Foot Pain?

I recently had a request for a blog that dealt with feet.  Unstable ankles mostly, which is actually pretty common.

I think the best place to start is with the muscles.  There are some muscles in the foot that originate and insert only in the foot.  But mostly there are tendons from muscles that originate in the lower leg that insert in the foot.  The best way to “strengthen” the foot is to strengthen the muscles in the lower leg.

Straight leg calf raises

 

 

Basic calf raises are the easiest to execute and are great for increasing functional strength in the lower leg.  Every time you take a step you execute a calf raise.  With your legs straight you are targeting your gastroc muscle (the powerful, more visible calf muscle).  You can also do this seated which would target your soleus (the endurance of the calf muscles).  Of course, while standing you are using your body weight (you can hold weights also); while seated, you need to put a weight or plate on your quads to provide resistance.

 

 

Calf raises on a step

 

 

For further challenge, stand on a step with your feet over the edge so that you can drop your heels below the step and come up from a negative position.  This can be done when you are able to accomplish the above exercises without difficulty.  The muscle fibers here begin on stretch then contract to optimal length, then to a contracted position; therefore, causing more muscle work and fatigue.

 

 

Once these exercises are simple enough, you can simply do them on 1 foot.

Stork stance

 

When ankles are unstable, it generally means the ligaments are having a difficult time keeping your position against gravity.  The stork stance is another simple exercise in theory but many people with ankle injuries have difficulty keeping their balance.  Stand on one leg, and hold for about 15-20 seconds at the beginning.  If you feel that you are losing your balance, it’s better to touch down with your other foot than to wobble around trying to regain your position. To make it more difficult, you can close your eyes (harder than it sounds!).  Past that, you can stand on an unstable surface such as a bosu ball, fit disc, or pillow (keep your eyes open).  Another great way to work your proprioception, is to toss a ball to a wall while in your stork stance.  Mix it up a little and toss to the wall in a different spot each time so that you need to adjust for the dynamic nature of the ball coming back at you.  Again, when losing your balance, touch down with the other foot instead of wobbling around.

These are simple exercises that you can try at home.  If you are having difficulty with the range of motion of your ankles or experience sharp pain with any of the above movements, you need an assessment.  Having strong/stable ankles helps with more activities of daily living than you might think.  Having a strong base will improve movement patterns in your knees, hips, and lower back.  

Let me know what you think!  If you want to request more exercises or have questions about other injuries, please leave a comment.

Jen Mark BSc., CAT(C), CSCS
Athletic Therapist
www.dynamicliving.me
www.facebook.com/dynamiclivingtoronto

All Round Great Core Work!

Side plank while working the glutes – make sure the top hip is in extension to ensure activation.

In my last post, I talked about not doing crunches to spare the lumbar spine from unnecessary load.  We talked about other exercises that are great for core stability.

The above picture is another exercise that involves almost the entire body.

To make the exercise more difficult, use your hand instead of elbow on the bottom.

You will be surprised how many people have difficulty even just lifting their leg up while in the side plank.  In time, most people will be able to accomplish this and get more abduction and extension.

Have fun! Enjoy making your core muscles stronger and your pelvis stable!

Let us know if you have tried this and what successes you had.

Jen Mark BSc., CAT(C), CSCS
Athletic Therapist
www.dynamicliving.me

No more crunches!

Ok, we all want rock solid abs, I get it.  And having a strong core is the biggest buzz in the fitness industry – and for good reason.  So why can’t we do crunches anymore?

Remember back in the day those who were working out, were performing sit ups?  This was how fitness lovers and athletes got those abs of steel.  Then science caught up and saw evidence that doing all those sit ups were causing back injuries.  If we look close enough at the mechanics, your hip flexors (iliopsoas group) are doing most of the work and they originate in your lumber spine.  All this excessive pulling on the spine was leading to back injury.  So we all stopped doing sit ups and moved to crunches.

Now science has caught up to crunches.  There is evidence to suggest that doing a crunch can load your spine up to 150 times.  Constantly flexing the spine and overusing one muscle group will never create balance in the body.  Ask me how I feel about machines such as leg curl!!  Our spines are pretty fragile and precious, so we must find another way.  Something that science can’t debunk!

Let’s talk for a second about what your core is and what it’s role is.  Your real “core” includes your deep pelvic muscles (creating a pelvic floor), your transverse abdominis (under your 6 pack muscles), and your multifidus muscles (attaching to each vertebrae in the spine).  The job of these muscles is to stabilize your pelvis, to limit excessive movement.  If your core is strong, you will be able to lift heavier weights, run faster, jump higher etc.  All because your “base” is stable.

There are a few exercises that are needed to get  your core strong.  Keigles are one method for women and men can think about “stopping the flow” (holding in your pee).  If you want to learn about setting your core, visit my website and check out the video.  It’s easier to show that to type!

