Blog Archives
Bio Anatomy: Shin Splints
Tibialis Anterior and/or Tibialis Posterior tendonitis or “shin splints” generally refers to pain anywhere along the shinbone (tibia) between the knee and the ankle. It occurs as an overuse injury with damage and inflammation of the tendons and muscles that run up the shin. Shin splints are commonly seen in runners and athletes.
Signs and symptoms may include pain along the front inside edge of your shin. You may also have pain on the inner back side of your leg. The area may be tender to the touch and in some cases can become red and swollen. You may be able to reproduce the pain of shin splints by pointing your foot and toes down, but it is mostly aggravated by activity and exercise. Your doctor may consider an x-ray to rule out stress fractures and other conditions.
One cause of shin splints is overuse of the involved muscles. This can happen with an increase in exercise levels, repetitive movements as in running and other stresses to the lower leg such as hard or changing running surfaces.
Another major (and often overlooked) contributor to shin splints is over-pronation or arch flattening from
Are Kettlebells Safe?
Question:
Are Kettlebells safe? I’m curious to hear your thoughts.
RTS:
Kettlebells by themselves have never hurt anybody. They don’t explode and spew shrapnel. They don’t roll down the street and squash babies in their strollers. They are inanimate objects that sit on the floor/rack and have never intentionally with premeditation attacked a single soul. It’s what people DO with kettlebells that may be the benefit… or the detriment, as is often the case!
Most so-called experts that devise the exercises have no clue about the body (joint tolerances) nor the device (moment arm and inertial properties) and therefore, in an attempt to make a “rock’n workout” often sacrifice their followers along the way. Read the rest of this entry
“Isolated” vs. Integrated: Motor Learning Reality (Transfer)
“The present research was designed to investigate the mechanisms how ageing and orthopaedics disorders interact in determining and recovering from an impaired fast STS movement. Our findings verify the hypotheses that, in elders with motor impairments consequent to orthopaedic disorders (MIE), ageing and functional impairment reduce the performance in a successful fast sit-to-stand (STS) movement and that increasing knee extensor muscle strength improve this capability. On the basis of the comparison with healthy elderly subjects, we found that trunk bending momentum and knee extensor muscle strength are significant determinants of the fast STS capability in MIE as well as in healthy elders.”
M. Bernardi, et. al, 2004
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Strategic Progression
Programs and protocols are usually perceived as static, as evidenced in the fact that new ones are typically recommended after several months. This relates back to the old term routine (“Will you write me up a routine?” …sound familiar?) Routines are, by definition “routine”… synonymous with being in a rut.
“Exercise is a PROCESS, not a program!”
It is for this reason that RTS recommends a process rather than a program or protocol. A process (a series of actions or operations directed toward a particular result -Webster) is, by definition, dynamic and constantly evolving in a goal oriented manner. Rather than a protocol, we utilize principles by which decisions can be made via a thought process.



