Boston Sports Medicine and Performance Group, LLC Blog

Are Your Feet Ready? The Boston Marathon Is Back

Posted by Boston Sports Medicine and Performance Group on Fri, Apr 12, 2013 @ 08:04 AM

Are your feet ready for running this summer?

You might want to think twice before strapping on those traditional clunky sneakers and running around your neighborhood.  Every year millions of Americans take up running as a way of getting off the couch and trim the mid-section only to find themselves right back where they started - but this time with back, knee and foot pain! 

Learn how incorporating barefoot training prior to your next fitness adventure will have your feet singing a much happier tune.

 

Barefoot in Boston Barefoot in Boston

 

Passage taken from Barefoot in Boston, by Art Horne

"Looks like mom was right – the cheaper shoes do work just as well, and in fact, might just be safer for you too.

If you are starting to feel like I am picking on traditional shoes and their parent companies well, that is because I am and it is about to get a whole lot worse.
In a study conducted by Marti (1989) in which he provided a questionnaire to over 5000 runners of a popular 16-km race, he discovered that expensive shoes accounted for 123% greater injury frequency than the lowest cost models. In fact, the incidence of injury while the subjects were wearing shoes over $95 were twice as high as for those subjects wearing shoes costing less than $40. There may be a number of other factors associated with injury other than just shoe cost but these results included correction for these other influencing factors such as training mileage and history of previous injury! Marti also notes that injuries were not significantly related to race running, speed, training surface, characteristics of running shoes or relative weight. In other words, the fancier the shoe, the more injuries you can expect from them!


So what do “fancy” shoes have that ordinary shoes do not?

The answer may be found in a 2001 study by McKay. Although McKay’s group did not set out to determine the manufacturing differences between lower end and high end shoes, their findings did point to one feature within many athletic shoes that may very well be to blame. In this study researchers sat courtside and watched over 10,000 recreational basketball participants as they played to determine the rate of ankle injury and examine risk factors of ankle injuries in recreational basketball players. Each participant completed a questionnaire which included questions related to: age, sex, height, weight, protective equipment (ankle brace, mouth guard, etc), shoe type (cut low, med, high), age of shoes, whether the participant performed a warm-up prior to playing, and of course questions identifying their injury history.


After analyzing the data, three risk factors emerged:
1. Previous ankle sprain – those athletes with a previous sprain were almost 5 times more likely to sprain again.
2. Players who did not stretch prior to games were 2.6 times more likely to injure their ankles then those that did.
3. Players wearing air cells in the heels were 4.3 times more likely to injure an ankle compared to those with no air cells in their heels."

 

 

BSMPG wishes the over 20,000 runners participating in the 2013 Boston Marathon the very best of luck!!

 

athletic training

 

Register for the 2013 BSMPG Summer Seminar - May 17 & 18th

Early Bird Prices end April 15th so run to a computer after finishing the marathon and sign up to enjoy the discounted prices!

 

Register for the 2013 BSMPG  Summer Seminar Today

Topics: acute pain, boston marathon, Christopher McDougall, Marathon Monday, BSMPG Summer Seminar, Chris Powers, achilles pain, barefoot training

Barefoot Invades Boston!

Posted by Boston Sports Medicine and Performance Group on Fri, Apr 13, 2012 @ 19:04 PM

Boston Marathon meet Barefoot in Boston

 

The Barefoot Running Symposium is presented by the New England Barefoot Runners. This symposium is available to the general public at no charge on a first come, first serve basis.

This FREE event occurs during (and is part of) the 1st Annual Boston Barefoot Running Festival. This event showcases well known international speakers who have been studying running biomechanics for years. It includes pioneers of the barefoot running movement who have written books, who have previously shared their experiences through speaking engagements and barefoot running workshops.

Additional speakers are well established barefoot runners with stories of how this change in running has taken them to higher levels.

Boston Public Library
Rabb Lecture Hall
700 Boylston Street
Boston, MA 02216

Saturday, April 14, 2012
1PM – 4PM

 

Click HERE to read more about this exciting event and the speakers that will be there including the leader in Barefoot research - Irene Davis!

Watch Irene Davis lecture in the video below as she describes the challenges with the traditional heel strike during running and how going with less on your feet might just be the answer to your injury woes.

 

 

Not sure if baring your sole is a good idea?  Read BAREFOOT IN BOSTON, and learn how the shoes on your feet are doing more harm than good.

barefoot in boston

 

Topics: Art Horne, boston marathon, Irene Davis, barefoot strength training, Barefoot in Boston, achilles pain, ankle problems, barefoot training

Art Horne Interviews with Joe Heiler on SportsRehabExpert.com

Posted by Boston Sports Medicine and Performance Group on Wed, Sep 7, 2011 @ 07:09 AM

 

sportsrehabexpert

 

Click HERE to listen to this interview.

In this interview, Art discusses his new book, "Barefoot in Boston: A Practical Guide to Achieving Injury Resolution and Enhancing Performance", as well as discussing some research on barefoot walking and training versus wearing shoes, what to look for in minimalist shoes, how he has incorporated barefoot training with his basketball team, and much more..(including how to take a hack saw to a basketball shoe!)

Topics: Basketball Related, Art Horne, BSMPG, functional movement screen, boston marathon, foot pain, foot fracture, barefoot strength training, Barefoot in Boston, achilles pain, barefoot running, barefoot training

Good Luck Runners!

Posted by Boston Sports Medicine and Performance Group on Mon, Apr 18, 2011 @ 07:04 AM

athletic training

 

The BSMPG family would like to with the over 20,000 runners in this year's Boston Marathon the very best of luck!

Topics: basketball training programs, athletic training conference, boston hockey summit, boston hockey conference, boston marathon