Here's a very simple movement assessment that I often recommend to people that you can complete on your own. This five part assessment has been around since the 1990s and is something I've used remotely with athletes for years. But with the shift of more training and treatment into the virtual space, this assessment and others like it are becoming more integral pieces of the training process. 

Originally appearing in Gray Cook's Athletic Body in Balance, this assessment looks at five movement patterns: an overhead deep squat, hurdle step, inline lunge, active straight leg raise and trunk rotation. You may recognize a form of these from the Functional Movement Screen. Other than some small details in execution, the main difference is these are graded on a PASS/FAIL basis. 

The purpose here is not to dissect movement into minute details but instead to have a way to quickly determine if someone has major gaps that we need to identify before exploring heavier loads (which can take the form of additional weight, speed or complexity). There are plenty of different ways to assess remotely, but I have found this one to seamlessly transition into the next phase of the training process. 

You might wonder," only five PASS/FAIL moves, how can that be of any value?" Remember this is simply a starting point that guides us to the next step, whether that is getting after it in training or doing more detailed assessments of particular results (that might otherwise be unneeded in some individuals). 

Throwback Thursday!....This month marks the ten year anniversary of my marathon PR run at the Eugene Marathon in Eugene, Oregon (aka Tracktown USA). The place oooozes with running history and even if this had not been a PR performance the trip still would have been a massive success. What follows is a recap of the race itself and my training leading up to it...

​This question comes up a lot, and as more variations of each practice continually emerge, it becomes increasingly difficult to answer.....
 
A SIMPLE, one line answer (at the risk of overgeneralization) that many have used….acupuncture is aimed at the treatment of disease states and pain through insertion of needling specific points on the body’s surface with the intention of changing a person’s energy flow (or Qi), whereas dry needling aims to make changes to the target tissue by inserting needles specifically into that tissue.
 
Over time, the practices have started to gravitate toward similarity, as various forms of acupuncture have become more westernized and dry needling has incorporated more eastern thinking.
 
There are many forms of acupuncture practiced globally, although historians trace all roots back to China, with acupuncture documented as early as the second century. Like any practice, it has evolved over the years, but those rooted in traditional Chinese medicine are most familiar to people in the western world.
 
One example of the latter..some dry needling approaches teach using alcohol swabs on the skin prior to treatment, whereas others have adopted the eastern thinking that swabbing the skin with alcohol might could kill “good” bacteria.
 

​More on the fundamental differences: One tenet of Traditional Chinese Medicine is that many conditions in the body result from disruptions to balance of qi, which is literally translated as “vital force.” Acupuncture emerged and continues to this day as one approach to restore body balance through realignment of qi. By strategically placing needles into acupressure points along meridians (or channels), through which qi is thought to flow, acupuncture will restore the balance of qi and manage pain or whatever other symptoms are being targeted.
 
Dry needling, sometimes referred to as trigger point dry needling, has traditionally been based on inserting needles to disrupt trigger points, which we could define as taut, localized ischemic bands. In layman’s terms, think of a “knot” in the muscle with limited blood flow. As dry needling has evolved, we’ve begun to appreciate more global effects of DN beyond simply breaking up these trigger points. When we stick a needle in the body, the effects are felt throughout many systems, not simply in the soft tissue it physically contacts.
 
Uses basically the same needles. They might differ in the specifics of which needles are used more often though. Needles can vary in length and texture, with different needle qualities having both plusses and minuses.
 
Generally speaking, you’ll see acupuncture using more needles and keeping them in for longer. It is not uncommon for needles to remain 20-30 minutes, or even longer. Many DN approaches practice a more “get in, get out” strategy; going directly for a trigger point with one or a few needles and then removing it when the acute twitch response has subsided, whereas acupuncture does not seek to make changes to tissue. But again, more and more dry needling approaches are teaching longer insertion durations as the role of the nervous system (not simply the target tissue) gains greater acceptance.
 
Neurophysiological considerations…while we know from ultrasound imagery that the insertion of a needle into the body causes some disruption to the body’s structure, modern thinking in the dry needling world also appreciates how this process can also have profound effects throughout the nervous system as a whole, from the release of chemicals known to decrease pain sensitivity.
 
Generally, DN inserts the needles deeper than acupuncture because the target tissue often lies far beneath the surface; there are some techniques even specifically targeted to “peck” the bone.
 
Both can be paired with electrical stimulation for an added treatment effect.
 
One criticism that has been leveled at dry needling from the alternative medicine community has been that dry needling as practiced by physical therapists is “only taught in weekend courses.” This critique represents a very superficial understanding of the educational pathway. Physical therapy education, which is now exclusively delivered at the doctoral level in the United States, includes intensive lab-based instruction in anatomy and physiology (again, at the doctoral level). Many physical therapy programs share the EXACT same anatomy lab facilities as MD/DO programs housed at the same institution.

