Brian Schiff’s Blog

I am beginning a video series of 3 exercises for running performance. Check out today’s video on the importance of using a single leg squat in your program.

Please click on the link below below for a video message from me.  I must openly admit I am still trying to master this whole video thing. As such, you will need to turn your volume all the way up to hear me as my facility has high ceilings and the acoustics are not ideal. But hey, it is the content that matters most, right? I look forward to sharing many great tips, exeercises and strategies with you in 2009!

Well, it is Christmas Eve here in the States and I am getting ready to head to church with the family and then to my Dad’s for a family dinner.  I want to take a moment and personally wish you a Happy Holiday Season.

Be sure to take a moment and tell your loved ones how much you care and be thankful for all your blessings in 2008.  I always take a few days off from work this time of the year to enjoy my family. 

The upcoming year will be a big one for me as I present for Power Systems in February and June and continue to bring more information products to the market.  Check my blog regularly for the latest articles regarding injury and sport performance as well as special offers to all of my loyal readers.  In 2009 I will be bringing you video clips to enhance the depth and quality of my blog posts as well.  I commit to bringing you all the info you need to stay injury free and perform at the highest level possible. 

Enjoy the holiday with your family!

Well, you might imagine the look of surprise and relief on the face of a client I saw this week when I told him what was finally causing his hip/leg pain.  This particular client trains with one of my staff members.  He has a longstanding history of pain in the upper posterior thigh and groin area.  It flared up recently and he finally went to see a physician.

He was diagnosed with an adductor strain and given a prescription for physical therapy.  My trainer wanted asked for guidance in working with him as not to aggravate the situation yet continue his fitness program.  As I spoke with him, he mentioned his worst pain occurred with sitting.  In fact, he can’t tolerate more than 5 minutes of sitting due to pain.  This struck me as very odd and not typical with adductor strains.

I began to probe further.  Next, I had him do some specific movements and I took a closer look.  My brief exam yielded limited hamstring flexibility and pain/weakness with hamstring resistance.  It was clear that his groin pain was more likely related to a medial proximal hamstring strain and not an adductor strain.  Because the medial hamstring controls hip rotation, his symptoms would easily be provoked in certain movements and positions much like an adductor strain.   

The take away message here is simply to listen carefully and closely examine the affected tissue to determine the true source of pain/dysfunction.  Treating the adductor will NOT cure his hamstring problem.  I am sure his physician is very competent, but often MD’s do not listen closely enough or perform inadequate testing, which leads to an incomplete or inaccurate diagnosis.  Any intervention I offer to clients should yield positive results or improvement within 4 weeks.

If you have an injury or physical goal and are not seeing forward progress in this time period, it is time to take a closer second look at the plan of attack.  It may take a different set of eyes and ears to get you back on track.  The little things really do matter!

Ever have knee pain in the gym with lunges?  I work with so many clients who find their strength program limited by knee pain.  It is very common for women to suffer from Patello-femoral Pain Syndrome (PFPS) as they get older.  It commonly begins affecting them around age 30.

Essentially, the cartilage behind the kneecap may soften (often referred to as chondromalacia) or break down exposing the subchondral bone (below the cartilage) to excessive stress.  There are many pain receptors in the subchondral bone region that let you know quickly when the knee is unhappy.

Activities like stair climbing, kneeling, squatting and impact exercise often bring this pain on.  Therapists and trainers have long debated whether one should lunge or squat with the foot beyond the toes.  To date, little research has been done to support the notion that allowing the knee to extend beyond the toes dramatically increases PF joint stress.

That is until now.  In a recent study in the Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy (JOSPT November 2008), researchers compared a short and long step lunge both with and without a stride (stepping out and back).  The results in a nutshell confirmed that indeed a short lunge (allowing the knee to extend beyond the toes) produced more force and stress on the PF joint than a long step lunge (knee remains over the foot).  The stride with a short step and long step also produced more force than it did with a stationary lunge indicating a stationary lunge is less stressful, especially at lower knee flexion (bending) angles.

The angles where the forces really increased on descent were from 60-90 degrees.  This research would suggest that people with anterior knee pain would be better served to lunge less than 50 degrees with a  longer step length in a stationary position while rehabbing or until they build enough strength to move safely into a deeper lunge without pain.  The big takeaway here is to find the range of motion that works for you, but ultimately lengthen the step length to avoid increasing PF joint stress with lunges.

With all that said, I still believe we were designed to move in ways that the knee does extend beyond the toes.  It happens with step-over-step stair descension and sprinting/acclerating for sure.  Yet, doing 2-3 sets of weighted lunges 1-2x/week on a regular basis for strengthening in this fashion may lead to problems long term.  For those with documented PF problems, the safer route is to side with the research and listen to the body.  I hope this info serves you well in the gym moving forward!