Thursday, November 18, 2010

NOW is the Time to Change Your Position

After a long race season, most of us are still focusing on recovery while simultaneously making plans for 2011. Unless, of course, you plan to be at Country Walk next Thursday...after all, it is the world championships of South Florida.

Regardless, NOW, NOW, NOW!!!!! is the time to deal with issues you may have had, over the course of last season, related to your position on the bike. Not 3 weeks before your first ever Ironman...ok? NOW!!! Same goes with 3 days before State Road Race...yes, I get this EVERY year. 

It's not that I mind. The sooner the better. It's just that, THIS is the time of the year, when you are/should be, going easy. NOW it is much easier for your body to ADAPT to a new position. 

Even more importantly, which relates to the way the Corrective Bike Fit restores symmetry to your structure...NOW...it is much easier for your body to learn how to function optimally on the bike. 

It's not a simple matter of changing your saddle height, and off you go. Developing proper pedaling mechanics requires in most cases, several weeks of Corrective Stroke Drills. These Drills are designed specifically for the way you compensated for a Structural Abnormality related to the spine, pelvis or anatomical leg length...things you can ONLY see with Structural X-rays.

Think of the Corrective Stroke Drills as an eraser. You use them to erase bad-form, so you can lean good-form.

Corrective Stroke Drills don't only help prevent injury. I recommend them for the treatment of most of the SECONDARY conditions that are so common in cycling such as: low back pain, hip pain, knee pain, etc...

So, PLEASE, if you have an issue, and you are thinking about changing your position on the bike...take advantage of this window of opportunity.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

CORRECTIVE BIKE FIT®

Restore Structural Symmetry to maximize your bio-mechanical efficiency with the CORRECTIVE BIKE FIT®


The Corrective Bike Fit is a by-product of the structural correction work I do with my patients. About 10 years ago, I realized that my patients who were bike racers or triathletes just couldn't correct their spine as well as everyone else. The thing I was missing was the bike fit AND positioning.

I did my homework, looking at all the different fit systems and realized that the dynamic fitting system, using video motion analysis, made the most sense. I want to fit my athletes to their bike when they are "under load" .  This means the bike is set up for racing, not lallygagging.

The other missing piece was how to correct the abnormal stroke that is always present with structural abnormalities like Short Leg Syndrome, Lumbar Scoliosis and a Torqued Pelvis.

I already had the information I needed from when I did the Short Leg Study during the Structural X-Ray examination.  All the compensations that the body develops to deal with abnormal structure, that are present whether you are standing, running or laying down are present on the bike as well.

The solution to optimizing an athletes stroke was right before my eyes. It is just a matter of knowing what is going on structurally, on the inside, to correct what was going on functionally.

CALL 561-826-7101

WHY WOULD YOU NEED ALL OF THIS JUST TO RIDE A BIKE???
 
Ok, there's riding a bike and then there's RIDING A BIKE! Pro cyclists and triathletes spend as much time on pedaling technique and bike fit as they do anything.  Besides achieving maximum spinal correction, athletes are especially interested in efficiency and power while PREVENTING injury or recovering from injury.

So your answer depends on how serious you are about your performance.

CALL 561-826-7101

SO YOU'RE GOING TO MEASURE MY INSEAM AND  MY FOREARM AND THAT'S IT?

That's one way to do it. This is how the fitters who follow a "static" model for bike fitting do it. I'm sure they do a great job at it.

What I'm interested in is what you are doing "under load"...but that's not where I start.
First: I am going to aline your feet with your ankle and knee BEFORE I x-ray you for a short leg and any other structural abnormalities in the lower spine or pelvis. This initial step will shows us if there is a PRIMARY CONDITION that can generate a variety of SECONDARY CONDITIONS that you may feel or display in the form of abnormal function on the bike.
Some of the most common SECONDARY CONDITIONS that may require your attention are:
  • Low Back Pain

  • Hip Pain

  • Numbness and Tingling

  • Herniated Disc

  • Degenerative Disc Disease

  • Degenerative Joint Disease

  • Decreased Range of Motion

  • Knee Pain

  • Cramping

  • TFL Syndrome

  • Neck Pain

  • Poor Power Production

  • Saddle Sores

  • Erectile Dysfunction


  • Second:  After any structural abnormalities are addressed then you will get on your bike in front of the video camera and we will document what you are doing right and wrong on the bike.  You will have to make a satisfactory number of efforts to establish how you compensate and determine the current fit of the bike.


    Third: We make necessary changes to the bike set-up and we test them, under load, until I am happy.

    Finally:  Functional correction drills are necessary. I will monitor you in your new position, if change is necessary, and train you on how to clean up your stroke, to restore balance to the legs and pelvis while protecting, and in the case of patients, assisting in the correction of their spine.  I also enjoy working on aero -positioning as well, and this is built in.