Blog

In an attempt to reduce the high risk of running injuries, athletes are making changes to their strike patterns and shoe wear.  Running trends towards minimalist shoes have attempted to move athletes away from a heel strike and toward a more mid or forefoot strike pattern.  These strike patterns have been shown to reduce loading...

In the examination of healthy or injured runners it is tempting to focus on an individual’s leg alignment and posture.  The hope of these tests and measures is it will help a clinician identify the source of client’s symptoms or a risk factor for injury.  The limitation of these examination items is their inability to...

In our previous posts we have detailed many factors leading to high injury rates experienced among runners.  In our Boulder Physical Therapy practice, one of the most important factors to examine with any injured runner is their running gait.  Most of us were instructed as beginners in our chosen sports with the exception of cycling...

In prior posts, we have discussed the importance of hip strengthening among runners.  There is a strong correlation between hip weakness, especially the hip abductors, and knee pain.  Studies have questioned if these strength impairments are present before pain develops or occur due to the onset of pain.  In addition, some research has demonstrated runners...

Running is one of the most popular sports in Boulder, Colorado with many individuals taking advantage of our many trail options.  In general, run workouts can focus on short duration, higher intensity sprints performed as intervals or longer duration, sustained low to moderate intensity distance runs.  Each training option promotes beneficial changes in the body...

Triathlon athletes have varying distances to compete in from shorter sprint races to longer Ironman distance events.  As the events progress from sprint to Olympic to Ironman distance the percentage of time spent in each discipline (swim, bike, run) adjusts with the distance.  Research has shown when comparing the Olympic and Ironman distances athletes will...

In our previous posts on running shoes we have described the limitations of orthotics and shoe wear to alter foot, ankle, or knee mechanics during gait.  Despite the hype and claims shoes have been unable to significantly improve running mechanics compared to proximal interventions including hip strengthening and gait retraining by a Physical Therapist.  The...