One of the perks of living in the metro Boston area — aside from the sub-zero temps and snow-packed winters that mean I can’t train a lot — is the proximity of some really smart folks who are into athletics. The long-time popularity of the Boston Marathon, for example, means that there is quite a strong regional running community: teams, local races, group runs, etc. Most importantly it means that I have access to world-reknown experts like Dr. Thomas Michaud, D.C., one of the foremost experts in the world on foot biomechanics, foot orthoses, and gait analysis.
Dr. Michaud built his practice (literally) from the ground up, putting walls up, laying the floors, etc — and building new tools to do the analyses he wanted to perform. He’s the kinda guy with a couple of 400+ page books to his credit and a few patents…a nice guy to know.
Last time I was in, he was telling me about a recent article he wrote for Uta Pippig (also a patient/friend) regarding achilles injuries. I was really impressed at how well Dr. Michaud lays out the challenges facing runners, common achilles issues and then offers some basic treatment options — ones that he would have you do if you showed up at his office anyway. You don’t find that kind of professional advice very often, and I think it’s worth checking out.
Here is the introduction:
“Despite its broad width and significant length, runners injure their Achilles tendons with surprising regularity. In a recent study of 69 military cadets participating in a six-week basic training program that included distance running, 10 of the 69 trainees suffered an Achilles tendon overuse injury1.
The prevalence of this injury is easy to understand when you consider the tremendous strain runners place on this tendon; for example, during the push-off phase of the running cycle, the Achilles tendon is exposed to a force of seven times bodyweight2. This is close to the maximum strain the tendon can tolerate without rupturing3. Also, when you couple the high strain forces with the fact that the Achilles tendon significantly weakens as we get older, it is easy to see why this tendon is injured so frequently.”
More wicked smart information after the jump…
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