Movement is Medicine: Dr. Matthew Brackney on Muscle Mechanics, Injury Prevention, and Keeping You Running Strong

Transcript

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Well, hello and welcome.

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If this is your first time with us, thank you for stopping by.

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You're listening to Choose to Endure, the show dedicated to the back-of-the-pack runners, where we share stories, interviews, gear and training tips specific to the tail-end heroes of the Ultra Universe.

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If you haven't had a moment to do so yet, please consider heading over to your favorite podcast app hit, follow, rate the show and, if you're getting something of value, leave us a review and let others know.

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And finished numerous ultra distances, all the way up through 220 miles, and I am unashamedly a member of the back of the pack.

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Just like many of you Now, have you ever wondered why certain injuries keep coming back despite all your efforts to heal?

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What if the key to preventing common running injuries lies in how you move Well?

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Today, we're super excited to have Dr Matthew Brackney as our guest to help answer those questions and maybe more.

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Dr Brackney is a highly accomplished doctor of chiropractic and a certified chiropractic sports practitioner with extensive expertise in sports therapy and human movement.

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He holds a master's degree in physical education and motor learning from the University of Houston and has served as assistant athletic trainer for Rice University Athletics and provided sports chiropractic services for all Rice University Athletics between 2016 and 2019.

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As the valedictorian of his chiropractic college class, dr Brackney has dedicated his career to helping both elite and everyday athletes like us improve their movement, heal from injuries and lead healthier lives.

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Dr Brackney's approach combines chiropractic adjustments, muscle therapy and therapeutic exercises to address the root causes of pain and injury.

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He believes that movement is medicine and is passionate about educating his patients on how to take care of their bodies to prevent future issues.

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Fantastic.

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Join us as we dive into his innovative concepts, especially victim and culprit in sports injuries, and grab yourself some valuable techniques to enhance your running experience, whatever your level.

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Discover raw, inspiring stories from runners who've been right where you are.

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This is the Choose to.

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Endure Ultra Running Podcast With your host he's English, not Australian Richard Gleave.

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Dr B, welcome to the show.

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Thank you so much for sparing a little of your very busy time to talk to us today.

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How are you doing, sir?

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Hi Richard, I'm doing great.

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Thank you for having me on the podcast.

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I'm really excited to talk with you.

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Well, that was some bio and some intro, so you know just a little bit to live up to there Fantastic.

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Thank you.

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Yeah, we talked a little bit there about victim and culprit.

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I know that's something you've pitched before like hey, I really want to talk about this, so maybe we get into this concept.

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What is victim and culprit in the context of sports injuries?

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What are we talking about here?

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Yeah, it's a great question.

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That's the little terminology that I've used, but essentially it's identifying the root cause of the issue.

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So you know I had an amazing background in sports medicine.

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That was my undergraduate training was in athletic training.

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You know sports medicine.

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But so much of the way we used to look at the body was based on conditions.

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You know, just here's patellar tendonitis, here's a plantar fasciitis, and you'd look at that condition and you're just looking at that anatomy and that tissue.

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What are the exercises that you do for this area?

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What are the therapies that you provide for this area?

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And there's a lot of value to those things.

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Those are necessary.

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But what I learned actually at my time at Rice this is when I learned this lesson and I'll tell you how I learned it here in a minute but what I learned was that just because someone has pain in a certain area doesn't mean that's where the problem is coming from.

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You can have incredible results when you address the actual root cause issue.

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So just to give a little bit of the context there, I was an athletic trainer before I was a chiropractor, so that was my background.

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Like you mentioned, I was working at Rice.

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I worked primarily with the swimming team as well as the tennis teams, a swimmer who was dealing with shoulder pain.

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She had shoulder pain.

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She started seeing me every day in the athletic training room and we started doing ultrasound.

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We started doing some exercises, we started to e-stim every day in the area.

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She was just not getting any better and this went on for at least a month, so a whole month.

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She's still kind of practicing, but she's practicing limited.

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You know, she's not going full go and she was.

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She was a, she was a pretty good swimmer, she was a contributing member of the team, you know, and in university athletics, you know division one athletics and stuff a lot of times their education is linked to their scholarships.

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So it's not, you know, it's a big deal for them.

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They, if they lose that scholarship, they may not be able to continue their higher education, you know.

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So there's a pressure there to help these athletes get better and get better as soon as possible.

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Staff said, hey, have your athlete go see one of the chiropractors.

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And my initial thought was the chiropractor?

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It's her shoulder, not her back.

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Why would I have her go see the chiropractor?

