On Bones and Joints

This week's running miles totaled 52 miles (Mon.=0miles, Tues.-Sat.= 8 miles per day, Sun. 12 miles)

In my fifth grade class we have started a unit on the human body. The first lessons were on the bones and joints that make up the skeletal system.

Did you realize that when humans are born, that they have over 300 bones, but as bones in the skull, sacrum and hips fuse together by the time we are adults we end up with 206 bones. There are also more than 200 joints in the human body

Thursday morning, I decided to make the lesson more fun and active by having the class practice movements related to the many different joints in the body. I had my class practice some of the Z-Health joint mobility routines that I use to move the joints in their feet, ankles, knees, hips, and torso, as well as the joints in their fingers, wrists, elbows, shoulders, neck, and face. Through the fun and discussions, one of the girls in my class asked about cracking knuckles. She wanted to know makes the popping sound. I explained that it is just a release of gas in the joint as it is twisted. At which point one of the boys asked, " Is that why my dad always asks me to pull on his finger?" And that is why I enjoy teaching fifth grade!

Lately I have been reading through a most wonderful book called Advances in Functional Training: Training Techniques for Coaches, Personal Trainers and Athletes by Michael Boyle. It is a book full of the latest thinking, practice, and opinions in the field of functional training. It explains how the body works and gives reasons for doing certain exercises to improve function. I find it up-to-date with the newest ideas and that makes it a great book to read. Instead of rehashing old ideas, it presents new thinking and practice. I find the field of sport medicine and practice increasingly interesting, but you have to be on the cutting-edge to find the new ideas and this book provides them. I will note that often this book doesn't provide clear instructions on "how" to do some of the exercises that are mentioned. It assumes you are a trainer and know what the author is talking about, but it is a gold-mine of pertinent thinking and applications.

I remember when I starting running in the 1970's, the best sports medicine you could find would be an article by Dr. George Sheehan and his magic-6 stretches. A  lot of running books still precribe the standard static stretches as the means to stay injury-free. That stuff never worked for me, so I am glad to see some much growth in sports related medicine focused on biomechanics and muscular imbalances. I was reading in Michael Boyle's book last night on the joint-by-joint theory and the implications of learning to distinguish between issues of mobility and stability. Based on Gray Cook's Functional Movement Screen (FMS), the idea is that the body is just a stack of joints. Each joint has a specific function. Sometimes it is to provide mobility and sometimes stability. Dysfunction happens predictably and so rather than training body parts, therapists and trainers are learning to train movement patterns. Interestingly enough, the joints move between mobility and stability. Look at this chart:

The ankle joints primary need is mobility.
The knee joints primary need is stability.
The hip joints primary need is mobility (over multiple planes-my problems originate here)
The lumbar spine needs stability.
The thoracic spine needs mobility (most misunderstood)
The scapula needs stability.
The gleno-humeral needs mobility.

A most interesting idea is that problems in one joint usually show up as pain in the joint above and below. For example, a loss of ankle mobility can give knee pain, a loss of hip mobility can give back pain, and a loss of thoracic mobility can give neck, shoulder, or low back pain. I find all of this fascinating. The book, though,  is going to take many reads to figure out. Fortunately I found a PT who works with Postural Restoration. I am finally restoring lost function to my body and I feel so much better because of it.

This week I noticed that two very distinquished trainers both commented on their interest in Postural Restoration. Eric Cressey author Maximum Strength: Get Your Strongest Body in 16 Weeks with the Ultimate Weight-Training Program along with Matt Fitzgerald as well as the DVD "Magnificent Mobility" mentions going to a Postural Restoration workshop in his blog post, Stuff You Should Read. Carson Boddicker in his blog which is listed over to the left, mentions Postural Restoration in the artictle, Regaining the Frontal Plane, and tells how it works with the multi-planer movements and resulting dysfunction in the hips.

Shaking things up a bit

My running hasn't been going well. I got a knot or tear in my calf while running in Hawaii two weeks ago. I ran on it last Monday and at 4 miles out it starting hurting again and I had to limp the 4 miles back. I didn't run until Sunday. I almost made 4 miles on the treadmill and stopped as soon as it tightened up, yesterday it tightened up before I completed 2 miles. This is the 5Th time in a little over a year that the right calf has created a problem. It is the second time in a couple of months. The last time it was the inside part of the calf, this time it is the outer side. I am being as patient as I can be, but I do miss running and getting back into shape (particularly with all the nice weather).


In the meantime I have been doing a little more work with kettlebells, clubbells, and joint mobility work. I was a bit too frustrated last night after the less than two mile run. Before the run I even did a new DVD workout from Scott Sonnen called "Flow Fit". I was feeling good all around but the calf just hadn't healed yet. I had been thinking that maybe my feet might be contributing some to my problems, but I don't want to go the prescibed orthotic route. I have spent good money before with not real positive results. So I headed out and found a 3/4 length orthotic from Soft Sol. I tried it in my shoe and it felt lightly supportive and it didn't take up much space so I decided to buy it.

My thinking it that my feet do pronate and my right heel has been giving me some problems and that my be related to the right calf. I also think through years of running the muscles and ligaments in my feet have become lax. The orthotics made my foot feel more stable and straight. I wore them while teaching today and they felt fine so I decided to try them running (usually not a good idea- I know). I tried a new warmup routine and decided to try a 4 mile run outdoors. My calf was fine for 2 miles and then it tightened up but I managed to keep running on it. I noticed my hips felt more imbalanced while trying to get used to the orthotics, but no harm seemed to be done so I will continue the experiment.

I did try some orthotic type devices by Aline last year after a few months using the Posture Control insoles (they would burn up my feet- too many blisters). The Aline devices felt OK but they were too bulky for running so I stopped using them. I honestly don't think orthotics will help the funky way my left leg works but it may serve as a distraction for awhile until I can get up and running again.


While I was out I stopped at the Barnes and Noble book store. I saw a newly released copy of Eric Cressey's "Maximum Strength". It was co written with Matt Fitzgerald who wrote "Brain Training for Runners". I had looked at Eric Cressey's information before because he has a DVD called "Magnificent Mobility" which is another joint mobility program. I am in no way interested in the weight programs and have no access to the types of weights and machines pictured in the book. I am also doing kettlebell training to work on strength. I did buy the book to take a closer look at the "Warm Ups" section and the "Foundation" phase. The warm up section had foam roller work or tennis ball soft tissue , stretching, and mobility drills. I did the drills before my run today. I particularly liked using the foam roller again, and the Glute/Piriformis work with the tennis ball. I used my trigger-point massage ball instead. The twist that I liked was instead of just putting the ball under your glute and piriformis muscle you take the right foot and cross it over the left leg. This put a lot more targeted pressure where I wanted it and it was easier to find the tight spots. I also used the trigger-point massage ball on my calf muscles and this targeted my knots more directly than when I use the trigger point roller. There were some other drills that made sense for me and so made the book purchase worthwhile. I can also read about getting stronger but don't anticipate turning into anything resembling a muscular athlete anytime soon!

Tomorrow is track practice and I will have to miss a third weekly workout in a row for which I not too happy.