If you've ever had trigger thumb and you're a musician, you understand how frustrating it is. It can quickly turn into a chronic, painful condition, unless it is treated early, and with a common sense approach. Often, conventional treatments fail. I recently had a patient who tried two cortisone injections, yet it did nothing to relieve the pain and triggers.
As you may recall from my earlier blog in July of 2011, I made the switch from shod (heel-strike) running shoes to minimal (forefoot-strike) shoes, in part as an experiment to test what some very interesting studies showed.
I started with five finger shoes-type shoes, because they mimicked being barefoot with their five-toed glove fit. From there, I moved to a different minimal shoe, one which encapsulates the foot tightly much like a normal shoe, except there is no cushion soles.
I now run in these type of shoes.
Like most minimal shoes, you feel every pebble when running, something I've actually come to appreciate. While this blog is not about promoting running shoe types or even running styles, it is about my interesting journey on the road to a new biomechanics in running — one that has surprised me on so many levels.
And one that I just had to revisit, and share.
This article is a primer about fascia, it's benefits and how ancient techniques can be used today to help you heal and recover better and faster!
When a 68-year-old female patient came to my clinic presenting with a possible Parkinson's diagnosis, her first words after stacking an enormous medical file folder on my desk was, "I wish they could figure this out." She informed me that she had had numerous tests, had seen a myriad of specialists, yet they were still trying to assimilate all the data for the best course of treatment. Was it multiple system atrophy (MSA) or Parkinson's? As I watched her enter my clinic, I noticed her kyphotic posture, a strained limp in her gait, balance issues, and a grimace across her face as she sat. I said, "Forget about all of that. How are your daily movements?" She then proceeded to tell me that although she had none of the common symptoms (tremor, etc), she could no longer be on her feet for more than a few minutes without having to sit, and that she no longer could do many of the things she used to.
A few years ago, I wrote about barefoot, or minimalist running, as I made the switch myself from shod (shoe) running to the minimalist style. While it's been two years since I gave all my padded shoes to Goodwill, there has been a lot more controversy regarding this style of running (and walking), and more studies trying to explain why running without shoes could possibly be better for us. After all, how could anyone give up fancy, cushy shoes for, well, very little between the foot and harsh pavement? I still believe there are beneficial reasons to do so.
I've been following the growing research on the effects of the posture of sitting, and more extensively, sit to stand workstations (STSWS). Of course, part of this path started by listening to my own patients' complaints of musculoskeletal issues. Most of these patients spend hours seated at a desk, with few breaks to stand and move around. My advice over the years for occupational (seated) dysfunctions has always been to stand at least every fifteen minutes during the work day, and that simple advice had a dramatic impact on common complaints. Yet for many, this advice for better health had a consequence: less productivity. (Which is why Google employees use STSWS.) So is sitting detrimental to our overall health? And do STSWS help improve our health?