For additional reading see, Notes from Structure and Function Dry Needling course

Allan Phillips, PT, DPT
Ventana Physiotherapy
Oro Valley, Arizona

Bottom line: If you have an injured limb and are unable to train as normal (or train at all), training the other side can still yield benefits of the injured side
 
Question time….Let’s say you injure your left knee. What is the best strategy for your training plan?
 
1 Push through pain no matter how bad it is. Don’t change your training plan. Rest is for sissies
2 Continue to train the right knee, so long as it doesn’t further injure or provoke symptoms in the left
3 Stop training both legs because you don’t want you’re right leg to become too strong relative to your left and develop an asymmetry
 
There is a “best” answer here and that answer is number 2. Answer number 1 is ridiculous, so we’ll put that one aside. Number 3 sounds compelling and while it wouldn’t necessarily be “wrong” to go that direction, there are several reasons why number 2 is better.
 
Again, this is all based on the caveat that the training you do for the uninjured limb doesn’t put the injured limb at further risk of injury or delay healing. For example, let’s say you were doing some single leg activities on the uninjured leg, but each impact sent a “shock” through the injured leg. Your best bet is to either find different activities or delay training the uninjured limb until it can be done safely without provoking the injured limb.
 
In the literature, the concept of training effects on one limb being felt on the opposite side limb is called cross education. And to the surprise of some, the evidence is quite clear that cross-education works. Unfortunately, what should be the standard of care (training the rest of the body at the highest level possible in a way that supports the healing process), is instead a novel concept to many.

There are several reasons why cross-limb education is not promoted more. One is that the medical process is often siloed and sees the world with tunnel vision. For example, most orthopedic surgeons are going to just look at the injury and not even consider. That’s not meant to be critical, it’s just the nature of their job. They’re good at going into a damaged body part and making structural corrections using surgical techniques. They aren’t paid to tell you how to train. Similarly, most PT’s in a “traditional” outpatient setting aren’t getting paid to consider the opposite leg (and in some cases are actively discouraged from looking anyplace other than the site of the injury…Not their fault, that’s just the nature of the system in which they work). uninjured limb.
 
What does the evidence say?....A meta-analysis by Green (2018) reviewed 96 studies on cross education involving healthy young adults, healthy older adults and patients, finding an average strength gain via cross education of 18% in young adults, 15% in older adults, and 29% in a patient population. Although prior meta analyses had shown conflicting results on gender differences and upper versus lower limb effects, the studies compiled by in the Green meta-analysis revealed no significant differences. Overall, the average cross body transfer ranged from 48%-77% in the compiled studies, meaning that the immobilized limb experienced strength gains of 48%-77% of the trained limb. Again, this isn’t just one study on a homogenous group of subjects…this is 96 studies in a variety of populations. (Another interesting finding was that electrically stimulation of muscles appeared to have a greater cross-education effect than voluntary stimulation).
 
WHY cross education works remains up for debate but most evidence points to neurological mechanisms as the primary factors. Per Cirer-Sastre (2017), “this owes to the fact that no significant vascular adaptations have been found, nor were any histological changes in hypertrophy levels, in enzyme concentration, in contractile protein composition alteration, in fiber type or in cross-sectional area.” In short, strength is function of the nervous system, and the effects of nervous system output are global, meaning not specific to any single body part.
 
Although the evidence has been relatively settled that cross-education does exist via single sided training, HOW to facilitate cross-education is less clear although a meta-analysis of ten studies by Cirer-Sastre, “to optimize contralateral strength improvements, cross-training sessions should involve fast eccentric sets with moderate volumes and rest intervals.
 
Finally, approaching this from a pragmatic standpoint, if you sustain an injury to a limb, you could continue training the other limbs and have three “good” limbs or you could stop training both the injured and non-injured arm/leg and have two “good” limbs. Which sounds better?
 
The concern about developing asymmetries is logical, but overall is far overblown. As we know from the research, the cross-education effect will mitigate strength losses from inactivity by an injured limb. Further, even if cross-education did not exist, you’re better off having to bring one limb up to speed rather than losing strength in both sides have having two limbs to return to normal. Simply makes no sense why you would voluntarily weaken a perfectly healthy limb. Even if an asymmetry develops during a recovery period, its not as though you were going to hop right back into peak training after you get over the injury. You might as well give yourself the highest “baseline” with a strong, healthy limb rather than let both sides regress.
 
REFERENCES
Lara A. Green & David A. Gabriel (2018) The effect of unilateral training on contralateral limb strength in young, older, and patient populations: a meta-analysis of cross education, Physical Therapy Reviews, 23:4-5, 238-249, DOI: 10.1080/10833196.2018.1499272
 
Cirer-Sastre R, Beltrán-Garrido JV, Corbi F. Contralateral Effects After Unilateral Strength Training: A Meta-Analysis Comparing Training Loads. J Sports Sci Med. 2017;16(2):180–186. Published 2017 Jun 1.

