracies, as we try to do the same. There is alot of misguided info on the web and in the wrong hands, people can get hurt … . we feel we are doing our part to carve a safe path. But, when we go astray, please our dear brethren……call us out on it ! We insist. -Shawn and Ivo

Other Gait Guys stuff

Download links:

A. http://traffic.libsyn.com/thegaitguys/pod_88_solid.mp3

B. http://thegaitguys.libsyn.com/podcast-88

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

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

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

Show notes:

New biometric tests invade the NBA
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/11629773/new-nba-biometric-testing-less-michael-lewis-more-george-orwell

How Exercise Changes Our DNA
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/12/17/how-exercise-changes-our-dna/

An integrative analysis reveals coordinated reprogramming of the epigenome and the transcriptome in human skeletal muscle after training. Lindholm ME
Epigenetics. 2014 Dec 7:0. [Epub ahead of print]

Hip Dysplasia
http://journals.lww.com/pedorthopaedics/Abstract/2015/01000/Back_carrying_Infants_to_Prevent_Developmental_Hip.11.aspx

Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics:
January 2015 - Volume 35 - Issue 1 - p 57-61
Back-carrying Infants to Prevent Developmental Hip Dysplasia and its Sequelae: Is a New Public Health Initiative Needed? Graham, Simon M.

Plus: Pavlik harness
https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=pavlik%20harness

Does Correct Head Positioning Make You Run Faster?http://runnersconnect.net/running-injury-prevention/running-form-proper-head-position/

Running surfaces
http://www.slowtwitch.com/Training/Running/Concrete_or_Asphalt__4793.html

How to Read and Interpret the Wear Pattern on Your Running Shoes
http://runnersconnect.net/running-tips/read-wear-pattern-running-shoes/

Abnormal wear pattern on a Newton Shoe

Understanding what went wrong in this runner to cause unilateral Right shoe “toe off” wear pattern is important.  It happens alot.  Many times it doesn’t get this far but there is evidence on a shoe, more on one side, none the less.  It is quite often “What is wrong with the part/person that goes into a shoe”, than “the shoe itself”. It wasn’t the Newton Shoe in this case (it is almost never a shoe material issue), it was the limb attached to it. The shoes are the window to the gait cycle!

This is one of our running clients.  They presented with some right hamstring soreness and pain after longer runs.  There were no foot complaints, the shoe wear pattern was just something that we felt was interesting to share as it made sense with their clinical presentation. 

Client clinically demonstrated:

1. inhibited right glute max
2. tight right quadriceps
3. weak right lower abdominals

Summary:

Subsequent to #1-3 above there was a loss of right hip extension, thus shortened right stride. When hip extension is limited the heel rise is premature and the calf engagement can be premature. When premature the calf is asked to lift the person during midstance instead of forward propulsion and its other activities during late midstance.

Premature heel rise, premature calf muscle engagement, premature foot plantarflexion all lead to greater pressure at the forefoot and thus through toe off……plus some hamstrings complaining as well !

Knowing your gait cycles, knowing which muscles should fire at a given time in the gait cycle, and knowing why they fire and what joints they stabilize is a valuable tool in diagnosis of a runners issues.  Of course, it would be very simple to say “hey, you are toeing off real hard on that right side”.  “BRILLIANT SHERLOCK ! ” would be our first response, there is nothing like stating the obvious.  But the how and why is where the brain actually needs to be engaged, and when it is, things can get very interesting and fun in figuring out what is going on in athletes and patients. Knowing how and why things happen allows you to fix the problem.  And in this case if you are attempting to fix this person at the level of the foot you are missing the true problem originating at the hip.  And when you know the origin of the problem in this case, you also get a new shoe wear pattern for the next shoes and best of all, you conquer a chronic  hamstring problem as well.

Shawn and Ivo………. Pipe smoking English sleuths…….. (OK, we are good at the board game CLUE and nothing more, who are we kidding !)