Therapy Corner

  • Plantar Fasciitis

    This topic was first addressed early on in this series, with an update some years later (Articles #13 and 59). ...

    Syracuse Chargers
  • Preventing the Ultimate Injury

    The bulk of entries in this series have covered the most typical (and sometimes esoteric) injuries incurred by the...

    Syracuse Chargers
  • The Tale of the Tape

    Anyone watching the women’s beach volleyball competition in last year’s Summer Olympic Games couldn’t help but notice some strange...

    Syracuse Chargers
  • Sports Specificity

    Some people never learn. As I write this from beautiful Steamboat Springs, Colorado, I do so with incredibly sore...

    Syracuse Chargers
  • The Swiss Army Exercise

    Modern life is filled with appliances, toys, and gadgets that combine several functions into one. Many of these, if not...

    Syracuse Chargers
  • Watch Your Step!

    Virtually all the entries in this series on running injuries have had one thing in common: the cause(s) can...

    Syracuse Chargers
  • Rest–Revisited

    Ten years ago, I wrote about the most offensive four-letterword in the runner’s glossary: rest (Article #33).  No runner ever...

    Syracuse Chargers
  • Several entries in this series have covered the connection between muscle imbalances and faulty movement patterns of the hip with the development of assorted overuse injuries commonly incurred in the lower extremities.

    The prevalence of these problems in the female runner has usually been attributed to the wider pelvis in women, though by itself, this characteristic does not necessarily mandate an abnormal gait muscle weakness pattern. Additionally, not all women display this structure; elite athletes,especially, seem to have narrower hips than the general female population, yet they still seem susceptible to the same injuries.  And, since the width of the pelvis is generally equal on both sides, this feature by itself does not explain the clinical finding of injuries usually occurring on one side only.

    As previously noted (Article #89), one prevailing theory for this phenomenon argues that women develop these unilateral imbalances because of postural habits that differentiate them from men.  A specific example described in that column pertains to standing postures. When talking to someone, for instance, men usually stand with their weight evenly distributed between the two lower limbs.  Women, on the other hand, usually stand with most weight on one leg or the other, with the opposite knee slightly flexed.  Overtime, one leg becomes favored and an asymmetric pattern develops.  As the pelvis drops in that position and the leg internally rotates, the overstretched external rotators and abductors of the hip become functionally weak and a faulty movement pattern is born.

    Changing such a pattern can be difficult, especially since it seems to be reinforced, if not driven, by cultural expectations.  Women may resist standing with both feet equally apart, hands on hips like Superman, but they can at least try to be aware of balancing the time spent on each limb.  (They can also try to offset the effects by performing the strengthening exercises described in that column.)

    Another postural habit that may contribute to this common imbalance is the manner in which women cross their legs when sitting.  While men often cross their legs by placing the ankle of one foot on the opposite knee, women of course simply place one knee over the other. The lower thigh in this instance is pulled inward and internally rotated, causing a similar overstretching of the outer hip muscles.  (While many men sit in a similar manner,their legs are not pulled in as much due to their narrower pelvis.)  Again, changing this position may be seen as”culturally unacceptable,” but, as with standing, it can be modified and balanced through conscious effort.

    Finally, there is the problem created by the wider pelvis when sleeping on one side.  As the top leg is brought up into a flexed position over the straighter lower leg, it tends to fall forward and down to a greater degree than a man’s leg does, bringing the hip into that same inward and internally rotated position.  Since most people tend to favor one side over the other for sleeping comfort, it is not difficult to see how this can become even more problematic than the similar standing or sitting posture, since it is done for a greater period of time.

    An easy solution exists, however, in the form of one of two pillows placed between the knees. This effectively keeps the hips in a neutral position in two planes of movement and eliminates the prolonged, dysfunctional stretch to the muscles that are crucial in maintaining optimal balance and movement patterns of the hip when running.

    Syracuse Chargers
  • Get on the Ball!

    Despite the paucity of strong scientific evidence supporting the notion that cross-training improves running performance and/or decreases the odds...

    Syracuse Chargers
  • Driving (with) a Wedge

    I have little doubt that just about every runner will experience some form of “sciatica” sometime during his/her running...

    Syracuse Chargers
  • One Shining Exercise

    As every veteran runner knows, there is no “one-model-fits-all” running shoe appropriate for all runners, given the wide variations...

    Syracuse Chargers
  • Posturial Considerations

    The technological advances of the past twenty or so years have been extraordinary: CDs, the iPod, and plasma TVs...

    Syracuse Chargers
  • Fire and Ice–Revised and Revisited

    Many years ago, I wrote a couple of columns on the subject of heat vs. ice, with regard to...

    Syracuse Chargers
  • Odds and Ends

    One of the quirks of the English language, that makes it a difficult one to learn as an adult,...