So once you can activate your core, here are some fun exercises that are commonly done incorrectly.  I typically see poor posture which is a result of a weak or unactivated core.  Most people tend to rush these exercises – remember when doing this type of training, the pelvis should be stable.

The plank on the stabilty ball is a staple exercises – focus on good posture, neutral spine, and hands under your shoulders.  When tucking your knees in, your back does not change and the movement is smooth and controlled.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When using the ab roller, the same principles apply.  Start in a modified plank position and roll forward maintaining your posture and stable pelvis.  Your body should not change position. just your arms stretch out and back in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One note of caution: Core work should not result in back pain.  It is acceptable to feel that your back is doing some work, but not sharp pain.  If you finish the exercise and you feel discomfort in your back, your pelvis was not stable enough and you need to decrease the difficulty of the exercise.

For questions or comments, please contact me.

Jen Mark BSc., CAT(C), CSCS
Athletic Therapist
www.dynamicliving.me

Sensational Split Squats

Probably one of the best lower body exercises is the split squat.

Notice in the picture that the front knee is over top the ankle and the back knee has a nice bend to it. The biggest mistake I see is the front knee going way past the toes and creating a difficult angle for the knee, and a lot of stress to get out of the position. Also, I see the back knee often completely straight. This causes strain on that quad leading to a vulnerable position of the hip. The front knee needs to be in line with your second toe when you are squatting. This ensures that the knee is aligned properly and decreases stress to the joint.

In the picture, notice how our athlete’s shoulders are positioned over her hips. Her core is tight and she is not leaning to either side. Her back is neutral allowing her to engage her glutes into action. I often see people leaning forward, which indicates a weak core, or sloppy form.

The most important take home message about the split squat is to ensure that your glutes are engaged. The leg that is out in front is doing the work. The back leg is there simply for balance. Stay planted on your front foot, not allowing yourself to go onto your toes. The back foot will always stay on your toes throughout the exercise. Push up through your front foot, using your glutes and hamstrings. Your quads will work, that’s easy to feel, make sure you pay attention to your posterior muscles. If you are in the correct balance and position, you will not feel an incredible stretch in that back quad.

In the picture you can see our athlete has the weight in one hand (this is the correct hand to carry one weight in). You can also carry a weight in each hand or have a bar across your back. You can increase the stability by placing a BOSU ball under either foot, or both! You can use a medicine ball to lift over your head or twist to the side of the front leg. There are many ways to vary this exercise and make it more exciting and challenging. Mix up the routine so your muscles don’t get used to it.

For more exercise options, book an appointment with one of our personal trainers today.

Jen Mark BSc., CAT(C), CSCS
www.dynamicliving.me
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My Ride to Conquer Cancer

The day finally came!  The day I was looking forward to and dreading all at the same time.  Great day to test my endurance and an unknown adventure.  Nervous because I had not even ridden 100km ever before, never mind two days back to back.

So…this is how it went:

Diane picked me up at 6am.  It was raining and cold, and dark.  We loaded my bike into the back of her car and my big backpacking backpack into her trunk.  We had no traffic and made it to the CNE for about 6:24am.  When we got there, there was no rain and the sun was coming out between the clouds.  Diane gave me a big good luck hug and I went off all alone.

I got my kit (bike identification and t-shirt) from the registration tent without hassle or line up.  Some guy named Jason (our names were on our bikes), helped me figure out the chip that was to attach to my helmet.  Everyone was so nice.  Everyone was there for one purpose: get to Hamilton!  My t-shirt was huge!  But luckily the organizers had thought of everything.  I went over to the “T-shirt Exchange Tent” and got an extra small.  It fits perfectly.

I filled my water bottle and gatorade bottle up.  Brought my backpack to the Ryder trucks.  My gear went into the “Grey” Truck and would be brought to Hamilton for me – and again, no line ups.  Sweet.

All set and ready, and still not raining, I went to the corral area with thousands of other riders (4800 in total), to wait for the Open Ceremonies.  We found out that we had just raised $18.1 million and that this event was the single largest cancer fundraising event in Canadian history.  Cool! 

We had a slow start as everyone of us had to file through pretty small gates to get out onto Lakeshore.  All the lanes of the Lakeshore (west bound) were closed for us!  We filtered out, chatted to neighbours, and enjoyed the flat ride. Once we got passed the main roads and into the side streets of Mississauga, there were a lot of cheer sections with signs that read “Thank You Riders”.  Very inspirational and emotional.  The riders started thinning out also, so it was easier to ride.  We got into the country and it started to pour.  So this was my first time riding in the rain, and it wasn’t so bad.  Nothing changed really.

