Boston Sports Medicine and Performance Group, LLC Blog

Happy Canada Day to our readers north of the border!

So often individuals with knee pain miss out on the opportunity to resolve their troublesome and agonizing cases because the answer comes dressed in overalls, a hard hat and carries a lunch box.  Addressing knee pain means so much more than sitting back and relaxing in your local physical therapy or athletic training center with an ice bag and electrical stimulation on your knee.  Addressing knee pain takes hard work and requires that patients become an active participant in their care plan.

In a recent article published in Sports Health, Lake and Wofford reviewed current literature examining therapeutic modalities and their effectiveness for the treatment of patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) or good old fashion knee pain.  Their findings come as no surprise to those that understand that knee pain is a real pain in the butt – meaning, quite literally it's cause is coming from your butt (or a lack thereof).  Conclusions drawn from their examination was that, “none of the therapeutic modalities reviewed has sound scientific justification for the treatment of PFPS when used alone.”

So what’s the answer?

Let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water quite yet.  A comprehensive treatment approach offering therapeutic modalities as needed with a focus on eccentric strength training along with an overall strengthening program for the hips and gluteus musculature in addition to providing mobility above and below the knee (hips and ankle) continues to be the best approach to getting athletes back to competition faster and putting smiles on knee pain sufferers  time and time again.

See additional knee pain articles below: 

Treating Anterior Knee Pain - Part I and Part II

Lake D., and Wofford N. Effect of Therapeutic Modalities on Patients With Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome: A Systematic Review. 2011. Sports Health, Vol. 3(2)p.182-189.

We fight an endless battle with gravity, the comforts of modern living and the pollutants in the air.

We are always in need of corrective exercise and performance training simply to maintain the delicate balance between suffering and just getting by for another day. 

A friend asked me why so much “Corrective” work in my programming.

“If you are always doing corrective work, then how come it never gets corrected?” He asked.  “And what’s the opposite of corrective work anyways,…. Destructive work?”

Good question.

You must admit that there are forces that you will never ever win against. You may delay them, but you will never win. Like death and taxes, aging and gravity always win.  Other “destructive” forces include poor posture, sitting and typing at the comfort of our computer terminal, poor exercise choices and poor exercise technique just to name a few.

These are all destructive in nature and if left unmanaged or not corrected, cause havic on our system.

Now, I am of the opinion that a great strength program in and of itself can be constructive and corrective  without specific “corrective exercises” but a great strength program may not always be able to address the regular “trauma” incurred while playing division one athletics or the previous wear and tear accumulated prior to beginning said strength program.  Sometimes, the cumulative destructive insult from all causative factors is even too much for a well planned strength program, and a comprehensive “performance plan” is at times necessary, which includes a corrective or rehabilitative flavor to address some of these cob webs.

Regardless of professional affiliation – PT, ATC or Strength coach, at least part of our job is to provide our patients and athletes with services that prepare them for this battle against nature.  And although you’ll never ever win this particular fight, it’s one that is surely worth fighting.

Growing old is tough. No sissies allowed.

On June 24, Craig Liebenson’s 3 new DVDs will be available on Amazon.

These DVD's are a prelude to his new textbook, in which a number of authors contributed including, Charlie Weingroff, who wrote the chapter on Deadifting (literally and figuratively!).

The Functional Training Handbook mentioned above is set to be released January 15, 2012.

Dr. Liebenson is an Adjunct Professor in the School of Chiropractic, Division of Health Sciences at Murdoch University, Perth Australia and consultant for the Murdoch University and the Anglo-European Chiropratic College M.Sc. program in Chiropractic Rehabilitation. The first ever chiropractic member of the McKenzie Institute (U.S.) Board of Directors, he serves on the editorial boards of numerous journals including the Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation; the PM&R  Journal of Injury, Function and Rehabilitation; the Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapy; and Journal of Manual Therapy.

Dr. Liebenson is the first health care provider to receive a Certification of Recognition from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) on Achievement of Recognition for Delivery of Quality Back Pain Care. He is actively engaged in ongoing research on the spinal stabilization system as a Visiting Scholar at Pr. Stuart McGill’s Spine Biomechanics Laboratory at the University of Waterloo. He regularly assists Pavel Kolar in his courses and has worked with both Dr. Karel Lewit and Pr Vladimir Janda beginning in 1987. Dr. Liebenson publishes extensively and is the editor of  the book/DVD Rehabilitation of the Spine: A Practioner's Manual (2nd ed), 2007.