    Syracuse Chargers
  • Plantar Fasciitis

    This topic was first addressed early on in this series, with an update some years later (Articles #13 and 59). ...

    Syracuse Chargers
  • Preventing the Ultimate Injury

    The bulk of entries in this series have covered the most typical (and sometimes esoteric) injuries incurred by the...

    Syracuse Chargers
  • The Tale of the Tape

    Anyone watching the women’s beach volleyball competition in last year’s Summer Olympic Games couldn’t help but notice some strange...

    Syracuse Chargers
  • Sports Specificity

    Some people never learn. As I write this from beautiful Steamboat Springs, Colorado, I do so with incredibly sore...

    Syracuse Chargers
  • The Swiss Army Exercise

    Modern life is filled with appliances, toys, and gadgets that combine several functions into one. Many of these, if not...

    Syracuse Chargers
  • Watch Your Step!

    Virtually all the entries in this series on running injuries have had one thing in common: the cause(s) can...

    Syracuse Chargers
  • Rest–Revisited

    Ten years ago, I wrote about the most offensive four-letterword in the runner’s glossary: rest (Article #33).  No runner ever...

    Syracuse Chargers
  • Several entries in this series have covered the connection between muscle imbalances and faulty movement patterns of the hip with the development of assorted overuse injuries commonly incurred in the lower extremities.

    The prevalence of these problems in the female runner has usually been attributed to the wider pelvis in women, though by itself, this characteristic does not necessarily mandate an abnormal gait muscle weakness pattern. Additionally, not all women display this structure; elite athletes,especially, seem to have narrower hips than the general female population, yet they still seem susceptible to the same injuries.  And, since the width of the pelvis is generally equal on both sides, this feature by itself does not explain the clinical finding of injuries usually occurring on one side only.

    As previously noted (Article #89), one prevailing theory for this phenomenon argues that women develop these unilateral imbalances because of postural habits that differentiate them from men.  A specific example described in that column pertains to standing postures. When talking to someone, for instance, men usually stand with their weight evenly distributed between the two lower limbs.  Women, on the other hand, usually stand with most weight on one leg or the other, with the opposite knee slightly flexed.  Overtime, one leg becomes favored and an asymmetric pattern develops.  As the pelvis drops in that position and the leg internally rotates, the overstretched external rotators and abductors of the hip become functionally weak and a faulty movement pattern is born.

    Changing such a pattern can be difficult, especially since it seems to be reinforced, if not driven, by cultural expectations.  Women may resist standing with both feet equally apart, hands on hips like Superman, but they can at least try to be aware of balancing the time spent on each limb.  (They can also try to offset the effects by performing the strengthening exercises described in that column.)

    Another postural habit that may contribute to this common imbalance is the manner in which women cross their legs when sitting.  While men often cross their legs by placing the ankle of one foot on the opposite knee, women of course simply place one knee over the other. The lower thigh in this instance is pulled inward and internally rotated, causing a similar overstretching of the outer hip muscles.  (While many men sit in a similar manner,their legs are not pulled in as much due to their narrower pelvis.)  Again, changing this position may be seen as”culturally unacceptable,” but, as with standing, it can be modified and balanced through conscious effort.

    Finally, there is the problem created by the wider pelvis when sleeping on one side.  As the top leg is brought up into a flexed position over the straighter lower leg, it tends to fall forward and down to a greater degree than a man’s leg does, bringing the hip into that same inward and internally rotated position.  Since most people tend to favor one side over the other for sleeping comfort, it is not difficult to see how this can become even more problematic than the similar standing or sitting posture, since it is done for a greater period of time.

    An easy solution exists, however, in the form of one of two pillows placed between the knees. This effectively keeps the hips in a neutral position in two planes of movement and eliminates the prolonged, dysfunctional stretch to the muscles that are crucial in maintaining optimal balance and movement patterns of the hip when running.

    Syracuse Chargers
  • Get on the Ball!

    Despite the paucity of strong scientific evidence supporting the notion that cross-training improves running performance and/or decreases the odds...

    Syracuse Chargers
  • Driving (with) a Wedge

    I have little doubt that just about every runner will experience some form of “sciatica” sometime during his/her running...

    Syracuse Chargers
  • One Shining Exercise

    As every veteran runner knows, there is no “one-model-fits-all” running shoe appropriate for all runners, given the wide variations...

    Syracuse Chargers
  • Posturial Considerations

    The technological advances of the past twenty or so years have been extraordinary: CDs, the iPod, and plasma TVs...

    Syracuse Chargers
  • Fire and Ice–Revised and Revisited

    Many years ago, I wrote a couple of columns on the subject of heat vs. ice, with regard to...

    Syracuse Chargers
  • Odds and Ends

    One of the quirks of the English language, that makes it a difficult one to learn as an adult,...

    Syracuse Chargers