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And the head athletic trainer at the time she she said just trust me have him go see the chiropractor.

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We'll, we'll see what they say.

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So I signed her up to see the chiropractor.

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I didn't actually go with her to see the chiropractor.

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He would come a couple times a week to the athletic training room.

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He came, she saw him for a session.

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I saw her the next day and she came into the athletic training room.

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I was like what's your pain scale today?

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What's your pain like today?

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I was like what's your pain scale today?

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You know what's your pain like today?

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And she was like it's a zero.

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And I was like a zero.

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I was befuddled, I was baffled yeah, because you know she hadn't had no pain in six weeks.

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So she was like, yeah, I saw the chiropractor and the pain's gone.

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And I was just flabbergasted that she could have that fast results after one session.

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So I go in next time this guy comes to Rice, to the university.

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I went in there and I was like, hey, man, thank you for helping my athlete.

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But what did you do?

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I was just.

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I was like I was almost indignant as well Like I've been working on this athlete trying to get her better for a month and with no results.

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And you see her one time and she's fixed, just walk right in.

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Yeah, I was so confused so he opened my eyes to this concept.

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He said she didn't have a shoulder problem.

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I think I had mentioned something like how did you fix her shoulder?

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He's like well, the problem wasn't her shoulder, the problem was her neck.

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After I shoulder, he's like well, the problem wasn't her shoulder, the problem was her neck.

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And you know I, after I picked my job off the floor, he explained to me you know, just because someone has pain in the area, it doesn't mean that's where the problem is.

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So many times the area that hurts is the victim, it's the tissue that's getting excessively stressed or pulled or twisted or compressed.

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It's getting biomechanically affected because of neighboring anatomy that's not working appropriately.

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That was a really big light bulb moment for me as a clinician and from that moment on I began to look at the body.

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That way, I began to be more thorough in my evaluation.

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So instead of just looking, someone came to me with knee pain instead of just looking at their knee, I started looking at their ankles and their hips and their low back as well, to see if I could find something that was overtly wrong in those other areas.

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That may make sense why it was affecting their knee in this case.

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So that particular chiropractor, he became my mentor, he became a mentor of mine.

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He taught me a lot organically there and that really revolutionized how I looked at the body and how I approached injuries and pain.

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So it's kind of like, instead of fixing the symptom, look for the root cause.

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Yeah, I think that's probably the simplest way to say it.

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It's a root cause approach.

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You're trying to address really what the root cause issues are.

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Yeah.

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So now, what would be in that context?

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What would be some common injuries you might think of for runners in particular, especially those here like me at the back of the pack?

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I was thinking, as you were talking, things like shin splints maybe, or hip or IT band problems.

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Are those the kind of things where you might look at that and go, okay, well, I might look at that and think, why is my shin hurting?

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I've got to roll my shin.

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But you might come in with that victim-corporate context and say, actually it might be something else going on there.

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Yes, yeah, that's a great example.

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So do you see common injuries like that?

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A hundred percent, yeah, shin splints, plantar fasciitis, patellar tendonitis, jumper's knee, if you will, it band friction syndrome like runner's knee snapping hip.

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You know people have clicking or snapping hips.

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Ooh, yeah, even you know a lot of low back pain.

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Snapping hip, that sounds amazing.

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All of those what used to be called overuse injuries, but now the sports medicine world kind of refers to them more as repetitive use type injuries.

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Those are all great examples that are.

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Usually this concept applies to where the thing that hurts isn't really the problem.

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It's really the tissue that's getting beat up, so to speak.

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Yeah, and I think we might even have talked about this at some point before.

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But this whole sort of concept of kinetic chain, where things are linked to each other further up and down the chain and if there's something out of whack either further up the chain it can cause knock-on effects down the line, so to speak.

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Yep, as you were mentioning about back I mean back issues, hip issues causing things lower down that chain too.

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Exactly that apply to this victim-culprit type model, particularly when you're talking about injuries, sports injuries and pain related to physical activity.

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There's what you were just talking about, which is basically the kinetic chain and basically anatomy.

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So if you understand, if you know the anatomy, if you know how the hamstring ties into the knee and how that ties into the calf, this becomes pretty easy.

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So anatomy, and then the second part is biomechanics, and that takes an expert eye and training in understanding how biomechanics works.

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But that can also you can have faulty biomechanics in an area that leads to an issue in another area.

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But a lot of times and this is where I like teaching folks is just kind of showing them those kinetic chains and how, yeah, you have a really painful Achilles but it might be because of the calf or your hamstring being really tight.

