SF Tri Club Video Gait Analysis

Are you looking for a way to improve your running performance and prevent injuries?

Introducing Running Gait Analysis Clinic For SF TRI CLUB Members To Improve Performance and Prevent Injuries

Proper footwear is one of the easiest ways to prevent injuries in triathletes and runners. How do you know if you are wearing the right shoes? Do you wear shoes that are made for your feet or do you buy the "shoe of the day" that all the other triathletes are wearing?

Our feet are as different as our faces and it's essential to have the right footwear to minimize and prevent injury. The feet provide the foundation of the body and running on an unstable foundation can cause a myriad of problems including shin splints, foot pain, knee pain, and low back pain to name a few.

Running gait analysis is an effective and easy way to visualize your body mechanics. You will run on a treadmill while being videotaped. The results of the analysis are reviewed with you in both real time and slow motion, and recommendations for types of shoes and running efficiency are given. Nothing could be easier. All this offered to SF TRI CLUB members for $25 ($80 value) as long as you join us for one of our upcoming clinics!!!

Space is limited so register today! This clinic is only available on Thursday - 3/8 or 3/22, so schedule your session now! These clinics will sell out.

ChiroMedical Group is conveniently located in downtown San Francisco at 246 First Street - suite 101 , between Howard and Folsom in the Green Philips Building .

You have two clinic dates to choose from:
Thursday, 2/8 (pick a 15 minute session anytime between 4:15-6:30pm)
Thursday, 2/22 (pick a 15 minute session anytime between 4:15-6:30pm)

• Register online here: http://bit.ly/zOn6K8
   
• Please bring check or cash
   
• Please wear dark colored form fitted clothing, one pair of running shoes you use the most, orthotics/inserts if you use them.
  
• For questions email Dr. Rosenberg at hrSportsCare@gmail.com

Gait analysis will be performed by Dr. Hal Rosenberg

Dr. Hal Rosenberg is a member of the USA Triathlon medical staff, has served a Sports Medicine rotation at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO, and is a certified coach for USA Cycling. As a Certified Chiropractic Sports Practitioner (CCSP), Dr. Rosenberg specializes in the treatment of athletes. He has a diverse clinical approach by combining chiropractic, exercise rehabilitation, functional performance enhancement, Functional Movement Screening (FMS), Selective Functional Movement Assessment (SFMA), Graston Technique (GT) soft tissue therapy, and kinesiology KT Tape where he also serves on the medical advisory board. Dr. Rosenberg is a former instructor of Active Release Techniques (ART) soft tissue therapy.

An Ironman and endurance athlete himself, Dr. Rosenberg's clinical practice includes athletes of all levels and disciplines. Additionally, Dr. Rosenberg is a faculty member at Palmer College of Chiropractic West where he teaches Sports Medicine.

"My goal is to get you out of pain and back to an active and healthy lifestyle as quickly as possible. I educate my patients on how to stay healthy, active, and avoid injuries. I strive to deliver immediate and lasting relief from pain and enhance daily performance." - Hal Rosenberg, DC, QME, CCSP

Functional Path Training

The Functional Path is a path that had been traveled many times before but had fallen out of use in favor of smoother paved roads that promised faster and easier results. Seeking to follow and better define the functional path is a continuing journey, fortunately it is a journey that many have traveled before. Functional Path training is getting back to the basics of movement. It is learning to tune into the body and it’s inherent wisdom to produce rhythmic flowing movement. - Gambetta

Far too often I see athletes looking for the magic bullet, the quick fix. The same drive that makes them competitive and successful in sport can work against them in the sports medicine arena. The dynamic nature of racing and competitive sport requires a split-second approach they are able to surge ahead of their competition.

Quality sports medicine, as with quality training and coaching protocols, require patience and dedication. It is a methodical process. Many athletes can rehab injuries extremely fast, however others require a more diligent approach. This latter category sometimes has athletes looking for a short cut.

