Thoughts on the pelvis...

Since I have promised to write more, here are some notes from today's rehearsal.

So much focus is put onto the stabilizing ability of the pelvis, no matter what it is that we do - running, dancing (especially ballet!), normal walking gait - that I often forget that the pelvis is, like the rest of the body, a center of movement. 

As a ballet dancer trying new ways of moving and recovering from injuries in my 20s, this way of thinking was such a habit that I couldn't even begin to fathom the idea of movement in the pelvis. As a result it took more than 10 years and lots of happy accidents to heal my injuries.

How many years is this later? 20? Really? I am just waking up to the possibilities for healthy movement AND stabilization in the hips. For instance, the best no-contest workout for all the glutes, especially the meds is belly dancing. No joke. Not to mention the obliques...and it's great for both eccentric and concentric work of the pelvic floor. Ever watch an expert belly dancer's gait? (I say "expert" since it's perfectly possible to perform the movements incorrectly without organizing the gluteals.) Magnificent! 

The pelvis is not only a stabilizer - it's a major source of energy, like the heaviest ball on a chain, the pelvis can either drag the body around or be an interesting fulcrum from which to swing. Of course, when that same fulcrum is in motion, that's where the body then requires excellent neutral alignment and strength to hold together. 

I'd also be curious to see the results of a study of the total number of dancers from different styles of dance who have needed hip replacements by the age of 60, including belly dancing. 

Time machines, classes and thoughts about ankles and how they rock.

Hello everyone,

Guilty as charged. Life is busy, and if someone would ask me what I'd prefer to do, go for a run or type my blog, well, generally I go for a run. Also, I get my best thoughts while running, and usually I come off of a run with no time to spare between cooling off, washing up, and picking my daughter up from school...So the thoughts drift away and the blog lays fallow.

But now I'm back a full year later. One of my resolutions? (Maybe my only one since, as a rule I don't tend to make them!) That I will blog more often. I will do my best.

I have just updated by web site after a long period of inactivity since it is the turning of the year and new things are happening again. I have some great new testimonials. Both of these ladies are terrific students and a joy to work with.

Firstly, the current classes happening this year are Pilates Fusion on Mondays and Wednesdays at 10am at The Bridgeway Gym in Sausalito. It's a great class and I often incorporate foot-to-core exercises as part of the warm-up. There has been great feedback from many of the folks who take the class about improvements in balance and in their ability to access their abdominals later in the class.

Secondly, there is a new Pilates Fusion class opening up at Presidio Sport And Medicine in the Presidio on Wednesday nights. Right now it looks like 7pm, although it might wind up being at 6:30. The class starts on 1/15. Stay tuned for confirmation.

Finally, the Sunday Gyro/Pilates-inspired class is on hiatus for now. I will be getting my Foundation Certification in Gyrokinesis in a month, and so it will then be back on officially as a Gyrokinesis class. More on that as it happens.

Enough of the scheduling...

So, ankles. Interesting things. I've been thinking a lot about ankles over the last year. So much depends on the balance of the talus as it glides in its groove under the tibia. If anything throws it off it simply doesn't work. Since the ankle is the body's foundational pivot joint, (something from Judith Aston's work) when an ankle doesn't work right, the dysfunction echoes throughout the body like ripples on water.

So imagine, now, that a person's talus no longer glides well and they lose their range of motion - that's most of us by the way, thanks to the 90 degree sitting position and our wacky love of tipped-up heels - then they can't clear the foot as they swing the leg through. So the knee has to be higher during the swing phase, right? That means that somehow, the body has to haul the leg through swing phase with a foot that can't get out of the way. How does their body accomplish that? Here are a few possibilities.

1. A more bent knee (to lift the foot off the ground) which means
2. More work for the quads and hip flexors and possibly
3. More work for the abdominals (except that when the hip flexors are overworking then it's likely that the abs are unaccessible) which also means that
4. There is more likelihood of an injury due to impact without abdominal support and
5. More likely to see a hard heel-strike (which, in turn, encourages a less mobile ankle, more work from the hip flexors, and more injuries, depending on other factors, of course)

This is something that was sliding around my brain during my last run. One of the enjoyable parts of minimal running to me is the accordion-pleating of the body into and out of the ground. This creates resilience and encourages a full range of motion in the joints without excess impact. I am not the most resilient person in the world thanks to hypermobility issues, so these things make a huge difference to me when I run. If my ankles freeze up I feel it immediately. My stride shortens, I have pain and I feel every impact, even with pretty good form.

When the ankle folds at the joint during a mid-foot strike the dome of the talus actually glides both inwards and around its axis, which doesn't go forward to back - it's actually at an odd and interesting angle that, if you look closely at it, makes perfect sense as the bottom joint of an accordion pleat with the very complex joints of knee and hip as part of the system (hooray Angle of Henke (don't forget to scroll around a bit to see other planes)!!!). So when a person reaches forward with their toe pulled straight up and slams the heel down, they are actually throwing the talus out of its orbit, so to speak, making it less likely to see natural joint movement there later. They are also pushing the calcaneus up into the ankle, and forcing extra length into the sole of the foot along the plantar fascia...sounds like the potential for some serious pain!

So, that's the thought for today on ankles and theories about how they work.

Thoughts on flat feet

On the bus to the studio...

The tibialis posterior has been on my mind these days, although that could be said to be an irony, considering the distance between those two parts. I mentioned before that I struggled with flat feet much of my life. Whenever I restart running after a long break I inevitably strain the tissues around the posterior arch and up deep in the calf. After berating myself for not taking my own advice, I slow down for a while to strengthen that line.  The tibialis posterior supports the posterior arch. It extends deeply up the back of the lower leg, through a notch at the calcaneus, opening into a sort of supportive hammock for the arch. It makes connections up the deep line that includes leg adductors and inner unit. When it goes on strike, so does the core. Spotting a person with weak tib posteriors is easy. Look for ankle pronation, and slack inner leg line, possibly with nocked knees. The big giveaway is the inability to access the core when standing, especially in a person who can find it when seated, kneeling or lying down.

The bus ride to the new Body Gallery is almost done. Over and out...

Yet another tidbit...

This just landed in my inbox. The Word of the Day is "talus."

http://wordsmith.org/words/talus.html

Toenails - windows into health

Now, this is interesting. If you have a weak stomach for gory photos, or tend to freak out when you read about diseases, click on the links with caution.

http://www.aafp.org/afp/2004/0315/p1417.html
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/nails/WO00055

Both in the article and in the slide show the doctors are looking at fingernails, which grow faster than toenails, but toenails can also be a way to get a picture of overall health. Considering that toenails do grow so slowly, it can be a bit like looking at trunk rings to get an idea of the health history of a tree.

What an amazing tool!

Not to mention that the shape of the feet say so much about a person, their health, their state of mind and what kinds of footwear they choose.