It's Fancy Feet, not Fancy Shoes...

If you have seen a round of televised golf or perused your local golf shop lately, then you have probably witnessed how many different options for golf shoes there are now (like Keegan's Air Jordan's here).  Why so many choices?  Well, golf's popularity is skyrocketing and money is a huge driver for all the major sports wear companies to get into golf shoes, but more importantly the golf community is trying to reconnect us with the ground. What do I mean by that?  Well, we know that golf is a game that consists of taking ground reaction forces and transferring those into rotational forces that ultimately produce a solid swing and ball strike.  As golf grows in popularity and more 300+ drivers and super-human iron players hit the tour, the need to find an edge wherever possible is on the minds of players, coaches and sports companies alike. Dumping more technology into shoes does have some benefits as far as comfort and force transfer are concerned, but what if...dare I say it...the shoes don't matter at all?  I know it's crazy, but what if you could improve your game by making the things attached to your legs (called feet) more functional rather than buying a beastly pair of $300 shoes and shoving your currently dysfunctional hairy Hobbit tootsies into them?   Just how important are foot mechanics for a golfer, or any athlete for that matter? Well let's start with the fact that each foot contains 26 bones, 33 joints and more than 100 muscles, tendons and ligaments, not to mention the 7000+ free nerve endings!  Now all of these components are controlled by the central and peripheral nervous system, as well as some other balance coordination centers.  You might say the foot plays a 'small' role in your athletic ventures.  What happens when we roll an ankle repeatedly, one or two of those 33 joints doesn't move quite right, maybe we lack the motor control to orchestrate foot movement properly or maybe we have just been stuck in rigid shoes for 40 years of our life?  Sound like a plausible scenario for they typical golfer, how about just the typical human?  All of these maladies cause dysfunctional movement patterns and compensations that begin from the ground up, and these can have a tremendous affect on your golf swing, as well as everyday life. The foot is immensely complex and its biomechanics are still not fully understood, even with all of the current research that is dealing with gait and foot biomechanics.  One thing that is certain, when the foot lacks mobility, stability or intrinsic control, then the rest of the body is at a deficit when it comes to optimum athletic performance.   So how do we find out what our foot functionality situation is?  Get assessed, plain and simple. This is not meant to a be a completely shameless ploy to get patients in my office, but seriously getting a trained pair of eyes and HANDS to assess movement is crucial.  It doesn't really matter if it is FMS, TPI, SFMA, etc...the whole point is to find out where your biomechanical kinks lie and then wipe them off the radar.   I have personally taken FMS, SFMA and I am currently TPI certified, and it is my passion to constantly learn everything I possibly can about human movement.  So if you are out there hacking at range balls every week, please take one range hour and exchange it for a proper analysis and rehab plan.  It will be worth it. If something as small as fixing faulty foot mechanics can improve your golf game, imagine what tackling an entire body of dysfunction could do for your game or for that matter, your life.   Until next time... "You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're on your own, and you know what you know. And you are the guy who'll decide where to go." - Dr. Seuss

Dr. Beau Beard, DC, MS, CCSP, TPI

 

"Tapping Superhuman"

This blog will serve as the introduction to a book that is in the works, "Tapping Superhuman", it will not be coming to print for some time, but none the less it's a fun topic to ponder and discuss.

If you haven't seen the Bo Jackson ESPN 30 for 30, leave this page now and go watch it!  Here is just one of many clips.

The whole documentary did an amazing job at really portraying Jackson as something more than human.  Which, maybe in a way he was...is?

Have you ever been in awe of the physical prowess of an athlete or seen something that you could not believe?  I feel like my life has been filled with moments such as these, and it has led me to gather thoughts from around the world on the topic of what it means to be 'superhuman'.

People like Bo Jackson and the feasts he accomplished are exactly what this article and my future book will cover; what is it that makes certain individuals a cut above the rest?  Whether it is conquering the Ultraman, riding a 60 foot wave or snapping a pine bat like a twig, what is the "IT" factor that is so frequently talked about?

In my book I will be releasing interviews with famous and some not-so-famous athletes, exploring research on the mind, body and ways to overcome both, as well as giving some anecdotal and experiential insights.

I really wanted to write today, to see what all of you out there think makes it possible for some people to accomplish unimaginable feats.  Is it just mind over matter?  Is it genetics?  Is it other worldly?  Can it be taught or trained?  