Because of their competitive nature, these athletes can look to jump to the next therapy before the ones they are implementing have the opportunity to take effect. By no means should any injured athlete stay parked in one clinic if they are not improving. Results are seen as tissues and movement patterns heal, not necessarily over night.

As athletes jump from doctor to doctor and therapist to therapist they become more and more impatient. The more impatient they become, the more they jump - and a viscous cycle is created. Unfortunately many athletes in this category continue suffer the effects of their injuries years later. No one has been given the opportunity to properly manage their injury and the potential is lost. The ones who exhibit even the slightest patience, get better. Depending on their injury it sometimes can take weeks or months with these more challenging cases, but they are able to return to sport much faster than if they tried to take a "short cut" which ended up being anything but short. Because we've addressed underlying biomechanical imbalances in the process, these athletes also end up being stronger and more efficient in their sport - thus being more successful than they were prior to their injury. Their injuries are fixed, their compensations are fixed, and their biomechanics are tuned and strengthened.

Practice does not make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect.

What ongoing injuries do you have?

Wednesday Trivia #1

What year did the Ironman Triathlon first take place on the Big Island and who was the overall winner?

Submit answer to @triathlondoctor on twitter at http://twitter.com/triathlondoctor

First one to respond with BOTH correct answers in the same tweet will receive a ten pack of $1 PowerBar coupons.

January is an excellent time to reflect on your accomplishments from the previous year and map out your race calendar for the upcoming season. Now is when most athletes begin to rev up their sport specific training as they emerge from a phase of base building.

The winter and spring is also when many athletes come to see me with early season overuse injuries. Athletes often hear their injuries occur because they did "too much, too fast," but rarely do they really understand what that means.

This article from Endurance Corner does a good job of describing Biomechanical Fitness, and the role it plays in both improving performance and preventing injuries.
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Biomechanical Fitness

So, it’s the New Year and you thought it would be wonderful to get it started with the “100 runs in 100 days challenge”. Sounds like a great idea to begin the season with a bang by establishing that super run base. But how do you avoid the common scenario of breaking out as the Chinese New Year super-stud and end up as the subsequent Easter train wreck?


You have to establish your biomechanical fitness. Biomechanical fitness, you might say? Biomechanical fitness is the ability of your musculoskeletal system (bones, tendons, muscles) to withstand the demands of increased training load and stress. But why is this any different than regular fitness? That, my friend, is the crux of the problem and the source of so many early spring aches and pains that derail or delay your training goals.
...click here to view the full article at endurancecorner.com

Acute Injures - Should I Use Ice or Heat?

After an athlete suffers an injury, one of the most common questions asked is, “Should I use ice or heat?” By understanding some basic principles and the physiological effects of ice and heat, that question can be more simply answered.

As a general rule – ice (Cryotherapy) is the preferred modality for injuries. When following recommended icing guidelines it is difficult to go wrong by icing an injury. The opposite is true for heat – it is relatively easy to over heat and injury or use heat at the wrong time.

When a hot pack is applied to the skin, the body’s response is to make blood vessels larger, which will bring more blood to the area. After an acute injury there is typically inflammation, so adding a hot pack will bring more blood to the area and therefore more inflammation. Many people opt for heat because they think it feels better while it’s on, however they can experience a significant increase in pain 20-30 minutes after heating.

When a cold pack is applied to the skin, the body’s response is to make the blood vessels smaller, which will bring less blood to the area. Therefore, by icing an injury it will help to decrease inflammation.

Key Tips For Icing Injuries

• Use an ice pack that is designed for injuries such as a ColPac or Ice Bag. Food cold packs such as “blue ice” are not designed to treat injuries and can burn the skin.
• Use a moist paper towel between the ice pack and your skin.
• Never Ice for longer than 15 minutes per hour. Don’t fall asleep while icing!
• Frozen vegetable packs typically don’t stay cold enough or long enough to have a therapeutic effect.
  
  
• *** If you are diabetic or have poor circulation then you should not apply ice unless specifically directed to do so by your doctor or therapist.

