Key Points: 1. Pain alters movement patterns. These adaptations can linger and trigger pain long after any structural damage associated with an injury has fully healed. 2. “Neuromuscular re-education” is a process by which we can retrain our brains and nervous systems to stop causing pain due to perceiving certain movements as threatening. 3. When … Read more
Key Points: 1. We think of pain as far too normal, particularly as we age. 2. At its core, pain is a message from the brain and nervous system. 3. The brain’s job is to keep us alive long enough to reproduce, and pain is one way it tells us that this job is under … Read more
Key Points: 1. When it comes to training, people have a particularly difficult time accepting that “less is more.” 2. This is partially because a belief that more is always better is hammered into us from a young age. 3. But, when we never decide what “enough” means, we put ourselves at increased risk of … Read more
Key Points: 1. Most athletes, from the professionals to the weekend warriors, are physically unprepared for the demands of their sport. 2. That might sound like a bold claim, but injury data supports it. 3. The truth is, most athletes are overtrained and under-recovered. It’s become a competitive advantage to take time off and actually … Read more
Key Points: 1. When we engage in competition, we’re primarily motivated either to achieve success or to avoid failure. 2. There’s a continuum that describes this in more detail. It helps explain why we do well in certain situations, but not in others. 3. Sports are full of identity traps, but we’re never taught what … Read more
Key Points: 1. Most people’s shoes and running form contribute massively to foot problems. 2. The answer is NOT orthotics and more cushioned shoes. 3. One step that’s absolutely vital is to train your feet, just like you would any other muscle group. Estimated reading time: 4-8 minutes Sometimes I’m struck by the absurdities of … Read more
Key Points: 1. Sports primarily measure skill, athleticism, and strategy. 2. The amount of each varies dramatically from sport to sport. 3. Differences in opinion about which of these three categories is most valuable (and identities built around that) often account for the surprisingly heated discussions about which sport or athlete is “best.” Estimated reading … Read more
Key Points: 1. We should respect the potential commitment and consequences of any activity we undertake. 2. When we do so, we often find that our limits are much further away than we would have believed. 3. To illustrate this, I interviewed my friend Will about his experiences in running his first marathon. Under 3:20! … Read more
Key Points: 1. It’s not actually possible to separate politics and sport. 2. An all-too-common tactic is for people in power to “pass the buck” on the moral consequences of their decisions to those with less power. 3. Engaging with the ethical discomfort of enjoying any activity with a human cost is our first responsibility. … Read more
Key Points: 1. If you have an injury, don’t use ice! This will actually slow the healing process. 2. Our main job is not to interfere with the body’s natural healing process. 3. We can do this by getting as much pain-free movement as possible. Estimated Reading Time: 4-8 minutes In last week’s piece, I … Read more