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So kind of learning to explore upstream and downstream, if you will, and just learning that concept.

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Man, someone could really fix a lot of their own issues if they understood that concept.

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So that's something I like teaching people.

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Absolutely.

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And are there specific techniques or strategies that, when you're talking to people and you're teaching them these things that you kind of share, that might help us prevent our own injuries?

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100%.

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There's tons of different techniques, but to me… To be as simple and maybe straightforward as possible, I think the vibration guns are brilliant.

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I think everyone who's an athlete in any way, shape or form needs to have one.

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They're such good tools at doing the myofascial release digging into muscles, helping break apart restrictive tight fascial adhesions, helping break apart knots.

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Oh yeah.

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Stretching and using that vibration tool are really, really effective.

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Like I said, there's I mean there's, you know, foam rollers, lacrosse balls, sticks and all these tools are awesome and they all have their place.

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In fact, all of those tools pretty much do the same type of thing.

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You know, the vibration gun, a foam roller, a lacrosse ball it's all basically doing the same thing.

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You're kneading the muscle and you're kneading the connective tissue that's called fascia.

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You're helping it not be too adhesive or sticky to the muscle.

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It all kind of does the same thing at the muscle level, but they're just sort of different tools for different areas, you know yeah like different.

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You think about different screwdrivers.

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You know flathead versus phillips head, but if you were to just get one, I'd get the vibration gun, because it it's you know you can.

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You can bring it anywhere it's tends to be.

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You get results a little bit faster.

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Is that one of those things where you get what you pay for with the vibration gun?

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Because there's a wide variety of those tools out there, Would you suggest, hey, if you're going to go get one, make sure it's as good as you can afford essentially.

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There definitely is a you get what you pay for factor.

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So a few years ago, maybe like five, six, maybe seven years ago now, there's pretty much only one main one that was on the market and it was a little bit.

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It's not cheap, it's not terribly expensive, but it's nothing to sneeze at 300, 400 bucks and it's a really great tool.

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It's the one that I have now.

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It's an excellent tool, it's well-made, it lasts a long time.

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But over the years the market's been inundated with other ones, which I think is actually a good thing, because there are some pretty good quality products out there that you can get for just cheaper.

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I think I've even seen some as inexpensive as like $30 on Amazon.

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Oh wow, yeah.

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Inexpensive as like 30 bucks on Amazon?

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Oh wow, yeah.

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But if, if, if you're going to be using it with regularity, I'd I'd recommend you.

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You know, maybe you don't have to get the most expensive one, but get something that in the middle of the price range so that it'll last you.

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So we talked quite a bit about standard sports injuries, particularly running injuries, there for a minute.

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But obviously you're on the chiropractic side as well.

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How can chiropractic care help us with our performance and aid in recovery for us specifically as ultra runners?

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a really important therapy.

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The way I look at it is, I teach a lot of people to try to take care of their own muscles.

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You know, talk about the vibration guns, stretching techniques and what muscles to stretch with their particular issue.

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But what a lot of people can't do on their own is the joint therapy that I can provide.

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You know other sports chiropractors and even sports physical therapists can provide.

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Yeah, you know there's just stuff that you can't do to your own body.

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So there's the.

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You know chiropractors call it the adjustment, physical therapists call it a manipulation.

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It's the same exact thing but different sports medicine realms call it different things.

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But essentially what it is is decompressing compressed joints.

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That's essentially what it is.

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There's sometimes nuances to that, but that's essentially what's going on.

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So two joint surfaces get excessively compressed and when they get compressed it acts like a suction cup and that suction, you know where there's a vacuum effect and there's not a lot of movement.

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That's great for suction cups, but it's bad for joints.

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Joints need to be able to freely move.

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They're not meant to be stuck and adhesed.

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When they're like that, that leads to the joints not being the the, the joint fluid it's called synovial fluid.

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That tends to get dried out because there's not movement happening and that's like if your engine got low on oil, your car engine had got low on oil, there'd be excessive friction and that would really be bad for the engine.

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Well, in the same way, when there's a diminished amount of synovial fluid, that's really bad for joints.

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You know, joints get more wear and tear.

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They just kind of hurt and ache more.

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There's more inflammation.

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So this joint decompression therapy, the adjustment manipulation, whatever you want to call it, is decompressing those joints.

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So now that joint can move appropriately again, now that joint can move appropriately again.

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So whenever you go and you get popped, that's what's happening is the that suction, that suction is getting is getting released and now the joint can move appropriately.

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That's just not something that is.