Sprain Vs. Strain

Do you know the difference between a sprain and a strain?

A sprain is an injury to a ligament that occurs when too much force is applied to a joint. Ligaments attach bones together at joints. An example of a sprain is a rolled or twisted ankle.

A strain is an injury to a muscle or tendon. Tendons connect muscles to bones and muscles to other muscles. Strains can be cumulative, such as with repetitive overuse, or traumatic when a muscle or tendon is suddenly overloaded.

Sprains and strains are graded I (mild), II (moderate), and III (severe). A grade I sprain/strain involves some stretching or minor tearing, grade II is a ligament or muscle that is partially torn but still intact, and grade III means the structure is mostly or completely torn.

The key to full recovery is early evaluation and treatment. With proper care, most injuries will heal without ongoing problems. Without proper treatment chronic problems and re-injury can be expected.

Can Your Shoes Help Make You a Better Runner?

The running shoe industry is huge and several new models come out each year. With all of these choices, it’s easy for the untrained observer to get confused. Add in sales and marketing strategies and it becomes even easier to become misguided. How do you currently buy your running shoes? Do you wear shoes that are made for your feet or do you buy the trendy “shoe of the day” that all the other runners are wearing? Proper footwear is one of the easiest ways to prevent running injuries, but can be very confusing as just stated. The purpose of this article is to help simplify shopping for running shoes. With 40-70% of runners reporting injuries each year, proper running shoes are a critical piece of equipment. Many athletes say they have, or want, the “Top of the line” running shoe – but it’s not “Top of the line” for you if it’s not the right shoe for your feet!

There are 3 basic types of running shoes: cushion, stability, and motion control. Each category has adequate cushioning, but some of the main differences between them are in how much stability is provided.

All major shoe manufactures make several shoe models in each category. Often times I hear runners say that they cannot wear a particular brand of shoe because they have had problems with it. The fact of the matter is not that they were in the wrong brand of shoe; it’s that they were in the wrong category of shoe.

Shoe categories:

Cushion shoes are designed for people with high and rigid arches. The midsole has a lower density foam and they are designed to “cushion” a higher arch as it comes down during stance phase/weight bearing on that foot. Based on observation, this is the shoe many runners wear cushion shoes, however, in actuality it is the shoe the fewest number if runners should be in based on their biomechanics.

Stability shoes are designed for neutral runners to mild overpronators. Higher density foam is used as well as external stabilization. Pronation (when the foot rolls in) is a normal phase of gait and occurs when your foot contacts the ground. It’s purpose is to disperse the forces of impact from your foot contacting the ground. Overpronation is when the foot rolls in too far beyond the neutral foot position and is one of the biggest biomechanical problems in sports medicine.

Motion Control shoes are the most stable and rigid running shoes. They are designed for moderate to severe overpronators. They have the widest base and reinforcements to control excessive biomechanical motion. As in stability shoes, higher density foam and external stabilizers are also used in motion control shoes.

A common question I am asked is, “How often running shoes should be replaced?” Running shoes will last for 300-500 miles or 4-6 months, whichever comes first. Heavier footed runners will need to replace their shoes sooner while lighter landing runners will get a little more life out of their shoes. Even if you are not a high mileage runner your shoes should still be replaced after about six months. This is because the breakdown process of a shoe starts and continues, once you start wearing them.

Take care of your running shoes by only running in them. By using retired pair of running shoes for day to day use and only running in your active shoes, you can significantly increase the life and performance of your shoes. Many runners will also alternate shoes in their active collection to evenly wear through them. This can be done by adding a new pair into your active rotation halfway through the lifespan of your current shoes and then continuing the process again with a new pair as you retire an older one.

Do my new shoes require a break-in period? Shoes that are properly fitted in both size and category for each individual runner should not require a break-in period.

How do I learn what type of shoe I should wear? Video running gait analysis is an excellent fun and easy way to learn this. At ChiroMedical Group our trained doctors watch you run on a treadmill while you are videotaped. The tape is then reviewed with you in both real time and slow motion, and recommendations for types of shoes and running efficiency are given. Nothing could be easier.

