Pain on Bottom of Heel: Too Much Big Toe Motion

Pain on the bottom of the heel (Plantar Heel Pain) is a complex problem with variable diagnoses and explanations. And with variable diagnoses there should be variations in treatment. Unfortunately, the common treatment recommendations do not recognize such variability. For example, the universal suggested treatment for plantar heel pain is calf stretching and stretching of…

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Aging Muscles & Tendons: Achilles/Calf Strain

Pain on the bottom of the heel (Plantar Heel Pain) is a complex problem with variable diagnoses and explanations. And with variable diagnoses there should be variations in treatment. Unfortunately, the common treatment recommendations do not recognize such variability. For example, the universal suggested treatment for plantar heel pain is calf stretching and stretching of…

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Gait Analysis – Gait Training for Achilles Tendon Pain

Pain on the bottom of the heel (Plantar Heel Pain) is a complex problem with variable diagnoses and explanations. And with variable diagnoses there should be variations in treatment. Unfortunately, the common treatment recommendations do not recognize such variability. For example, the universal suggested treatment for plantar heel pain is calf stretching and stretching of…

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Strengthening Exercises for Intrinsic Foot Muscles

Pain on the bottom of the heel (Plantar Heel Pain) is a complex problem with variable diagnoses and explanations. And with variable diagnoses there should be variations in treatment. Unfortunately, the common treatment recommendations do not recognize such variability. For example, the universal suggested treatment for plantar heel pain is calf stretching and stretching of…

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Osteoarthritis – Bad News More Than Good News

Osteoarthritis occurs in a joint when there is more degeneration of the joint cartilage than regeneration of the joint cartilage. Cartilage is a soft tissue on the ends of bones.  Cartilage provides a smooth surface to allow free movement of joint, provides a cushioning, and for joint stability.  Cartilage tissue is poorly designed for repair…

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Mugged – Smacked and Common Sense: Exercise In Dark Outdoors

The short dark day of winter pose a challenge for the exercise enthusiast who prefers to exercise out doors. Most everyone has some fear walking/running in the dark. There are justifiable concerns related to safety. On the positive side there can be significant benefits and rewards from getting outside in the dark winter days and…

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Don’t do that

A widely held belief among health care professionals is that it is a waste oftime to recommend to an injured runner to stop running. The assumptionis a dedicated runner will not follow recommendation of “don’t do that”. With a few exceptions most injured runners do not need to be told “don’trun”. The exception is a…

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Evolution of the running shoe: evidence & opinion

Forty years ago there was only one running shoe designed for long distance running. Itwas a black canvas shoe shaped like a track spike shoe with a gum rubber outsole andConverse was the manufacturer. Now there is a veritable plethora of running shoes tochoose from. Ten years ago I wrote an article highlighting the fact…

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Should you stretch it out – Pain too loose too stiff?

Pain on the bottom of the heel (Plantar Heel Pain) is a complex problem with variable diagnoses and explanations. And with variable diagnoses there should be variations in treatment. Unfortunately, the common treatment recommendations do not recognize such variability. For example, the universal suggested treatment for plantar heel pain is calf stretching and stretching of…

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Creditability of Shoe Selection Based on Foot Print Shape and Injury Risk

Running magazines and internet shoe sales sites often recommend that the shape of the wet foot print should be used to determine which type of running shoe should be selected. There is a common belief that a foot print reflecting low arch (flat feet) should select shoes designed for “motion control”. Motion control shoes are presumed to control excessive motion…

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