I just got home from a trip to Arizona and I am ready for bed, but I wanted to share something with you that I have been using. After I perform soft tissue work on the lower extremity (foam rolling, SMR, manual therapy, trigger point therapy, active release technique…you name it) I like to apply a stretch or lengthening technique. Static stretching can work great when trying to restore length, but at times you may find that it is limited in it’s effectiveness. I prefer to stay with one ankle for about 90 seconds. The first 30 seconds will be a static stretch on a slant board. Make sure the heel is down, toes are straight or slightly in and quad is engaged. Then I back off about 5-10% from my end range of motion and perform a muscle energy technique (MET or contract relax). I engage the muscles that I am trying to stretch for 4-5 seconds with a low amount of force. Then I relax them and ease deeper into the stretch. Here’s the twist…instead of engaging the plantar flexors in the calve the we focus on most of the time, I start with the muscles that perform dorsiflexion and flexion of the toes, specifically the flexor hallucis longus and the flexor digitorum longus. Sure, you may get some posterior tibialis in there too, that’s okay. I do this by flexing the first MTP joint by instead of pushing the ball of the foot down into the board. Don’t forget, there are seven muscles that can create open chain plantar flexion:

• the gastrocnemius
• the soleus
• the peroneus longus
• the peroneus brevis
• the tibialis posterior
• the flexor hallucis longus and
• the flexor digitorum longus

"Hey! Take me out of that shoe and stretch me out!!!"

From there, I hold a static stretch for 20-30 second sand then perform a second MET focusing on plantar flexion by trying to lift the heel off of the slant board for 4-5 seconds then returning to another 20-30 second static stretch.

Give this corrective exercise technique a shot and let me know what you think.

Have a great weekend!

Eric Beard
CEO A-Team
Corrective Exercise Specialist

Have you seen my SMR DVD?
http://kunaki.com/Sales.asp?PID=PX00Z43XTB

AthleticShoulder.com
http://facebook.com/theericbeard
http://youtube.com/theericbeard

• September 22, 2010 -- Anke Mobility Issues? This Corrective Exercise Technique will Help Your Soleus (0)
• January 22, 2012 -- Knock The Rust Off With Some Core Stability Work (0)
• January 19, 2012 -- Vertical Core Stability Training (0)
• January 7, 2012 -- Can You Give Me Some Advice? (0)
• January 4, 2012 -- Does 30+30+30 Really Equal 90? (0)
• August 7, 2011 -- Barefoot Training Part-3 (0)
• July 29, 2011 -- Barefoot Training Part-2 (0)
• July 5, 2011 -- Perform Better Show Review: Barefoot Training – Mark Verstegen Part 1 (0)
• June 28, 2011 -- A Pilgrimage to Wrigley, A Heel and Perform Better in Chicago (0)
• June 23, 2011 -- Perform Better, Disney World, The Boston Bruins and the Stanley Cup (0)

I hope you had a chance to read parts 1 and 2 of this series;

http://ericbeard.com/2011/07/05/perform-better-show-review-barefoot-training-mark-verstegen-part-1/

http://ericbeard.com/2011/07/29/barefoot-training-part-2/

If not dive in anyway! I am continuing on with the topic of barefoot training. I am in the middle of sharing my experience sand will dive into the anatomical adaptations that take place when transitioning from a supportive to a minimalist training shoe, or if you even should.

As the bottom of my foot got better, (I of course kept with my joint mobility for my lower extremity issues and core stability work etc.), I transitioned to the Vibram Five Fingers KSO model.

My feet and low back rejoiced instantly! I felt better in my KSOs than I did barefoot because to the proprioceptive feedback that my toes were receiving from being individually wrapped. I wore them inside and outside, at work and when working out, for hours on end. Then….they started to smell. You can machine wash them and air dry them, which is nice, but if you don’t use something like Dr.Scholls’ Odor Destroying powder, they smell can be a bit much. Mind you that I was wearing these shoes 8-10 hours a day. If I were wearing them just for workouts, this probably wouldn’t have been an issue. I did all of my workouts in them, unless I forgot them and just had my Chucks with me. I even brought them to China where I did some work with the Swing for the Stars program that is associated with the Chinese Tennis Association. This was my fourth time working with them. I worked with them twice in the US and twice in China. I am excited to head back again this October. Anyways, I wore them all day everyday on the tennis court with them and felt great. I even played soccer with the coaches for an hour with them on.

