shoe selection, tight ankles and poor performance

Recently I have been noticing the type of shoes that most kids are wearing while they train. They usually fall into three categories:
1) running shoes - high and narrow soles, fine for linear running;
2) training shoes - but still high soles (think Nike Shox);
3) whatever is available when they walk out the door!

While not a scientific study in the making, the problem that I see with all of the above is that the ankle joint suffers. The ankle is a mobile joint, capable of inversion, eversion, flexion, extension and circumduction. However, when certain type of shoes are worn, it forces the ankle to become less mobile than it should. The heel cord (achilles tendon) can actually shorten over time with a shoe that elevates the heel from the ground (similar to high heels on women). This can cascade up the body; believe it or not, tight ankles may even be a culprit in low back pain!
For athletes, it can lead to poor ankle range of motion and affect movement skills, from linear speed to lateral changes of direction to planting and cutting.
The second thing that poor footwear can lead to is poor lateral deceleration ability. In any sport that involves changing of direction, lateral forces are placed on the foot and ankle. If a shoe with a high heel elevates the foot and has a narrow sole, the athlete may run the risk of rolling his/her ankle. If mechanics are poor to begin with, the problem is exacerbated.
The ground reaction forces have to travel through the shoe to reach the foot and consequently the rest of the kinetic chain. If a shoe is high and thick, some of the forces are dissipated within the shoe and not the tissues of the body; while this may seem trivial, forces must be predominantly absorbed by the body not footwear.

What is the solution? I have two suggestions:
1) train more barefoot and/or
2) wear shoes that have a low AND wide profile. I have found that Nike Free is the best for lateral changing of direction as it satisfies the criteria of a low profile and a wide base.
I have worn them for several years and also feel that they strengthen the bottom of my foot at the same time they provide lateral stability. I believe Under Armour also has a similar shoe. The Nike Free is marketed as the "closest thing to training barefoot" so there are some additional benefits as well that barefoot training offers.
BTW, I have no financial interest in selling these shoes...they just seem to work the best for me. If you have not tried them out, I encourage you to wear them for a while, and also try some barefoot training to strengthen your foot and ankle.

over 50% of Ohioans expected to be obese in just 10 years!

Wow...and we think health care is a mess now!?! According to an Emory University report, things are not going to get better any time soon. To read more, click here.
To access the Emory study, click here.

new screening tool for ACL injury rates

A new study published in the October issue of the American Journal of Sports Medicine (AJSM) found screening the knee muscles of a noninjured female athlete with electromyography (EMG) technology can determine if she is at high risk for an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture.

"An ACL injury for a female athlete doesn't just affect them at the moment of injury; a high percentage of female athletes who suffer an ACL injury experience long-term consequences such as osteoarthritis and disability. This is unacceptable," says lead author, Mette K. Zebis, PhD, at the Institute of Sports Medicine Copenhagen and the Danish National Research Centre for the Working Environment. "Our research aimed to evaluate the possible use of EMG recording as a tool for ACL injury risk screening. If we can identify those at risk for the injury, we can help prevent it."

EMG analysis can be used to evaluate neuromuscular activity in specific muscles during sports specific movements. The study utilized the technology to screen 55 noninjured female athletes while they performed a standardized side-cutting maneuver. A side-cutting maneuver is used to "fake" the defensive player to one direction while the athlete moves in the opposite direction. The side-cutting maneuver was selected because this maneuver is highly common during a game, and a large number of non-contact ACL injuries appear to occur in this situation.

Of the 55 athletes studied, five had lower EMG signals in the medial hamstring muscle on the back of their thigh and higher activity in their quadriceps muscle. Those same five athletes experienced an ACL rupture later on in the competitive season.

Analysis was conducted on all subject's EMG signals and a high-risk zone was defined. Ten individuals initially fell into the high-risk zone, with five of those being the ones who subsequently experienced a non-contact ACL rupture.

The study is the first to define a specific muscle group activity that may predispose a female athlete to an ACL injury. The high-risk zone developed by Zebis and her coauthors is a "promising" tool, but she explains that further studies with a larger sample size are still needed to standardize neuromuscular screening for determining those in the high-risk zone.