​History of Graston Technique… David Graston was competitive water skier; sustained injury but frustrated with poor results from other treatments; went and used jar top as a self massage tool and improved; used his engineering knowledge to create specialized instruments, hence the birth of Graston Technique
 
More than just scraping and making the skin red (people often associate Graston with these giant bruises, but contemporary thinking has evolved quite significantly)..
 
Many variables to consider for best possible treatment…size of instrument, which treatment edge, shape of body part being treated, speed of stroke, length of stroke, type of stroke, target tissue length, angle of instrument edge, treatment duration…
 
I did go in without an intention of purchasing the instruments….but I ended up getting them anyway (in full disclosure, the military and student discounts did play a role in my decision to ultimately purchase)

​I know the feeling. Been running along and then BAM…who just whacked the side of my knee with a baseball bat?? Oh, wait…there’s no one around…
 
Knee pain is one of the classic issues that can befuddle runners. The problem is that not all knee pain is created equal. Saying “knee pain” can mean any number of things, and quite often the problem is far away from the knee. Sure, we need to calm down the pain if we want to start moving normally, but long-term progress requires us to search a little deeper. The purpose of this guide is to help you as an athlete navigate what can seem like an unsolvable puzzle, especially when you’ve been trying to find a solution for weeks, months or even years.

What is the Endurance Exchange conference?..."USA Triathlon and TBI are introducing the Endurance Exchange conference in an effort to grow, inspire and support the triathlon community by collaboratively hosting the nation’s largest experiential triathlon summit where everyone within the multisport community can learn; share best practices, trends and innovations; network; and celebrate. Endurance Exchange replaces the TBI Annual Conference, which was initially scheduled in Tempe for the same dates. It also comprises two former USA Triathlon-hosted industry events, the USA Triathlon Race Director Summit and the Art and Science of Triathlon International Coaching Symposium."

Some notes from the lectures that I attended (there were 2-4 different lectures simultaneously in different rooms at the magnificent Sun Devil Stadium at Arizona State University) 

Mental Health & Performance

• How often to talk about mental health? Much as physical health
• Mental health is important for how you coach someone
• Issues typically start age 18-25 but they are also lowest treated
• Sleep is the greatest indicator of mental health
• Sleep is a precursor...not a symptom
• You can't get better at handling poor sleep..you actually get WORSE at judging how sleep deprived you are
• If you wouldn't say it to someone else then don't say it to yourself
• Trauma = anything that you consider traumatic
• You can't train out of trauma
• Chronic injuries count as trauma
• Compassion is the single greatest interruptor of suicide
• Despite all the technology available, there is still value in subjective assessment
• You don't need to be mentally ill to see a mental health professional: its about making you a better you
• Biggest competition for his practice is new technology
• Don't pathologize condition - Recalls coach saying to athlete "You're kinda f-ed up..you should go see someone"
• Assume that every athlete is gonna lie
• Include mental health into intake: "of the last 7 nights, how many times have you woken up well rested"
• Single greatest predictor of success in sport is relationship to coach
• Debriefs with professional athletes can be several pages long
• Helplessness is the single greatest predictor of suicide 
• Common barriers to getting help: cost, availability
• Can't train out of trauma

Stuff I liked…

• Integration of eastern thinking and acupuncture, if not explicitly, then certainly implicitly (notably, the idea that overcleaning the sites can kill “good” bacteria and “adverse” reactions to needling such as nausea/disorientation/vomiting may actually be a good thing as a sign of the body trying to recalibrate itself.)
• No resheathing of the needles..needles are cheap, no need to risk an accidental stick
• It was a good anatomy review in general…and a good reminder how much there still is to learn!
• Needle technique isn’t that difficult. Knowing where to stick and needle and where/when to NOT stick a needle is more important
• Helped me think deeper about the SMFA…for example, treating one of Stecco’s fascial points, if you follow the SFMA breakouts from multisegmental rotation, there’s a good chance you’ll wind up in one of these places….then you recheck your work. Good to have a movement baseline
• Did not insist on bottoming out (through feel not end feel)
• Brings the perspective of downregulating/upregulating the nervous system in context of athlete’s competitive schedule (broader perspective than just hunting down trigger points, which has been an unfortunately narrow misinterpretation of DN)
• Deemphasis on trigger point hunting and bottoming out seems to result in less residual soreness

What is plantar fasciitis (“PF”)? If you’ve had it, you certainly know it doesn’t feel very good! “Plantar fasciitis” is very broad term commonly applied to any pain on the bottom of the foot. Sometimes the condition is not plantar fasciitis at all, but instead a strained foot muscle or “fat pad syndrome” (more on that diagnosis later). Ultimately, for the patient, the specific diagnosis doesn’t matter too much because the treatment approach will be very similar (assuming we stay in the realm of orthopedics and aren’t dealing with a condition unrelated to muscles, tendons/ligaments or bones). 
 