Yeah...it was like this when I kicked it....when I actually touched the ball that is...

I will also work out in them when I am on the road, but try to keep them looking sharp since I wear them “on stage”. They are more built up on the bottom than the KSOs so you have more protection from the pavement, rocks, sticks and other unpleasant things to step on. I like how much more I can feel with the KSOs, especially on grass. I remember playing fetch and chase on a soccer field last spring with the KSOs on and I swear it was pure joy to run on grass with theses things on. I would through the dog’s toy in one direction and as he went to chase it I would sprint the other way with one of my son’s. The dog would haul down, get the toy, then chase us down. A great workout for all of us and a ton of fun. I can’t ever remember feeling so good running before that. I always had football cleats on in high school or college or some sort of cross trainer holding my foot together into an inflexible block instead of something letting it move free.

I actually thought something that I never thought I would….I am enjoying running. I don’t tell too many people this since I usually give runners a hard time by poking fun at them. I have even started doing some sprints outside or inside on a treadmill once a week. I told my wife a couple of weeks ago that I was going for a run at 9:30 at night and she looked at me like I had three heads and said “Why? I thought you hated running?”. My response was… “I’m going to do some sprints.” Of course I ran to the field after I did my flexibility and core stab work at home.

So what else do you need to consider when transitioning from an over-built, pronation control shoe to a minimalist trainer? I need to dive into some anatomical adaptations and I am just out of gas for the night.

Thank you for reading!

Eric Beard
CEO A-Team
Corrective Exercise Specialist

Have you seen my SMR DVD?
http://kunaki.com/Sales.asp?PID=PX00Z43XTB

AthleticShoulder.com
http://facebook.com/theericbeard
http://youtube.com/theericbeard

• July 29, 2011 -- Barefoot Training Part-2 (0)
• July 5, 2011 -- Perform Better Show Review: Barefoot Training – Mark Verstegen Part 1 (0)
• August 21, 2009 -- Flip-Flops and Sandals Make Me Money as A Corrective Exercise Specialist but I’d Rather They Just Wore Sneakers! (0)
• January 22, 2012 -- Knock The Rust Off With Some Core Stability Work (0)
• January 19, 2012 -- Vertical Core Stability Training (0)
• January 12, 2012 -- Quick Tip to Improve Dorsiflexion (making your calve stretch more effective) (0)
• January 7, 2012 -- Can You Give Me Some Advice? (0)
• January 4, 2012 -- Does 30+30+30 Really Equal 90? (0)
• June 28, 2011 -- A Pilgrimage to Wrigley, A Heel and Perform Better in Chicago (0)
• June 23, 2011 -- Perform Better, Disney World, The Boston Bruins and the Stanley Cup (0)

I have been on the road a ton lately. Just this last week I have made two trips to Arizona and one to Denver. They were all good, productive trips. I had some very productive meetings at NASM corporate in AZ and attended a very helpful performance management training course alongside many of the managers from the Mesa office as well. I had a great time in Denver. I shot some footage for NASM TV, taught a corrective Exercise Specialist Workshop for NASM and got to see some friends for dinner Friday night. I even shot some video footage for the CPT Assist eTeach course Saturday night. Needless to say I was wiped out by the end of Saturday! Leading the workshops for NASM has been one of favorite parts of my “jobs” over the last ten years. More specifically, I have really come to enjoy teaching others.

As I shared to my Corrective Exercise class in Denver as well as on my NASM TV shoot, my first opportunity to educate other professionals came when I was working as personal trainer for 24 Hour Fitness in Aurora, CO.

Where it all started...