Brigadier General Becky Halstead Touts Benefits of Chiropractic in the Military

Retired Brigadier General Becky Halstead served 27 years in the U.S. Army. She was the first female graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point to obtain the rank of general, and she was the first female general to command troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. At CSE 2009, she spoke to a crowd of about 250 doctors of chiropractic, sharing her personal story of how chiropractic care helped her recover from debilitating chronic fibromyalgia, and why she believes the benefits of chiropractic care should be extended to all members of the military.


“I believe in the service that chiropractic care gave me after I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. It provided me with an overall wellness,” she said. “And I believe in the importance of providing access to chiropractic care for military servicemen and women. The conditions our military endures can cause serious musculoskeletal pain and misalignments of the spine. Chiropractic can alleviate back injuries, headaches and the stress often associated with the strain of the gear and the conditions endured every day.”


For years, ACA has urged congressional action to ensure that active-duty members of the U.S. military have access to chiropractic care at all military treatment facilities in the United States and abroad. While progress has been made, currently only 60 military treatment facilities out of approximately 238 facilities worldwide offer chiropractic care as part of their integrated medical care.


Gen. Halstead recalled how she learned that chiropractic care enables patients to take an active role in their recovery and ongoing health. She also underscored the importance of working together to expand its availability. “Traditional medicine did not work for me…doctors of chiropractic not only allow but strongly encourage the patient to be part of the solution for their wellness,” she said.


“Gen. Halstead’s story is a great example of why our troops need access to chiropractic care to help keep them healthy and ready for action,” said ACA President Rick McMichael, DC.


Today, Halstead is a spokesperson for the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress and serves as executive director for leader development with The Praevius Group, a Virginia-based consultancy focused on the innovative fusion of leadership development and technology.


ACA, based in Arlington, Va., is the largest chiropractic organization in the United States. The association provides lobbying, public relations, professional and educational opportunities for doctors of chiropractic, funds research, and offers leadership for the advancement of the profession. ACA promotes the highest standards of ethics and patient care, contributing to the health and well-being of millions of chiropractic patients.


SOURCE: American Chiropractic Association

What Is That Tape At The Olympics?

What was that black marking on Beach Volleyball gold medalist Kerri Walsh’s shoulder in Beijing? It is called Kinesio Tape which is an elastic taping used in chiropractic, rehabilitation and sports medicine. Developed 25 years ago by Japanese Chiropractor Dr. Kenzo Kase, it is now getting recognition and is used by top athletes such as Lance Armstrong and David Beckam in addition to Walsh. Kinesio Tape works by giving support like a flexible brace. It helps improve healing, activate weak muscles with neurological awareness or proprioception, corrects joint function, and improves circulation. Kerri Walsh had a recent rotator cuff surgery.


In Lance Armstrong’s book Every Second Counts, he refers to Kinesio Tape as Something better than any laser, wrap, or electric massager…The Tape…and (it) seemed to have magical powers.


How Does Kinesio Tape Work?


When properly applied, the tape is barely noticeable. The practitioner places it on slightly stretched skin from one end of the muscle to the other, with varying amounts of stretch to the tape.


The tape gives free range of motion and allows the body’s own muscular system to heal itself biomechanically. Application of Kinesio Tape encourages muscles to function as they would if they didn't need the tape.


Our Doctors and Therapists have used Kinesio Tape for many years to help their patients.

NFL Wide Receiver Jerry Rice Shares Personal Successes With Sports Chiropractic

The Knee Joint and Injuries

The knee joint is the largest joint in the body. As a result, it is common for many athletes to experience pain or injury to their knees. This article discusses some of the knee injuries we regularly see in our Sports Chiropractic practice.