"Our study provides a foundation," she says. "Larger studies should be conducted to confirm our suspicions that this screening tool will be a huge asset in preventing future female athletic injuries."

More information on the American Journal of Sports Medicine (AJSM), which is published by the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM), is at: www.ajsm.org.

why I do what I do - part 1

Most of you reading this have been to ASF. You are an athlete, a coach, a parent, a boot camp killer. For those of you who have not, this still applies.
"Love what you do and you will never work another day in your life"....I forgot who originally said that, but it certainly holds true for me. Stick with me for a couple of minutes as I go over my personal reasons for doing what I do....you may even agree with a couple.

1) I can't get it out of my system. The "it" I am referring to is athletics, sport, competition, physicality. I know the power of playing sports and the lessons that go along with it. Opening ASF allows me to give back to young athletes some of the same lessons that I learned growing up with sports as my platform.

2) I don't want to work for someone! Plain and simple. Call it any name~rebel, entrepreneur, leader, non-conformist. I want to do things the way I want to, when I want to and where I want to. It doesn't mean I will always do it right, but I am willing to learn from what I did wrong and correct it. I want to make mistakes because it empowers me to always do better. There is no worse way to go through life than to hate what you do and who you work for.

3) Kids make life interesting. Adults are pretty boring (sorry adults, but we are). Kids give me energy which I reciprocate. Kids make me think in new and creative ways.

4) I really, really want to make a difference in the lives of the people that I work with. It can be getting faster, stronger, quicker, but also more confident, more positive and mentally tough. I think that the initial reason that people come in isn't always the reason they continue.

5) When I wake up, I can't wait to get to work. When I am done, I don't want to leave. How many can say that?!

Part 2 will be later this month.

US last in health care report card

No surprise here. Read more to see who beat the US.

key to living long

Walter Breuning, who turned 113 on Monday, eats just two meals a day and has done so for the past 35 years.

"I think you should push back from the table when you're still hungry," Breuning said.

At 5 foot 8, ("I shrunk a little," he admitted) and 125 pounds, Breuning limits himself to a big breakfast and lunch every day and no supper.

"I have weighed the same for about 35 years," Breuning said. "Well, that's the way it should be."

"You get in the habit of not eating at night, and you realize how good you feel. If you could just tell people not to eat so darn much."

Check out his other lifestyle habits here

group exercise makes you happier :)

Exercising together appears to increase the level of the feel-good endorphin hormones naturally released during physical exertion, a study suggests.

A team from Oxford University carried out tests on 12 rowers after a vigorous workout in a virtual boat.

Those who trained alone withstood less pain - a key measure of endorphins - than those who exercised together.

Writing in Biology Letters, the authors speculate these hormones may underpin an array of communal activities.

Row your boat

It has long been known that physical exertion releases endorphins and that these are responsible for the sometimes euphoric sensations experienced after exercising.

They have a protective effect against pain.

But researchers from Oxford University's Institute of Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology found this response was heightened by the synergistic effect of rowing together.

After 45 minutes of either rowing separately or in a team of six, the researchers measured their pain threshold by how long they could tolerate an inflated blood pressure cuff on the arm.

Exercise increased both groups' ability to tolerate pain, but the difference was significantly more pronounced among the team rowers.

“ We know from experience that exercising in groups is good for people at many levels, it's motivational, it's social ”
Carole Seheult, British Psychological Society

This, they said, was a measure of an increased endorphin release.

As well as potentially improving performance in sport, the researchers speculated that this endorphin release may be the mechanism that underpins the sense of communal belonging that emerges from activities such as religious rituals, dancing or laughing.

"The results suggest that endorphin release is significantly greater in group training than in individual training even when power output, or physical exertion, remains constant," said lead author Emma Cohen.

"The exact features of group activity that generate this effect are unknown, but this study contributes to a growing body of evidence suggesting that synchronised, coordinated physical activity may be responsible."

Carole Seheult, a sport and exercise psychologist from the British Psychological Society, said the findings were entirely credible.

"Rowing is a sport which requires real team work and endorphins could well foster that process.

"But more generally we know from experience that exercising in groups is good for people at many levels, it's motivational, it's social. Groups sessions really do work."

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/8257716.stm

Published: 2009/09/15 23:01:10 GMT