He has had books published into Spanish, Greek, Korean and Japanese. He was the team chiropractor for the N.B.A. Los Angeles Clippers from the 2006-2007 season until 2009-2010 seasons and is currently a consultant for the M.L.B. Arizona Diamondbacks and Athletes Performance International.
http://www.lasportsandspine.com/

Articles:

Q&A

by Shaun Bossio

I had a colleague recently come to me out of frustration. Their position grade was below that of several other people in their department that they felt were not as valuable. In addition, they felt as though both title-wise and salary-wise they should be receiving more consideration than these folks that they felt had received some undue advancement. After about three years in their position, they felt as though they deserved more than the token merit increases that they had seen over that time.

In actuality, there are two different problems here. The first is that they felt as though they were not receiving the proper recognition. The second and most important though is that they were measuring themselves against the performance of others within their department. Therein is where the problem lies for you. Unless these staff members are reporting to you, there is not a whole heck of a lot you can do about their perceived performance vs. yours. Equating yourself to other comparable employees within your organization is a lot like playing golf. You cannot control what your opponents are shooting, so your best option is just to concentrate on shooting the best score that YOU can. Focusing on comparisons between your coworkers and yourself is a trap that many people fall into and really it is energy that could be better spent making yourself an even better employee.

Many of us at one time or another have felt as though we were not receiving the proper amount of credit (compensation, title, accolades, etc). It is important to remember that while this may be the case, it is a matter to be handled between your employer and yourself and has nothing to do with your coworkers. If you are truly underappreciated in your organization, then it is time to approach your supervisor and let them know why and remind them of the value that you provide to them. In some cases it may be as simple as making a solid case for your yourself and in others the possibility exists of setting goals that, if met, will yield increased benefits to you. Sometimes however, your opportunity lies elsewhere. In many organizations (universities in particular come to mind), unfortunately your best chance is in taking a promotion with another company. In these cases, if you revere your organization, the chances of returning at a higher salary/title have already increased.

Regardless of how you perceive your future, know that the best thing for you is to simply focus on yourself and to do the best job that you can do. If you get to a point where you feel as though you are not being properly appreciated, take some time to remind your employer what they have and why they need you around. The folks that are busy comparing themselves to each other are the ones that are only concerned with doing their job as well or slightly better than their coworkers. In the meantime, you can be the one excelling and getting people to notice.

Shaun Bossio is the Assistant Business Manager at the Boston University FitRec.

Which of the four are getting the way?

You don't know what to do

You don't know how to do it

You don't have the authority or the resources to do it

You're afraid

Once you figure out what's getting in the way, it's far easier to find the answer (or decide to work on a different problem).

Stuck is a state of mind, and it's curable.

Agency

A door is not responsible if it swings and hits you in the nose. Neither is the hand of the guy who punched you.

Philosphers and lawyers talk about agency. Responsibility comes with the capacity to act in the world. If you can decide, if you can act, you have agency.

Life without agency would be a nightmare. Trapped in a box, unable to do anything by choice, nothing but a puppet...

Why then, do organizations and individuals struggle so intently to avoid the responsibility that comes with agency? "It's not my job, my boss won't let me, there's a federal regulation, we're prohibited, it's our supplier, that's our policy..."

It's not something you can turn on or off. Either you have the capacity to act in the world. Or you don't.

Congrats to Northeastern University alum, JJ Barea and the Dallas Mavericks for winning the 2011 NBA Championship!

If

If you have never heard of Ray Eady, Strength and Conditioning Coach at the University of Wisconsin before, you will after this weekend.  Ray's one of the brightest basketball strength coaches in the business and his business is getting basketball athletes STRONG!  I was blessed to work with Ray earlier in his career and to say that Ray "gets it" as a strength coach is an understatement. 

His balance of assessment, movement development, injury prevention and of course serious strength development has made him one of the most sought after basketball strength coaches around.

Take a sneak peek at what Ray will be discussing as he joins the top basketball coaches from across the country including, Brendon Ziegler - Oregon State, Jonas Sahratian - UNC-Chapel Hill, George Mumford and Brian McCormick this weekend in Boston.

Click HERE to view Ray Eady's lecture at the 2011 BSMPG, "Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants" Seminar

From our family to yours - Happy Memorial Day.