Boddicker Performance

Yesterday it was made apparent that the feet are rife with afferent neurons that detect and report magnitudes and rates of loading, joint kinematics, and pressure distribution on the plantar surface of the foot.  Also, I said that they are in such a high concentration for a reason.  That reason will be expounded upon today. Recall that these afferent cells are important for the maintenance of posture, detect aberrant movement during the stride, and also help us modulate leg stiffness and joint kinematics in preparation for ground contact (by way of feedback and feed-forward mechanisms, respectively), but that doe... full article »

Here is a little piece that I recent wrote for my friend Kevin Neeld and his blog. Enjoy! Breathing is a critical piece of the movement equation and is one that has been almost ignored until recently. Many people simply breathe, and call it “good” if they do not suffocate, unfortunately this is far too simplistic as there is a “right” and a “wrong” way to breathe. Unfortunately, we know that the majority of people fall toward the “wrong” way and incorrect breathing patterns lead to a gamut of movement dysfunctions. Improper breathing can lead to dysfunction as high as the TMJ (though some osteop... full article »

Barefoot running has become an increasingly popular in the past several years as more and more examples find themselves falling into the popular media.  So what is the deal?  Is there any credence to the craze? Yesterday we gained an elementary knowledge of the foot and ankle's anatomy.  Today, you'll take home a comparison of mechanics in barefoot subjects and those who wear shoes. Before we begin, it would be prudent to define a few things.  The term "shod" refers to some level of modern footwear that is typically characterized by a softer midsole, elevated heel, and potentially some form of "motion" contr... full article »

In continuation of yesterday's post about some of the things that I have picked up over the weekend at Optimum Sports Performance is the idea that the best just don't miss things. While traditional orthopedics would tell us that when a joint is hurting, we need to look directly at that joint, we know that the body is far more complicated than that. Yes, it hurts, but WHY? Just because the plantar fascia is not behaving, simple treatment of the foot and even lower leg will not always suffice. How is the tone of their hip flexors? How about the tone of their cervical musculature? If the athlete is in full body a... full article »

Today is a continuation of Steve Magness's great article looking at the role of impact forces on controling the mechanics of running.  Enjoy. -Carson Boddicker Impact Forces: The picture gets cloudier: But it’s not as simple as described above. In an interesting study by Scott (1990) they looked at peak loads on the various sites of likely injury for runners (Achilles, knee, etc.). All peak loads occurred during mid-stance and push off. This led to an important finding that “the impact force at heel contact was estimated to have no effect on the peak force seen at the chronic injury sites,” and led to... full article »