I’ll save the long story for another day, but knowing that I have made a contribution to others makes me feel amazing. They may use the information for themselves or to help their clients, it doesn’t make a difference to me. At the Perform Better Functional Training Summit in Chicago, I had a packed house for the hands on session.

I had a blast in Chicago and Providence!

I mean people were spilling out into the hallways. It was awesome. The title of my session was “Save Your Back: get Your Butt in Gear.” After my hands on breakout session a woman came up to me with tears in her eyes. She had pain radiating down her posterior and lateral hip for some time and could not find relief despite seeing several medial professionals. She was overjoyed that she was experiencing relief. All I taught the group to do was NASM’s four step Corrective Exercise (CEx)process- Inhibit, Lengthen, Activate and Integrate. I focused on the lumbo-pelvic hip complex and threw in my own wrinkles to the stretching and activation section, but it was NASM CEx straight up. To be able to provide someone relief from pain is a great feeling. I home that she keeps up with her program and can in turn pass the techniques and system on to others.

You have me on a cross country flight with a full battery, so I have some time to give you a nice solid post! Okay, back to barefoot training. Last post I wrote about progressing sensibly from a supportive shoe to a minimalist shoe if there were no injuries or congenital conditions that made barefoot training contraindicated. During Mark Verstegen’s lecture at Perform Better, he even gave a history of minimalist shoes and provided pictures of the best minimalist shoes on the market today. He cited a research study that compared 186 pairs of feet. He compared the feet of people who did not wear shoes to the feet of people who did wear shoes. If you want to read the study, search for “J Bone Joint Surg Am. 1905, Conclusions Drawn from A comparative Study of Barefooted and Shoe-Wearing Peoples, Hoffman, M.D.” Hoffman found that the barefoot group had more separation and straightness to their toes with the toes being the widest portion of the foot. Verstegen also included a picture of a Bronze Herculaneum Statue that depicted a runner and the adduction to the great toe (the big toe) is much more prominent than what I see with my clients, patients and athletes today. For those who wear shoes, especially something like a cowboy boot, women’s high fashion shoes or anything with a small and restrictive toe box, this is basically going to compact the tarsals, metatarsals and phalanges.

Look at that big toe...and it only ges worse from here

This can happen in men’s professional shoes and kids sneakers too. The shock absorption of the foot is all but eliminated. The rich amount of proprioceptors in the sole of the feet are shut down. Imagine walking around with a canvas bag tied tightly over your head all day. How well would you be able to process information?

I magine a rope around the bag...

All of the ground reaction forces that should be stored and released throughout the kinetic chain and propel someone through the gait cycle are now forced to be transmitted to the knees, hips spine and beyond. Ambulating now requires more effort and places more stress throughout the human movement system. Think of all of the professional basketball players in the 1900’s. The all wore Chuck Taylors, Converse All Stars. Chucks basically were and are just a shank of rubber with some canvas and a lace. It did not have arch support and had a wider toe box than most shoes seen today. It also did not have an elevated heel. This let the calve sit at it’s natural resting length and kept the pelvis better balanced. I have a pair that I wear during when performing yard and house work and a pair that I wear in public. The public ones are cleaner and more respectable. The house work ones have paint stains and are much grungier. For $35-$40 they are worth every penny. I used to train clients in them and work out in them too. I have to admit, lifting, kettlebells, core and flexibility were more comfortable than agility or cardio with them on. I wanted to slowly bridge the gap from the Asics 2150 pronation control show than I had been wearing for a year or so, and a minimalist shoe like the Vibram Five Fingers.

