Tag Archives: Iliotibial Band

Loading To Unloading: Improving Proprioceptive Feedback

Posted on November 16, 2011 by Rick Merriam| Leave a comment

A master of T’ai Chi was so sensitive to the forces around him that if a fly landed on his shoulder, he would sway gently under its impact.  Legend has it that a sparrow was unable to jump from his open palm and fly, because as it pushed away, his hand would sink beneath its legs.  Such sensitivity reflects our own potential, refined through practice.  – Excerpt from BODY MIND MASTERY by Dan Millman

Just twenty minutes from where I live, the Lovejoy (Lucas, TX) Cross Country Team runs barefoot in the grass everyday before their run.

What do they know about stretching *and* warming-up that the running magazines that are trying to reach the masses don’t know (or choose to ignore)?

(Proprioception)

Embracing and connecting to something *weird*.

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All Running Injuries Come Down To The Same Things: Telling A Different Story

Posted on October 8, 2011 by Rick Merriam| Leave a comment

“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)

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Iliotibial Band Syndrome

Posted on August 23, 2011 by Rick Merriam| Leave a comment

“If you see what is small as it sees itself, and accept what is weak for what strength it has, and use what is dim for the light it gives then all will go well.  This is called acting naturally.”  – Lao-Tsu

When you see the iliotibial band in most anatomy books, what you are seeing is the artist’s depiction (a lens!).

You are seeing an incomplete (and simplified!) picture that shows the iliotibial band as an extension of the gluteus maximus and the tensor fascia latae (TFL).

If you ever have an opportunity to dissect a fresh cadaver, make a longitudinal incision from the level of the pubic bone to just above the patella on the anterior thigh, then pull everything back.  Once you get through skin, adipose tissue (fat) etc., you will see a white layer of fascia that is unlike anything you have ever seen before.  If you follow this thin fascia you will find that it wraps around the thigh *and* surrounds all of the muscles of the thigh.

You will not see the iliotibial band. (!)

The iliotibial band is within the white layer of fascia that is surrounding all of the muscles of the thigh.

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More On Proprioception, Biomechanics and Running In Minimal Shoes, Part 1

Posted on July 11, 2011 by Rick Merriam| Leave a comment

Photograph by Kaylie Abela, INVESTIGATING ART FROM MANY ANGLES

Art.

“The quickest response is in its elasticity, which is one of the passive characteristics.  Runners, especially endurance and barefoot runners, take advantage of fascial elasticity to get more bounce to the ounce.  This elasticity happens between 0.1 seconds and a couple of seconds…” — Excerpt From Is Fascia Alive? by Thomas Myers

Years ago I heard about a television show that tried to demonstrate how every living thing ambulates (moves) in the same way, e.g., Snake.  Unfortunately, I never saw the show.

When you look at running or walking, what do you see?

Even though running and walking are very different, I think you will agree that the most obvious motions are occurring in the sagittal plane (forward).

However, if you change the perspective from which you are viewing an athlete running, the most obvious plane of motion is *not* the sagittal plane (front to back).

When you are observing a runner’s mechanics from the side, you see a sagittal plane-dominant activity, e.g, Extension of the thigh at the hip joint.

(Perspective)

If you analyze a runner’s mechanics from above, you see a tremendous amount of transverse plane (rotation) motion.

Where is the majority of the rotation coming from?

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