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Yeah, that's what the pop is and that's a.

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It's just not something you can do on your own In most cases.

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Some people can crack their low back, you know, and that's fine, but there's a lot of you can't pop your own ankles, you can't pop your own hips in most cases.

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So that's something that you know.

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It's really valuable to have a sports chiropractor like me to be able to help out with.

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But obviously the you know the expertise of understanding the biomechanics, you know the mind is also important.

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It's not just not just the physical popping of joints, but also, you know, understanding how the body works and helping people implement strategic concepts to get over their issue faster, you know so yeah, now my, my body pops and cracks all over the place For the synovial fluid.

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Is it possible to get that back?

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I'm just asking for a friend, is it?

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gone.

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When it's gone Not all joints, but most joints, the big main moving joints that we think of shoulder, hips, knees, ankles, hands, fingers they have this joint lining called synovium and that's what produces that little engine oil, that synovial fluid.

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So, yeah, it can come back.

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If you get damage to that synovium, then it can affect the ability of the joint to produce synovial fluid.

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But yeah, it's self-replenishing, which is pretty cool.

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That is cool.

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Are there specific adjustments that you would suggest would be particularly beneficial for runners?

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Maybe the back or I don't know even shoulder, because you're swinging quite a lot with that sort of full body movement.

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The spine really is an important foundational element.

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From a biomechanics standpoint the spine is sort of the foundation of the body.

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So a lot of lower extremity issues, hip and knee issues.

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A lot of times it stems from the back and the back is dysfunctional in some way and that leads to inappropriate biomechanics.

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It leads to then knee pain.

00:20:03.778 --> 00:20:24.726
So the back and the pelvis, the sacroiliac joint, is a really it's starting to become, you know, more common knowledge about that particular joint, but it is such an important joint for the low back, the pelvis, the hips, and it seems to be involved in just nearly anyone that ever has back pain.

00:20:24.726 --> 00:20:27.112
This joint's involved at least somewhat.

00:20:27.112 --> 00:20:31.388
So that's a really important joint to have functioning appropriately.

00:20:31.388 --> 00:20:33.453
And then I'd say the ankles and the feet.

00:20:33.453 --> 00:20:39.807
That would be the the next one I would say for runners, that's a really important one.

00:20:39.807 --> 00:20:58.343
The feet if they're not absorbing shock well, if the muscles are imbalanced calf is too tight, shin muscles too weak that tends to lead to a lot of lower extremity issues, pain and injuries.

00:20:58.343 --> 00:21:05.407
So having those joints aligned appropriately and decompressed appropriately is super valuable.

00:21:05.407 --> 00:21:17.386
And that's not something that every chiropractor does, but usually more a sports chiropractor or a sports physical therapist tend to be more skilled in the feet and the ankle.

00:21:18.650 --> 00:21:24.405
So, folks you heard Dr B go get your your feet, your ankle, checked out and get your lower back worked on for sure.

00:21:24.405 --> 00:21:45.346
Now, as far as movement mechanics go, are there some key elements of, of the way we move as runners, or in particularly, ultra runners, where we're out there for such a long time trying to do a repetitive motion that we should be aware of or focusing on making sure we get right?

00:21:46.068 --> 00:21:48.252
Yeah, I think that a couple things come to mind.

00:21:48.252 --> 00:21:50.858
One is just having mobile hips.

00:21:50.858 --> 00:22:00.671
So the more tight our hips are, the more stress and strain there's going to be in our hips, also our knees, and then our feet and ankles as well.

00:22:00.671 --> 00:22:09.277
So the common pattern this isn't everybody right, but one of the most common patterns is really tight hip flexors.

00:22:09.277 --> 00:22:17.118
So a lot of us sit when we work, sit when we drive, sitting at school or what have you.

00:22:17.118 --> 00:22:28.060
So the common pattern is tightness in our quads and hip flexors and then relative weakness or just less use in our glutes and hamstrings.

00:22:28.060 --> 00:22:44.000
So if I were to be overly simplistic, you know, I would say just about everybody could benefit from being diligent about stretching their hip flexors and quads and then making sure they're using and activating their glutes and hamstrings.

00:22:44.000 --> 00:22:53.413
Again, that's a massive oversimplification, but it's a really common pattern that can lead to a lot of different types of injuries and pain.

00:22:53.413 --> 00:23:01.137
So I'm confident, like I said, that just about most people could benefit from that idea, that concept.

00:23:02.505 --> 00:23:05.413
Yeah Now, dr B, you talked about stretching and so on there.