Having devoted my life to the learning and understanding of the human body, I am constantly amazed at how as humans we are able to bend the limits of the world around us by simply 'putting our mind to something'.  This past week two of our athlete ambassadors, Zachary Andrews and Vanessa Stroud, ran the Bryce Canyon 100.  First of all congrats to both of those crazies!  Second, think back to Pheidippides of Ancient Greece, who reportedly ran from Marathon to Athens in under 36 hours, only to breathe his last breath after delivering his message, and now a mother of two and an easy going Alabama boy are tromping out 100 milers like it ain't no thing!  Longer distances, free climbs, wing suits, free diving, etc... could it be that humans are capable of just about anything, so long as they can imagine it is possible?

A lot of current science is geared toward advancing the physical limitations of humans, whether that means performance, age related longevity or cognitive function.  It is a very exciting time to be alive, knowledge and information are multiplied at an alarming rate these days, which means more discoveries and breakthroughs are made on what seems like an almost daily basis.  The only thing that is certain as it pertains to superhuman feats is that before we can become superhuman, we must first fully understand what it is to be 'human'.

Please leave some feedback on this post...do you know a 'superhuman'?  What does it take?  Can anyone become one?

Until next time...


"With our thoughts, we make our world"

- Buddha

Dr. Beau Beard, DC, MS, CCSP

The Orthotics Debate

I had the pleasure of listening to a lower extremity seminar presented by Dr. Mitch Mally, who is a world renowned speaker and extremities expert, guy is lighting quick too.  Check out a seminar if you get a chance, Mally Seminars.  Dr. Mally discussed how he does not fit a patient for orthotics until he feels that he has corrected the function of the foot, and every patient in his clinic is getting an orthotic.  This is a great way to look at where orthotics fit into the treatment model, but in my opinion not EVERY patient needs an orthotic, probably not even 80% NEED an orthotic.  At least Dr. Mally's approach is a bit more forward thinking than some patients I see that are prescribed an orthotic that is being used as a constant propioceptive reminder to the foot of why it is malpositioned or dysfunctional, without any actual rehabilitative cue.

In our clinic orthotics are the rarity, and it usually comes down to those patients that have been through the entire treatment and rehabilitation gamut, and finally we need to give them some sort of corrective orthotic to maintain longer lasting results, the key word here being, CORRECTIVE.  What do I mean by corrective?  Dr. Mally's theory is that he is improving the structure and function of the foot through treatment, and when the foot has reached an optimum functioning level, he will then fit an orthotic to 'hold the foot' in this newly improved form.  Again, I think there is merit to this approach, but I think longer lasting results, and in the sports world, higher performance results, are gleaned by instead fully rehabbing the foot/issue to the fullest potential of that patient/situation.

Once we put someone in a rigid orthotic, we offload the intrinsic and sometimes extrinsic muscles that correlate to appropriate function of the feet.  By doing so we dampen the propioceptive abilities of almost 7000 nerve endings that are present in each foot.  The elite athlete relies on every propioceptive and mechanoreceptive fiber they have access to, so by stripping the foot's natural mechanics out of the equation I believe we are not doing what is in the best interest of the athlete/patient.  Again, there are instances that will require an orthotic, large leg length deficiencies, collagen laxity disorders or morphologic/traumatic structural changes, but this is not the norm.

With all the recent hub-ub about the Vibram Five-Fingers case, I guess I'll take a second to discuss the other side of the spectrum.  If a rigid orthotic is detrimental, shouldn't a minimalist shoe be the answer?  Well not exactly, the medium upon which we stride has changed significantly from that of our caveman brethren.  As a species we have moved from dirt and grass to concrete and hardwood, these changes have forced us into the modern footwear we know today.  While Vibram had/has a great idea, the American mantra of 'a little is alright, but more is always better' is what spelled their ultimate demise.  Inactive, overweight and out-of-shape people were looking to the Vibram to cure their foot pain, knee pain and maybe even make them a middle-American ultra runner.  The truth is that we have to protect our Westernized feet to a certain degree, and running a couch to 5K is in a sock of a shoe is probably not ideal for the vast majority of people.  All of that being said, training barefoot (or close to it) is CRUCIAL to improving balance and overall athletic prowess.  Although, care should be taken to provide the right setting and activity for athletes/patients to do so.

So the next time you or one of your patients is fitted for orthotics, ask yourself if everything has been done to get the foot (and the rest of the body) to the highest level of function without adding a supportive treatment to the equation.  I think outcomes can be improved, injury will be prevented and performance is definitely enhanced.

"The foot feels the foot when it feels the ground."

- Buddha

Dr. Beau Beard, DC, MS, CCSP