I talk with Dr Kim Hebert-Losier.  An associate professor, biomechanist and physiotherapist out of The University fo Waikato.  You can see her profile here.

Some topics discussed:

• running as rehab
• her Calf App to evaluate plantar flexion strength and its potential relevance to clinical practice

• whether body weight training, as opposed to heavy resistance training, can improve running economy (Kim was involved in a paper that showed this!)

• whether you need to bend the knee to appropriately target the soleus (hint - you don’t but there are some caveats)
• super shoes and running economy
• running technique and running economy

Dr Lori Michener (Professor of Biomechanics and Physical therapist) is a super expert on shoulder biomechanics and rehabilitation.

Today we talked about: - the role of biomechanics in pain and injury

- whether you need to be concerned with scapular movement/control

- changes in her clinical opinion

- shoulder "impingement" debates and so much more.

More about Dr Michener

The central theme of Michener’s funded research is to define optimal treatment pathways for patients with musculoskeletal shoulder disorders by focusing on characterizing mechanisms, defining classification and management approaches and determining optimal outcomes of care. Specifically, her main research aims are: 1) to elucidate the biomechanical and neurophysiological mechanisms related to the presence of pain and poor recovery, in order to 2) develop classification and management strategies to optimize functional outcomes and simultaneously 3) determine the optimal set of patient outcome measures that comprehensively capture activity limitations and participation restrictions to judge treatment outcomes. She is director of the Clinical Biomechanics and Orthopedic Outcomes Research Laboratory, and directs the development, collection and analysis of patient-rated outcomes and process of care in the USC Physical Therapy clinics, and serves as a resource for clinical research.

Dr Bas van Hooren discussing running injury prevention, running technique and running economy.

Dr van Hooren is a true expert in running biomechanics.  Blending critical thinking, a strong academic background of excellent publications and personal success in elite running Bas brings huge insights into this field. I said it numerous times in the podcast but Bas' PhD in this field should really be used as an exemplar for all PhD students.  His work goes beyond the biomechanics of running and also tests his ideas with clinical relevant intervention studies. You can see his papers here with many of them being open access  Bas's papers on Pubmed You can also read more about Bas on Twitter (@basvanhooren) and his website (basvanhooren.com)

We had Dr Peter Malliaris on this week talking tendons.  Its great to hear different researcher clinicians provide their different takes on the same topic.  Dr Malliaris is a full time professor at Monash University with a keen interest in Tendinopathy.  He teaches the popular online course Tendinopathy rehab.

We talk about:

The role of injections in tendinopathy (hint: not much) The limitations of the literature and research surrounding exercise and tendinopathy

The role of load management in tendinopathy and why we don’t have a lot of research on it despite it probably being the most important thing we can manage

The role of heavy loading, strength changes and tendinopathy recovery

Strength testing and tendinopathy rehab

Kate Jochimsen, PhD, ATC is a Researcher at the Center for Health Outcomes and Interdisciplinary Research (CHOIR) at Massachusetts General Hospital and a Member of the Faculty in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Her work “bridges the gap” between sports medicine and psychology by developing interventions to improve patient's pain-related cognitions (‘how they think’) and emotions (‘how they feel’) to improve their health behaviors and increase physical activity. She is passionate about advancing psychologically informed practice and teaching clinicians how to communicate about mental health and intervene when appropriate. Her work has been funded by agencies such as the National Institutes of Health and the American College of Sports Medicine.

The big questions we try to answer: 1. When you have hip pain why does it hurt? 2.  What is the mechanism behind psychological factors influencing pain? 3.  How do we address these psychological factors? 4.  What is cognitive restructuring and how can you do it to help pain?

Dr Stephanie Mundt (PT, PhD Candidate) is on talking about bone stress injuries and optimizing the health of athletes to keep them performing and living well.

We talk about: - can you run with pain when you have a bone stress injury

- why bone stress injuries occur

- high risk versus low risk stress fractures

- how to build bone and manage injury risk

Greg speaks with Jeff Beran of Evolution PT and Jeff's partner Frank Tardi.  They run a successful private practice with exercise, health and optimal training as the foundation of their intervention.  They teach a popular course on energy systems training to improve outcomes entitled "Practical Programming: A Clinician's Guide to Maximizing Physical Potential

They share their thoughts on both exercise prescription and manual therapy AND offer mentorships to those looking to learn more about their model.

Their Bios are here

Dr Johan Lahti PhD is a strength and conditioning coach and an expert in the prevention and training on hamstrings.

Johan is a great thinker related to all aspects of strength and conditioning but has a special interest in mitigating the risk of hamstring strains.

• In this episode we talk about: potential risk factors for hamstring strains
• how to best train the hamstrings for performance and injury risk
• using EMG to assess hamstring exercises
• and the role of technique in injuries

Some relevant references

Johan's injury prevention study

Training hamstrings

Sprinting and hamstrings

Dr Gerard McMahon is a sports scientist out of Ulster University with a special interest in how we can train tendons for both performance and rehab.

We talk:

Partial range vs full range squats for vertical jump

Partial range vs long range training to build tendon mechanical properties (e.g stiffness)

Is there a sweetspot for tendon loading (e.g 4.5-6% strain) and why it may be greater than this range.

Why knowing the actual tendon strain may not be required to prescribe exercises to increase tendon stiffness and strength

Dr McMahon's Ulster University Profile

Another very practical and pragmatic podcast.  Dr Falk Mersmann is a leader in how tendons adapt to load and I would say an accidental leader in the minumum effective dose to get tendons to adapt.

Some topics we covered:

• Why having a good balance between tendon stiffness and muscle strength is important for tendinopathy prevention and treatment
• How personalized tendon loading can address this potential risk factor
• Specifics of tendon loading to achieve tendon positive tendon adaptations (e.g increasing stiffness).
• Why plyometrics don’t seem to influence tendon strength
• Why only doing the goal activity (e.g running) may not be enough for a healthy tendon
• Why stretching can’t decrease tendon stiffness
• Limitations of shear wave elastography versus measuring mechanical stiffness

Some relevant papers (all open access) 1.  Addressing tendon - muscle imbalances 

2. Comparing different loading volumes and frequencies to achieve tendon adaptations

3. A functional high load program to prevent/treat tendon related pain in athletes