“Initially, the most striking finding of kinesiology was a clear demonstration that muscles instantly become weak when the body is exposed to harmful stimuli.” – Excerpt from Power vs. Force by David R. Hawkins, M.D., Ph.D.
(Biomechanics)
How does a very small running shoe company like ALTRA get it right, right out of the gate?
Meanwhile, huge running shoe companies continue to market running shoes that look nothing like the human foot.
The people at ALTRA are not afraid to tell a different story.
The people who run (or walk!) in minimal shoes are not afraid either.
A traditional running shoe is a stressor to the neuromuscular (fascial) system.
When you know how to present each (and every!) muscle throughout the human chain with the appropriate neurological challenge, the human body will give you the answers every time, without fail.
(Principles)
When a muscle is stimulated at its points of attachment (fascia), neurological input to the muscle is restored.
Then the muscles throughout the entire chain can generate enough internal force to overcome gravity (a pull!).
Ultimately, muscles that are neurologically facilitated can react much more quickly to the ground, gravity and momentum.
(Boing)
The running magazines lead you to believe that you are one of the lucky ones if you have not been hampered with injuries throughout the last 30 years.
They want you to buy into the premise that minimal shoes are only for the broken people; you know, the people who are constantly battling injuries.
The truth is: a traditional running shoe was never right for you; it is not right for anybody. Your foot does not have an elevated heel and it does not require outside support or ”stability”.
(Perspective)
The entire chain has adapted (compensated!) to the artificial environment that your feet have been in for many years.
You might have a tremendous amount of inflammation throughout the plantar fascia on the bottom of your right foot as you sit and read this post, but you do not have pain because your body has become successful at adapting.
Here is that lazy word again…compensation. (emphasis added)
(Prevention)
You might have a ton of inflammation on the outside of your left knee because you have been running and walking on the outside of your left (or right!) foot over many miles.
Since you do not have any pain on the outside of your left knee, a specialist has not given the pain a name, e.g., Iliotibial Band Syndrome.
Keep your foot in any position that does not allow the foot to be flat and pain is inevitable.
(Curiosity)
The “custom” orthotic that helped your friend with plantar fasciitis might not help you.
In fact, the cast (support!) for your friend’s foot did not help her either, she just compensated differently or “better”.
Since the pebble in her shoe only addressed the symptom, the source of the problem will rear its ugly head again. Only this time it will most likely be somewhere else in the chain.
(Priorities)
Leading with the built-up heel in a traditional running shoe does not allow the human chain to respond, adapt and absorb naturally.
Your hamstrings are the first muscles in the thigh to contract when the foot comes into the ground.
The built-up heel on a traditional running shoe forces the foot to touch down sooner than it should, which throws off the timing mechanisms throughout the entire chain.
(Proprioception)
Combine the built-up heel with the downward slope of a hill and the muscles and joints throughout the human chain are at an even bigger disadvantage.
For many runners it is impossible to clear the built-in heel in a traditional running shoe.
A flat shoe that resembles the human foot will allow you to meet planet Earth with your forefoot first, allowing you to utilize the big toe faster.
(Boing)
Your hamstrings are extremely important to your overall function.
In fact, they determine the placement of your foot and decelerate (or control!) the lower leg as the foot reacts to gravity, the ground and momentum.
All of this, and much more is taking place upon your initial contact with the ground.
When your hamstrings engage (contract) the quadriceps “relax”.
Then the quadriceps contract and the hamstrings “relax”.
Barefoot Running Image from runningquest.net
This relaxation of the opposing muscles does not mean the muscles are on vacation! They are still working or contracting, just not as hard.
In order for a muscle(s) to contract at the right time, right plane and at the right joint, it has to be receiving neurological input from the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord).
When the hamstrings can not contract due to lack of neurological input, the quadriceps will not “relax” at the right time.
*The* goal then, is efficiency throughout the entire chain. (emphasis added)
When the muscles are functioning well, running minimally is effortless and the feet are turning over very rapidly with little impact on the joints.
(Boing)
In other words, in order to perform optimally, the human chain’s circuits (nerves) are leaning on the muscles to fire like a finely tuned orchestra.
It is a place (or state) that Bill Strickland refers to as SWING, where every muscle throughout the entire chain comes into play when called upon.
Timing is everything.
We tune up our car periodically, but who tunes up the muscles throughout the human chain?
Muscles are interdependent, they work together to decelerate (lengthen), accelerate (shorten) and stabilize joints.
Your brain is the conductor of the orchestra.
The tight muscle(s) is the symptom. (emphasis added)
(Curiosity)
The tight muscle is only short because it is compensating for a muscle that is neurologically inhibited.
This compensatory pattern is a natural (innate) protective mechanism.
Can the muscle(s) generate enough internal force and do what the anatomy books say it will do?
This is the question we should be asking!
SHIP.
(Art)
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