Knee injuries can be traumatic in nature such as when caused by an impact or twisting; or they can be cumulative where small repetitive stresses lead to an overuse injury. Although cumulative injuries can happen in all sports, we commonly see these in swimmers, cyclists, and runners due to the repetitive nature of these activities. Whatever the sport or the cause of your pain, these injuries can be debilitating and prevent you from both participating in your sport as well as having difficulty in your daily activities.One of the most common injuries of the knee is Iliotibial Band Syndrome (ITB). The iliotibial band is a series of connective tissue that extends from the hip down to the knee. When people have this condition, they will experience pain on the outer part of their knee when they are weight bearing on that leg while running. The pain is usually worse while running downhill and eases up when you stop running. While pain is felt on the outside part of the knee with this injury, the cause is often due to weak core stabilizing muscles and poor foot biomechanics. Treatment for ITB syndrome involves soft tissue release around the hip and the outside of the thigh, manipulation to restore proper motion to the pelvis, and strengthening exercises of the core to stabilize and retrain the proper movement patterns. Footwear of the athlete must also be considered to make sure your running shoes are giving you proper stability for your running style. Ask your doctor which type of running shoe is best for you!



Another common injury at the knee is tendinosis (previously called tendonitis). This injury can occur above the knee called Quadriceps Tendinosis, or below the knee called Patellar Tendinosis. The mechanism of these two injures are similar where excessive torque causes irritation to the tendons around the kneecap. These injuries are commonly seen in sports that involve running and/or jumping. We also see this frequently in cyclists who are positioned with their saddle too low and/or too far forward. These injuries around the kneecap are treated with similar protocols as ITB Syndrome that involves soft tissue release, manipulation of the knee, hips, and pelvis, along with stabilization exercises. In the case of knee pain in a cyclist, proper positioning must also be evaluated.


Two common traumatic injuries at the knee include Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) tear and Meniscal tear. The ACL is one of the main ligaments that holds the knee together and it is deep inside the joint. It will commonly tear when the knee is twisted while there is weight on that leg. Patients will often hear a loud “pop” when this happens while also experiencing immediate pain and swelling of the knee. The meniscus is a crescent shaped cartilage that gives shock absorption to the knee. Each knee has two menisci – one inner and one outer. A meniscus can also become injured with a twisting motion of the knee and they can degenerate over time. Patients with meniscal injuries will experience pain in the knee along the joint line and may experience “locking” of the knee. Meniscal injuries will be painful right away but swelling is not usually noticed for several hours after the injury. Both of these injuries require rehabilitation and many will also require surgery.


At Chiro-Medical Group, we are dedicated to treating your knee injuries and helping you heal as quickly as possible. Ask your doctor today what we can do to make your knees stronger!

U.S. Olympic Men’s Water Polo team

Watch this exciting short video featuring four-time Olympian and Chiropractor, Dr. Terry Schroeder, talking about his experience both as a player and coach for the U.S. Olympic Men’s Water Polo team. In the video, Dr. Schroeder also shares why he and so many world-class athletes, as well as everyday people, rely on chiropractic care to keep them well.

Ironman Doctor Treats And Competes

Dr. Hal Rosenberg knows what it takes to compete in one of the world’s most grueling endurance sports – the Ironman triathlon. But Dr. Rosenberg, a doctor of chiropractic, doesn’t just compete. He also treats some of the world’s best athletes as a team doctor for USA Triathlon (USAT).


USAT is the organization that selects and trains the athletes who represent the United States in major international competitions, such as the world championships, the Pan American Games and the Olympic Games, for the sport of triathlon.


Dr. Rosenberg competed at the Ironman USA triathlon in the summer of 2004 in Lake Placid, New York. Just a few months prior to that, he traveled as a member of the medical staff with the United States triathlon team to Madeira, Portugal for one of the three qualifying races for the Athens Olympics. The four doctors who made the trip – two doctors of chiropractic and two medical doctors – were selected by USAT. To view the full article, click here.

Welcome To TheTriathlonDoctor.com

I focus primarily on the sport of triathlon and endurance athletics. Items regarding general sports medicine and health are main points of discussion. Thanks for visiting!