And the Chucks were a good cheap option. My feet felt so comfortable and cozy all wrapped up in my Asics. The arch support felt good from ankle to hip….but the elevate heel aggravated my sacroiliac joint and low back to no end. I could just feel them tightening up as the day went. At the time I had a standing desk, so when I wasn’t training clients I would work standing up. So being upright with those shoes was not a good fit for me. Notice I said for me…

I did try a minimalist shoe back in 2005 when Nike came out with their Free 5.0. They launched the shoe at IDEA World and I happened to presenting a Speed Agility and Quickness for Youth session for NASM there. I saw the shoe, bought a pair. Like them so much that after three days at the show, I went back and bought a second. I still have the newer pair! What happened, because I had some 1st MTP, ankle and LPCH issues that were unresolved is that after a week or so I started getting some aches and pains and slowly moved away from them. I put them on every now and then, but the 5.0 still has too much of a heel for me. Their 3.0 is even lower and the 7.0 is even higher in the heel, so they provide their customers with some choices which is nice. Nike toe boxes tend to run on the narrow side as well and I did feel a bit restricted through the toes as well.
From there I went to a New Balance tennis trainer that had minimal arch support and a very low heel. I liked these. Unfortunately, the discontinued the model and I could not find a second pair anywhere and I eventually had to move on. I found some funky orange Teva walking shoes that I tried for a while. I still have them somewhere. A physical therapist that was helping me with my joint restrictions in my big toe and ankle thought that I needed some more support so I tried some over the counter shoe inserts called Superfeet. They run about $30 and have three versions that range in level of support. They were decent.

Another physical therapist that I saw thought that I needed even more support and convinced me to go with the Asic 2130. This worked great for the foot ankle as I mentioned and I matriculated to the newer 2150 model from there.

Until I said enough is enough with the stinking elevated heel! The reason that these pronation control shoes need the heel is that they need a place for the arch support to “sit” in. That is one of the reasons that the Superfeet did not help out my Tevas very much. The Tevas were flat from heel to toe, there was no “drop”. So the arch support had minimal support underneath it and did not have the desired effect. I knew that, but thought it was better than nothing. I also ran into some plantar fascia pain, yes plantar fasciitis, last year while transitioning to my Chucks. I saw a podiatrist to try and find out more about my 1st MTP and ankle restrictions. He started off well talking about the global effect of foot ankle issues and the potential negative impact of wearing shoes with an elevated heel. He recommended Spenco arch supports which I found on Amazon for less than @$10.

<iframe src=”http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=ericbecom-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=B000FPKUZ0″ style=”width:120px;height:240px;” scrolling=”no” marginwidth=”0″ marginheight=”0″ frameborder=”0″></iframe>

They seemed to help in my Chucks some, so I stuck with them for a couple of months. Then he ended one of our appointments by saying that I had some pathologies in my feet and I would eventually have to have surgery…I disagree, so I never went back.

If you haven’t seen this, there is some amazing info on this DVD I put together. I used some of these techniques to help with my foot pain
http://kunaki.com/Sales.asp?PID=PX00Z43XTB

That’s all for tonight. I’ll be back for part 3 soon! Thank you for reading!

Eric Beard
CEO A-Team
Corrective Exercise Specialist

AthleticShoulder.com
http://facebook.com/theericbeard
http://youtube.com/theericbeard

• August 7, 2011 -- Barefoot Training Part-3 (0)
• July 5, 2011 -- Perform Better Show Review: Barefoot Training – Mark Verstegen Part 1 (0)
• August 21, 2009 -- Flip-Flops and Sandals Make Me Money as A Corrective Exercise Specialist but I’d Rather They Just Wore Sneakers! (0)
• January 22, 2012 -- Knock The Rust Off With Some Core Stability Work (0)
• January 19, 2012 -- Vertical Core Stability Training (0)
• January 7, 2012 -- Can You Give Me Some Advice? (0)
• June 28, 2011 -- A Pilgrimage to Wrigley, A Heel and Perform Better in Chicago (0)
• June 23, 2011 -- Perform Better, Disney World, The Boston Bruins and the Stanley Cup (0)
• February 13, 2011 -- I Need a Doctor (Not for Valentines Day) (0)
• December 10, 2010 -- Improving Running Performance and Running Mechanics (0)

I received and email from a physical therapy group that was designed to be informative and offer solutions for a painful condition called plantar fasciitis. Here is what I received via email (WHICH I THINK ONLY TELLS SUCH A SMALL PORTION OF THE STORY);

“Plantar Fasciitis is a common condition affecting many people. It is characterized by pain in the bottom of the foot. This pain is typically worse in the mornings, the first few steps of the day. The pain can also increase after activities such as long walks or athletic activities. This condition is caused by tightening of the large ligament on the bottom of the foot. This condition can be started by an injury to this area or something as simple as a new pair of shoes.

