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.

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.

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.