Running Barefoot Beats Pricey Sneakers
January 28th, 2010
The Boston Globe
By Carolyn Y. Johnson
We were born to run, but maybe not with shoes on.
New research, led by Harvard scientists and published today, shows that people who run barefoot or with minimal shoes – as people have done for millions of years – often land on their feet in a way that avoids a jarring impact. That’s very different from most shoe-clad runners, who crash down on their heels with every bound.
“It’s as if every time you land on the ground, someone hits you on the heel with a hammer,’’ said Daniel E. Lieberman, a professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard University, who studies the biomechanics of running in the lab – and himself runs with minimal or no shoes. “It’s an amazing thing. Running barefoot can be less impactful.’’
Instead of striking heel-first, barefoot runners tend to land on the ball or middle of their foot. Researchers need to do followup studies to test whether less impact translates into fewer injuries, but the new finding may become yet another example of the way in which the luxuries of modern life are a bad fit for bodies shaped by millions of years of evolution. Humans adapted to an environment lacking desk jobs, video games, abundant processed foods, and the modern running shoe.
Several scientists not involved in the research said the findings were intriguing, but that the critical next step will be to test whether landing differently decreases injuries.
“I think the contentious part will be whether wearing shoes and changing the pattern of running . . . actually has an impact on foot injury,’’ said Brian Richmond, an anthropologist at George Washington University not involved in the research. “It’s an idea worth examining, because basically what they found is how people would run in a more natural setting.’’
The new work builds on Lieberman’s longstanding interest in humans’ ability to run long distances. While walking on two feet is a hallmark of human evolution, so is endurance running, argues Lieberman, who has previously found fossil evidence of numerous skeletal traits adapted for running. But if humans have been running for more than a million years, what did they do before the running shoe came out in the 1970s?
Now, studying runners in the United States and Kenya who normally run barefoot and comparing them with people who run in shoes, he and an international team of researchers have detailed the differences. Lieberman’s lab receives support from Vibram, a company with offices in Concord that makes FiveFingers, minimal shoes that look like gloves for feet.
The vast majority of runners strike the ground heel first, experiencing an initial impact of two to three times their body weight. Shoes slow the crash, but barefoot runners avoid it by landing on their forefoot or midfoot with a more springy step.
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Doctor Payoff Scandal Over Medtronic Device
December 16, 2009
Natural News
By David Gutierrez
A Senate investigation has revealed that medical technology company Medtronic paid almost $800,000 in consulting fees over the course of three years to a researcher who falsified scientific data in a study on one of the company’s products.
The Army has accused orthopedic surgeon Timothy R. Kuklo of doctoring the results of a study on a Medtronic bone-growth product known as Infuse. The study was carried out on U.S. soldiers with severe leg injuries while Kuklo worked at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
The study was published in the British Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, but the journal withdrew the study after an Army investigation concluded that Kuklo had falsified data and forged the names of four other military doctors as co-authors.
By the time the scandal broke, Kuklo was working at Washington University. He had joined the faculty there in 2006 and began work on a followup to the original study, this one funded directly by Medtronic. Not until mid-2007, however, did he reveal to the University that he was receiving more than $50,000 per year from Medtronic in consulting fees. Because receiving such a high level of compensation placed him in breach of university conflict-of-interest rules, Kuklo was told either to cut his compensation to $10,000 per year or to abandon the study. He abandoned the study.
A university investigation later revealed that three days after Kuklo turned in a September 2006 conflict-of-interest form affirming that he had no relationships with any companies related to his research and anticipated no such ties, he signed a consulting agreement with Medtronic that was retroactive to August.
The Senate launched its own investigation of Kuklo in February 2009, leading Medtronic to reveal that it had paid Kuklo almost $800,000 in consulting fees since mid-2006, $132,000 of that in 2009 alone. The company ended its relationship with Kuklo in May, and Washington University has placed him on paid leave pending the resolution of the various investigations that the affair has sparked.
Natural Cure For Injuries
November 18, 2009
BBC News
By Nick Triggle
It is not unusual for sports starts to look for super cures for their injuries.
England footballer Wayne Rooney used an oxygen tent prior to the 2006 World Cup to help him recover from a broken foot and six years ago runner Paula Radcliffe rubbed oil from the belly of an emu to ease injuries sustained in a collision with a cyclist.
But the news that Arsenal striker Robin Van Persie is heading to Serbia to get placenta fluid applied to an ankle injury has astonished many.
The 26-year-old hurt his ankle while playing for the Dutch national side in a match against Italy.
He was left with torn ankle ligaments after a challenge 10 minutes into the contest.
Scans revealed a partial tear would keep him out of action for six weeks.
Rapid recoveries
But a Dutch journalist close to the national squad said he could be back in as little as four weeks if the treatment works.
