Staying healthy and motivated during the winter can be tricky. Winter can be an especially harsh and taxing season. The colder temperatures and shorter days affect our circadian rhythms, our emotions, our digestion. As athletes, we are already asking a lot of our bodies, and so we need to be particularly mindful of the ways [...]
The Repetitive Nature Of Distance Running Almost Guarantees Overuse Injuries. Unless you are proactively working to correct the imbalances precipitated by a daily onslaught of unvaried movement, at some point you will probably succumb to injury. Instead of waiting around for their ailments to heal, runners are increasingly turning to acupuncture to speed recovery [...]
Running In The Snow Is Hard Work. Rory loves snow. We have not yet determined whether she loves acupuncture. When the temperature drops and the snow starts falling, I start to see some specific injuries directly related to running on ice and snow. But why, exactly, does winter running confer a [...]
TRIGGER POINTS: WHY STRETCHING IS NOT THE ANSWER Trigger points cause real problems for athletes. Not only are they exquisitely painful, but they also affect movement. Trigger points inhibit range of motion by keeping muscles short and stiff. They also weaken muscles, causing them to tire quickly and recover slowly. They [...]
WHAT IS A TRIGGER POINT? If you’re an athlete, you are probably familiar with the term trigger point. Maybe you've been told that you have trigger points in your upper back or your calves, and maybe you've been instructed to buy a special ball to release said trigger points or to do a lot [...]
3 ALTERNATIVES TO NSAIDS AND OTHER DRUGS I admit the following methods are decidedly unsexy. Unlike the latest and greatest pharmaceutical, these take a bit of work, a bit of time, and they certainly aren’t going to make anyone millions. They also don’t come with any nasty side effects besides a better mood, better overall [...]
Lateral Hip Instability and What To Do About It. Are you dealing with plantar fasciitis? ITB syndrome, shin splints, Achilles pain? Patellofemoral syndrome or low back pain? Chances are, your glutes are contributing to and possibly even causing these injuries. It’s not that your glutes are doing something wrong—it’s that they’re [...]
A Chinese Medicine Perspective On The Ice Debate. At some point, the notion that ice facilitates the healing process became conventional wisdom. Ice is somewhat of a gold standard in athletic training rooms across the country, and it is used without question on ankle sprains, torn hamstrings, or most any acute injury. [...]
Tending To Your Tendons: Part 2 Tendon injuries are debilitating yet common for endurance athletes. As I covered in my last post, they are often managed poorly. Whether your injury is acute or chronic (and especially if it is chronic) there are three things you need to be doing to restore full [...]
Tending To Your Tendons: Part 1 Climber’s elbow. Achilles pain. Rotator cuff tear. Most athletes have experienced tendon pain at some point in their careers. In fact, tendon pain is one of the most commonly diagnosed chronic connective tissue disorders in sports medicine.(1) Minor injuries to tendons will resolve quickly by themselves, [...]
