foot pain Blog Posts


Foot Strike Patterns and Running Injuries

February 8, 2012
There was an article on the New York Times Well blog about foot strike patterns (whether we heel or forefoot strike when the foot hits the ground) and running injuries. This one seems to indicate there is evidence that heel striking may contribute to foot or lower leg injuries. It seems in most articles I’ve [...]
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Barefoot Running Training

November 13, 2011
Just read Christopher McDougall’s article in NY Times about barefoot running training. I like the exercise he mentions in the article to train your body to run barefoot better. His general recommendation seems to be that we should be running on our forefeet. I agree with this mechanically but realistically it hasn’t
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Hammertoes and Femoral Retroversion

April 30, 2011
Just saw a patient today with foot pain. I noticed the non-painful foot has prominent hammertoes. After further testing I discovered she had a retroverted femur (a femur that is twisted into external rotation). I asked her to change her gait pattern to accommodate her retroverted femur. When she did, her hammertoes diminished. A
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Kids Running Mechanics

April 30, 2011
Was just at a kids running fundraiser where pre-school through second graders ran around an 1/8 mile track as many times as they could to raise money for their school. It was so much fun! I couldn’t help but notice that every child ran with a forefoot strike pattern. This lends credibility to a new [...]
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Do Orthotics Help?

January 24, 2011
I just read a great article by Gina Kolata from the New York Times. It talked about the fact that no one is really sure how foot orthotics work-but that they do most of the times. Also that many doctors have different approaches to casting orthoses. And that when it comes down to it, there [...]
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Barefoot Running: Is it Right for Everyone?

November 26, 2010
Just saw a little video on NBC5News about barefoot running. It was a good piece I thought. I liked what the podiatrist said about needing instruction to run correctly. This is true. I also agree that it’s not for everyone, as some people’s feet are different than others in terms of flexibility, pronation, and supinat
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Plantar Fasciitis, Heel Spur, and Bunion Treatment

October 27, 2010
I’ve been experimenting with a new concept in treating plantar fasciitis based on foot-strike patterns and have been very successful with it. I’m doing the research for my next book, Fixing You: Foot & Ankle Pain (which won’t be out for quite some time!). The one thing I’ve noticed, however, is that a
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Dry Needling Hurdles

October 21, 2010
My last two posts have been about trying dry needling on a patient with carpal tunnel syndrome and using this modality for bunion correction. I’m disappointed to say I’m running into some hurdles. The first deals with the bunions and is that most people don’t feel comfortable having needles inserted into their
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Bunions, Biomechanics, and Dry Needling?

September 16, 2010
I’ve been experimenting with the effects of reduced heel strike and increased mid- or forefoot strike patterns on issues such as plantar fasciitis, heel spurs, bunions, and other foot maladies for my sixth book in the Fixing You series. It’s been very interesting and I believe this should be an integral part of treat
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Marathon Training & Foot Strike Pattern

September 3, 2010
I’ve been training for my 3rd marathon testing my theories about foot mechanics by running in Chuck Taylors (Converse) shoes. And no, I’m not sponsored by Converse! I’m up to my 20-mile runs and am feeling very good about my foot strike mechanics (although wish I was a faster runner!). I’ve had no, foot,
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