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?

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

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.