TV and radio reporter Rob Fleur said a woman who specialises in the treatment had been recommended to Van Persie by former team-mates Dutch midfielder Orlando Engelaar and Serbian forward Danko Lazovic.
They both claim to have had rapid recoveries from similar injuries after travelling to Belgrade to see the specialist.
Van Persie, speaking before travelling out to eastern Europe on Monday, was hopeful despite being unsure what to expect.
He said: “She is vague about her methods but I know she massages you using fluid from a placenta.
“I am going to try.
“It cannot hurt and, if it helps, it helps.
“I have been in contact with Arsenal physiotherapists and they have let me do it.”
Health benefits have long been associated with placenta.
Some studies have suggested eating it can reduce the risk of post-natal depression, while Turkish researchers found injecting placenta cells into rabbits helped them recover from fractures.
Massage
It is not known how the placenta may help – and more research is now being carried out.
However, it does have a high nutritional content.
In the animal kingdom mothers routinely eat the placenta to help them recover from the exertion of birth and there are anti-ageing creams on the market that use sheep placenta cells.
It seems likely that Van Persie’s treatment will involve some form of massage using the fluid.
Such therapies are pretty standard for ligament damage.
Abbie Turner, manager of Bristol University’s Sports Medicine Clinic, said: “The worst tears normally require surgery.
“If the tear is not too bad we would normally start with some deep tissue massage, maybe some acupuncture, followed by some strengthening work and specific rehab depending on what sort of sport the person plays.
“But I have never heard of this – and I won’t be rushing out to use it on my patients.”
Instead, she believes the steps taken by Van Persie and other stars reflects the nature of top-level sport.
“You will often hear of sports stars trying out different treatments. I suppose it is a sign of the money and pressure involved. They need to get back to competing as soon as possible.”
Click here for the full report.
Texting May be Hazardous to Teens’ Health
November 13, 2009
Web MD
By Bill Hendrick
Texting may be preferred over phone jabbering by many young people, but too much text messaging may increase the risk of neck or shoulder pain, a new study shows.
Judith Gold, ScD, an assistant professor of epidemiology at Temple University’s College of Health Professions and Social Work, presented evidence at this year’s meeting of the American Public Health Association suggesting that the more college students texted, the more pain they reported in their necks and shoulders.
She says in a news release that most people aged 18 to 21 prefer texting rather than email or phone calls, possibly putting the younger generation at increased risk for overuse injuries once associated with older folks who’ve spent years tapping computer keys.
“What we’ve seen so far is very similar to what we see with office workers who’ve spent most of their time at a computer,” Gold says. “The way the body is positioned for texting — stationary shoulders and back with rapidly moving fingers — is similar to the position for typing on a computer.
“Looking around our campus, you see every student on their cell phones, typing away,” she says in a news release. “It’s the age group that texts the most, so it’s important to know what the health effects may be to learn whether it will cause long-term damage.”
Gold and colleagues conducted a study of 138 college students to see if correlations exist between the number of text messages sent per day and pain in the upper body.
They used body maps for the students to indicate areas of discomfort. The students were asked how many text messages they sent per day.
The researchers say they found an association, only in male participants, between shoulder discomfort and the number of messages punched out.
They propose that males might be particularly susceptible to physical discomfort related to texting.
Why would texting cause pain in the neck and shoulder rather than the wrists and arms? “We were really surprised at this also,” Gold tells WebMD. “Remember, this is a preliminary study, and further research needs to be done to confirm the results.”
Get the Massage – Relax Your Way to Good Health
October 16, 2009
Natural News
By Sheryl Walters
The tremendous benefits of regular massage are irreplaceable to the human body. Massage is a variety of sometimes ancient techniques that manipulate the soft tissues of the body. It can definitely relax you, but there are some benefits of massage that go far beyond relaxation.
Pain and anxiety are two common problems associated with receiving massage therapy. By soothing muscles and nerves a greater state of well being is achieved for the recipient. When you take this concept further you find that massage can also benefit chronic pain and even self esteem. Massage allows for person to person contact that promotes feelings of comfort and soothing.
Medically massage is used for sports related injuries and to promote optimum performance of muscles. Through a pattern of exercise and massage, injuries can be avoided and greater athletic achievements can be accomplished. The regular massage prevents small injuries from becoming bigger ones and the athlete avoids the pain cycle all together. Massage is also an immune system enhancer that benefits patients with chronic immune system diseases like HIV. Increasing the circulation of healthy blood cells in the body helps these patients fight off disease better and keep a more positive mental attitude that is crucial for their survival.
Infants and babies have shown positive responses to massage through toddlerhood. The birthing process is often made easier and less complicated by regular massage during pregnancy and throughout the labor process. Massage for premature babies promotes better weight gain, and massage for babies with diabetes correlates with better lifelong compliance with regimens and healthier lifestyle choices.