Use a tennis ball or golf ball. Place the ball on the ground and run the sore spot on yourfoot back and forth across the ball with gentle pressure.

Freeze a 12 ounce plastic bottle with water inside. Place the bottle on the floor and roll your foot back and forth over the bottle.

Calve stretches: Place the effected leg back and stride forward with the other. Try to keep the effected leg heel on the ground. You should start to feel a stretch in the underside of the foot and your calf.

If you try these techniques and continue to have difficulty with heel pain, feel free to call us for

an evaluation_______________.”

I know a professional baseball player that followed this protocol for months until his plantar fascia ripped! This was from treatment advice from the team’s medical staff!!! This injury cost the team hundreds of thousands of dollars, home runs, RBI and the player unnecessary pain and anguish and probably dollars off of his next contract. How many regular “average Joes” have suffered the same fate???

People might receive soft tissue work…

Other might use modalities for pain relief or to break up bone spurs..

Stretching is often recommended..

BUT WHY ARE WE LENGTHENING THE PLANTAR FASCIA WHEN MOST PEOPLE EXCESSIVELY PRONATE and evert at the calcaneuous???? This will lengthen the plantar fascia more!!! This may feel good for a few minutes or hours, but often times the problem is being exacerbated while the symptom is being treated.

When you see people’s arch flatten excessively when the squat, walk or run then the plantar fascia is being pulled apart every time the foot comes in contact with the ground. Sometimes it looks like the foot is turning out…

Other times only the arch falls…

This causes undo stress throughout the rest of the body (kinetic chain) and is often caused by a genetic predisposition to laxity in the arches of the feet, or restricted joints and muscular imbalances. Knee pain, low back pain, headaches, fatigue…and the list goes on. This position wears out and wears down the human body. If you were born with this structure, you should probably get fitted for orthotics and if you have developed this condition over time (as it seems to be the case with most people) then corrective exercise can do wonders. RECAP-if you were born this way-see a medical professional (who gets it) for orthotics AND do corrective exercise to balance off the rest of the kinetic chain if you have DEVELOPED this situation then corrective exercise and then maybe an over the counter insert into your shoe may be helpful. It is extremely important to get some coaching from an experienced corrective exercise specialist/physical therapist/chiropractor/certified athletic trainer etc on this.

Over active muscles include the; lateral gastrocnemius, biceps femoris (short head), tensor fascia latte and more

These muscles need soft tissue work with something like the rollaxer (www.rollaxer.net)
..you can not beat a skilled manual therapist…but this product does a nice job!

and to be statically stretched while the arch is maintained, NOT FLATTENED
I have found this or similar adjustable slant boards to work best since it supports the base of the 1st MTP, 5th MTP and calcaneuous so well.

These muscles need to be strenghted the; posterior tibialis, anterior tibialis and glute medius (posterior fibers) and glute maximus.

And then you need to teach the body better movement patterns

There is always more BUT the biggest thing to take home is that if some one’s foot is flattening and causing plantar surface pain DON”T KEEP STRETCHING THE BOTTOM OF YOUR FOOT!

The discomfort is the symptom…not the cause. If pain persists after you receive an integrated assessment and corrective exercise program for your plantar fasciitis, then follow up with a licensed health care practitioner, you may have a bone spur or another condition that requires the attention of a medical professional.

Hope this at least has you looking at things at a different angle, I know so many people that chased the symptom and not the cause and wasted months if not years doing the wrong things for their situation.

Thanks for reading!

Eric Beard
Athletic Performance Enhancement Specialist
Corrective Exercise Specialist
theericbeard.blogspot.com
www.ericbeard.com

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