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Great post Jae!
Incomplete transfer of weight onto the mid-stanced foot!
I find exactly the same issue in people/clients with knee and hip osteoarthritis before and after joint replacement surgery. To be more specific, though not limited to, I have observed a return to therapy by patients who had a total hip arthroplasty, on average within one year post op. Nobody seems to know why they continue to have pain, specially in the glut medius and greater trochanter. People usually fear “the surgery was a failure”
What I see is an oversight by doctors and PTs of the quality of the client’s gait pattern, which is worsen by the idea that we walk with our legs. All that I hear PTs insist on when teaching gait is “heel to toe” pattern.
I have seen many people rid themselves, in a matter of minutes, of the pain once they have experienced what I like to call “the sweet spot” or standing directly and effectively over the bones, in this case in single leg stance. Then, of course the client needs to be guided in integrating that feeling into their walking. I find first of all, manual work in supine is most important in alerting the nervous system to the feeling of effective weight bearing through the kinetic chain. You call it Feldenkrais, I call it ABM. : ) Quite similar being that ABM IS based on the teachings of the great Moshe Feldenkrais.
I am no running expert but I see the same issue with my running clients. I always direct them to your website, by the way!
Great work Jae!
ReplySuperb, Mauricio. Thanks very much for this clear description. I love the idea of the “sweet spot” you mention, that’s a good way of naming it. I’ll use it with my walking clients if you don’t mind.
I didn’t realize you were an Anat Baniel Method practitioner! No wonder we speak the same language. 🙂
ReplyJae,
Thanks for this blog post. I had recovered from ITBS once using Feldenkrais before I found the CAP, and now that I am back at running after 6 months of injury, it has returned. I have been going to a PT (ugh) and he wanted me to do orthotics, etc, and I just didn’t feel right about it. I was wondering how I wanted to proceed with my healing and treatment. Your post came at the right time to affirm what I know to be true…those are not real fixes of the underlying problem, and I need to go back to my underlying form and correct my brain, to correct my run! Thank you!
You are the best! I am so excited for this campaign, and hope it gets fully funded for you!
Lisa K
Very glad to hear you’re back to running, Lisa! Go back and do your lessons from the online camp and see how you are. If it isn’t better, email me.
Thanks for your good wishes!
ReplyI am 53 years old, never had any problems with IT band until I went on a extra long hike. I can’t get rid of it now, it aches 24-7, really bad at nights sometimes. Any fatigue causes it to flair up. My body is extremely tight all over, my hips, etc. It always has been even in my youth. I stretch the best I can and seem to be getting more flexible but it doesn’t seem to help.
How do I learn how to walk more efficiently? Is there exercises or videos?
Thank you
ReplySorry to hear about your IT band, Paul. Many of the lessons I offer for running also help walking, as long as you bear in mind that while running is done with a forward lean, you stay upright for walking. I have a blog post about walking, use the search function on my site to look for it. Also two of the free lessons on my home page — the Core one and the Footstrike one — will work for walking as well as running (just ignore what I say during the running at the beginning and the end, and instead walk around and see how your walking feels). If you have a local Feldenkrais practitioner or Bones for Life teacher I recommend you go, that will be your best bet. I hope that helps, let me know if you have any more questions.
ReplyThis is super intriguing. I’ve been suffering with IT pain in my right leg for over 2 years now. I’ve tried everything. I feel like I roll/stretch/mobilize/strengthen more than I actually run :-/ One of the things I’ve noticed recently is that my hips seem to always be rotated. My right hip always seems to be “leading” or forward of my left. And now that I’ve read your post I notice that that pelvic position puts my weight perfectly over my left leg…but not at all on my right. I will definitely use this as a mental focus moving forward. Thank you.
ReplyAfter months and months in physical therapy, we tried everything. Strengthening glutes and hips, foam roller, unique/random knee stretches every 2 hours, massage, acupuncture, cupping, everything. I was preparing for a life in which I would never run for more than 3 minutes again. But, after taking a 9 hour flight to Germany, my IT band near the knee was flamed when I deboarded. This triggered by PT to suggest doing the Cobra every 2 hours to move a disc in my back back in place (a summary of what could have been going on). I was back to normal in a week. The cobras every two hours are annoyingggg. But obviously worth it!
ReplyI’ve been stretching, strengthing, and foam rolling for months with no relief! So if my left IT band is in pain… I should shift my weight farther to my left? Thanks for writing this post!
ReplyAshton, don’t intentionally try to shift your weight any particular direction. If your weight shift isn’t naturally even, you need to go through a learning process to discover exactly where and how to change what you’re doing, as much of your body is involved and you need to make the changes in the right places for you. Please follow my advice in the post and do the lessons I recommend! Best of luck to you.
ReplyJae –
I sprained my left knee running down some stairs back in November. Went to PT and was told I need to strengthen my glutes/hips etc. Started doing the exercises and my left knee has felt much better since. However, in the process of doing the exercises, I developed IT band pain around my RIGHT knee. The pain isn’t seeming to go away and is aggravated by the exercises and the bike. I’m new to this idea of core movement, weight distribution and could use some guidance.
Thanks in advance!
ReplyTry the lessons I link to at the bottom of the post, Stanley! They should help.
ReplyJae,
Thank you very much for this. I have been suffering from IT band, Knee pain, and TFL overload for at least 8 years. I recently began making some headway that has allowed my left hip to open up some. I’ve noticed my hips moving more over my troubled leg but until reading this I realized I have not been nurturing that new movement. I can’t wait to bring this new focus into my next run. In case you read this- I am more of a cyclist and am unsure if I am supposed to have that rotational hip movement on the bike. If anyone can offer some advice on this I would greatly appreciate it.
Chris
That’s a great question, Chris, and unfortunately one I don’t know how to answer, as I really don’t know anything about cycling. The rule of thumb is that if it improves your speed and/or endurance without raising your heart rate, it’s good.
ReplyThis makes a lot of sense and is a good article. I’m a carpenter not a runner but I had a bakers cyst in my left knee and am still having it band problems. I’m doing at home physical therapy but have wondered about the foam roller.
ReplyYou really need to get past the place of managing symptoms with the roller and deal with causes–I hope this article was helpful in that regard! Best of luck.
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