I was super tired now, it was really windy and the rain was a bit chilly after awhile.  I didn’t stop at the “Pit Stops” (1) because it was so damp I was worried I wouldn’t get back on my bike and (2) I had it in my head that I couldn’t stop.  After about 90km I felt really good and was very proud of myself.  We went down a huge hill that winded around and onto a main road somewhere in Ancaster.   Then the mountain.  The Hamilton Mountain.  It killed me!  I went so slow while everyone that I had passed in the last 90k passed me right back.  It was demoralizing, damp, cold, and my legs were shaking.  Haha, that hasn’t happened in a long time.  Finally I got to level ground (had the Sweep Car behind me) and rode like hell to Mohawk College.

The rain stopped around 3:30pm, I had a shower on a big tractor trailer, got some food, and got my tent.  I lined up for a massage, and ended up with a physiotherapy student from McMaster.  Worst massage ever, so I went back to my tent and took an Ibuprofen for my exhausted right quad.  I took a nap and organized my tent.  Most people were drying their clothes on top of their tents because it was so sunny and hot at this point.  I found myself doing whatever everyone else was doing.  I learn well from social learning!

There were hundreds of port-a-potties and running water for hand washing (we were spoiled).  I had a hot meal for dinner and listened to the live band play fun 70s music.  The speeches in the evening were from the directors of Princess Margaret Hospital, the Ride itself and cancer survivors/patients.  The speeches were long enough to be meaningful (and were quite funny along side emotional) and short enough to keep our attention span.

After the speeches, I had half a cup of beer and chatted with some people I knew.  Everyone seemed to filter towards the “Tent City” around 9:30 with most people in their tents by ten.

I had no trouble falling asleep, but stayed awake all night since I was in the snoring section.  I was cold too for some reason.  I made it through the night though, and wasn’t even sore the next morning!

Most of the camp was up at 5:30am, I tried to keep my eyes closed until 6am.   I changed, ate a hot breakfast, brushed my teeth with running water at a vanity beside the shower trucks and filled my water bottles up.  I left camp at 7:30am and had the ride of my life!

I had so much fun going down the big hill that previously destroyed my confidence.  I then charged up the next hill with vengeance and passed many cyclist walking their bikes up the hill.  My confidence was rising!  I met more people along the way, but was trying to ride as hard as I could so that I could make up for a somewhat tough ride the day before.  After getting through the hard parts within the first hour, I actually had a blast going through the rolling hills in Guelph and Milton.  I was chasing other riders and getting passed by big groups working together.

I did stop at the lunch “Pit Stop” to refill my water and gatorade bottles, but turned down the “vegan chicken” that was offered to the vegetarians.  I felt like a real snob!

The weather was perfect, I think I had beat the real heat and humidity so having clear skies and dry roads was a blessing.  I got back into Mississauga riding with a group of 3 men.  I eventually passed them on a hill (don’t ask how) and found another group along Lakeshore.  We all worked together and got into Toronto.  It was so fun to work with a small group, and being the token women, I felt I had to really work to earn my spot.

I rode as fast as I could up the hill near the Boulevard Club and into the CNE.  I was so pumped to be finished but also at how well I thought I did.  I have never been proud or happy with any athletic achievement.

But this day, mentally, I was so strong.  I didn’t have the training, I had never done the distance, and I had no idea what to expect.  I had a full glass of Steam Whistle this time and waited for my ride.  I smiled the whole way home, showered, and promptly fell asleep on my couch for 3 hours!

Thanks to everyone who was there to support me.  Thanks to those who sponsored me and those who encouraged me.  🙂

Day 1: 110km 4:37:00

Day 2: 102km 4:01:00 (but did 100k under 4 hours which was my goal!)

Check out my Bike Log for some of my rides leading up to this fun weekend.  I will definitely be doing this again next year!!!

Jen Mark BSc., CAT(C), CSCS
www.dynamicliving.me 

Nobody likes a whiner!

A client of mine sent me a great article today about what not to do to your trainer during a workout session. One of the tips was about complaining. The author talks about missing important information while complaining and she points out that if you’re paying for a session, expect to be worked hard. True!

It’s important to come to the workout session prepared. You need to have eaten a good pre-workout meal a few hours before, and come with a clear and positive mind set. Your food is your fuel and will give you energy to finish the workout as well as do the workout well. Your outlook into the workout session is important also. If you are looking forward to the session being over, before it’s even started, you will not get full benefits of the workout. Fuel your body and your mind, proper nutrition and mental readiness will lead you to maximum results.

You also need to be physically ready for the workout. Working out once a week will only slightly maintain your current fitness level and give you a nice chatty hour with your favourite trainer (smiles). Doing your homework, getting some extra workouts in in between your workout sessions, prepares your body to advance and achieve results. Furthermore, warming up before the session begins will help you get into the workout faster and decrease your chance of injury.

As the article writes, as trainers, we need to maintain professionalism at all times. However, the client who comes grumpy, uninterested, or groggy makes this professionalism more difficult! Remember that you are paying for the session and you’re paying for the session in order to receive a better workout than you would on your own.

Get the most for your money and train hard!