I call plantar fasciitis an “equal opportunity offender” because you’ll find it in elite athletes who dedicate insane training volumes to their sport but also in sedentary people who walk no further than the bathroom, and of course every type of person in between. In other words, you can get it from doing too much or from not doing enough.
 
Practically speaking, you’ll find plantar fasciitis manifested in several different ways. First, the classic presentation of plantar fasciitis is isolated tenderness toward the front/middle of the heel, at a landmark called the medial calcaneal tubercle. Although the pain might extend along the entire foot, for this version of plantar fasciitis, the hallmark is localized pain at that specific point on the heel. Additionally, patients with this presentation will often feel pain at its worst in the first step of the morning.
 
Another similar common presentation is pain further back toward the heel but still on the bottom of the foot over a broader area. This is sometimes called fat pad syndrome if the primary source of pain is the fat pad on the heel rather than the plantar fascia. But again, the causes behind the condition are very similar so the treatment approach should look similar as well.
 
Plantar fasciitis may also refer to pain in the arch of the foot. Again, this may be a result of true plantar fascia inflammation or it could be referred pain patterns from elsewhere in the body. It could also be a strained muscle, as there are many muscles on the bottom of the foot that perform a variety of functions.
 
1. CHANGE YOUR CADENCE 

Changing to a faster cadence is one way to decrease stress on the foot. Cadence is a more complicated issue than footstrikes-per-minute, but do know that changing to a faster cadence is often accompanied by OTHER changes known to decrease loading, most notably a forward lean and shift to a more forefoot strike. My personal preference is that if you are going to change mechanics, let the mechanical changes emerge as a BYPRODUCT of focusing on cadence rather than flooding your mind with technical cues that may be difficult to implement in real time.
 
2. FIND SOFT RUNNING SURFACES 

This isn’t possible 100pct of the time for everyone, but the sacrifice can be worth it. When I’ve been on the cusp of injury, I’ve done endless loops around a grass soccer field to get the mileage in while minimizing the risk of further injury. There’s precedent for this too at the highest levels of running, as USA Olympians Galen Rupp and Dathan Ritzenheim (both historically injury prone) have been known to do up to 20 miles around a 600m grass loop! As a caveat, there isn’t as much evidence to support this strategy as we might think. That said, anecdotally countless runners report fresh and rejuvenated legs after dedicating the time and effort to run more on grass.

​Article: The Benefits of Running on Grass (Triathlete Magazine)
 
3. TRAIN SMART! 

Probably the most important strategy of all. Smart training provides the right amount of stimulus for the body to adapt and become stronger; excess training provides a stimulus too great for the body’s adaptive capabilities. This doesn’t necessarily mean physical breakdown though. Pain could be a warning signal, especially notable given the high density of nerve tissue in the feet. With excess loading, the foot can become more sensitive to pain, meaning it takes less of a stimulus to provoke a higher level of pain than before. All this information returns us to the concept that the first line of defense against plantar fasciitis (or any injury for that matter) is to pick the right training loads.
 
4. SELF-MASSAGE YOUR FOOT  

For self-massage, the simplest would be direct pressure. Just put your finger on a tender spot and hold it there. You can also massage along the foot, finding those “rough” spots or knotted areas and working them out. Though people often report mixed results from self-massage in other areas of the body, the foot tends to respond quite well, perhaps because the foot is so dense with nerve tissue.
 
Another form of self-massage is instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization. This is just a fancy term for using different objects to perform self-massage! There are plenty of commercial products on the market, some designed specifically for the feet. Everyone has their own preferences, from the hardness of a golf ball to the softness of the spikey ball. Of all the implements available the spikey ball seems to be the most well received.  

Every is likely aware of the conventional advice to treat shin splints: R.I.C.E., stretching, a switch to softer running surfaces, training plan modifications, maybe a new pair of shoes or a change in running technique. While each of these techniques have merit as treatment approaches, sometimes you need to think a little outside stay on your feet with minimal disruption in training. 

Now, before we treat "shin splints" it is important to confirm that shin splits are really what we're dealing with. For purposes of this article, we'll associate the term shin splints the diagnosis of medial tibial stress syndrome ("MTSS"). In the popular lexicon, shin splints are frequently associated with a myriad of diagnoses including anterior compartment syndrome, anterior tibial tendonitis and stress fractures or stress reactions, among others. The shin splints we'll discuss here involve pain along the inside of the shin as shown below.