00:23:05.413 --> 00:23:06.395
Now there's definitely a.

00:23:06.395 --> 00:23:11.267
I wouldn't call it an argument, but there's a difference of opinion with the whole stretching thing.

00:23:11.267 --> 00:23:15.135
Should we be stretching before a run or after a run?

00:23:15.135 --> 00:23:19.472
Should we be doing more dynamic warmups, maybe prior to a run?

00:23:19.472 --> 00:23:20.275
Is that enough?

00:23:20.275 --> 00:23:24.786
Where do you stand on the whole warmup, stretching kind of thing?

00:23:25.027 --> 00:23:29.498
Stretching is a tool, so it's a great tool when you use it the right way.

00:23:29.498 --> 00:23:35.656
If you use a hammer and you have a screw, that's a terrible tool.

00:23:35.656 --> 00:23:37.626
You might say that tool doesn't work.

00:23:37.626 --> 00:23:39.211
Well, that's not true.

00:23:39.211 --> 00:23:40.414
A hammer does work.

00:23:40.414 --> 00:23:45.053
You just have to use it in the right circumstance, you have to use it with a nail and then it works great.

00:23:45.053 --> 00:23:59.306
So stretching should be looked at the same way, and I think that's sometimes when people, experts even they're not addressed looking at appropriate, they're just looking at it as one one thing and yep, stretching either it works or it doesn't.

00:23:59.306 --> 00:24:00.568
I think that's.

00:24:00.568 --> 00:24:01.652
I think that's short-sighted.

00:24:01.652 --> 00:24:05.111
I think it's a tool and when it's used appropriately it's awesome.

00:24:05.111 --> 00:24:06.434
Just in general.

00:24:06.434 --> 00:24:13.256
So if we're talking about warming up, then I would say a dynamic warmup is more appropriate.

00:24:13.256 --> 00:24:24.826
If you're just talking about you're just needing to get warmed up, needing to get your muscles more elastic and blood flowing, then I would say a dynamic type warmup is more appropriate.

00:24:24.826 --> 00:24:29.897
But stretching is a fantastic tool in several different circumstances.

00:24:29.897 --> 00:24:43.229
When you have an adaptively shortened muscle, so when a muscle is really tight you ever been on a phone call for a long time and you're holding the phone to your ear and your bicep muscle starts to get really tight and you stretch it out.

00:24:43.229 --> 00:24:47.156
And you're holding the phone to your ear and your bicep muscle starts to get really tight and you stretch it out oh my gosh, it's so tight.

00:24:47.156 --> 00:24:53.034
What was happening is that muscle was getting shortened because it was in that position for a long time.

00:24:53.034 --> 00:25:00.196
So this concept that's a sort of extreme example, but that sort of concept happens all the time.

00:25:00.196 --> 00:25:08.792
So when we sit for a long period of time, our quads and our hip flexors get adaptively shortened and tightened.

00:25:08.792 --> 00:25:10.903
When a muscle is in a position for an extended amount of time, it tends to adapt to that position.

00:25:10.903 --> 00:25:15.232
That's the principle I'm referring to.

00:25:15.232 --> 00:25:25.076
So back to the example of the quads and the hip flexors if someone sits a lot, their hip flexors and quads are going to get shortened, and when they're shortened they need to be stretched.

00:25:25.076 --> 00:25:28.848
So that's one example of when stretching is really valuable.

00:25:28.848 --> 00:25:31.355
Another is when you're dealing with a really stubborn knot.

00:25:31.355 --> 00:25:41.638
Knots respond really well to stretching, but a particular type of stretching the contract relax stretching technique so this has a few different names.

00:25:41.638 --> 00:25:45.829
Stretching technique so this has a few different names.

00:25:45.849 --> 00:25:47.516
Different medical disciplines call it different things.

00:25:47.516 --> 00:25:51.007
The physical therapists call it PNF stretching or proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation.

00:25:51.007 --> 00:25:56.781
Osteopaths, osteopathic physicians call it post-isometric relaxation.

00:25:56.781 --> 00:26:07.559
But the concept is this when you stretch a muscle, there's a neurological reflex that wants to reflexively contract and kind of fight that stretch.

00:26:07.559 --> 00:26:16.702
So when you squeeze the muscle and activate it and then stretch it, you actually are able to inhibit or shut off that reflexive little mechanism.

00:26:16.702 --> 00:26:17.865
That's what happens.

00:26:17.944 --> 00:26:37.615
So this idea, how you implement this in a stretch is you stretch a muscle let's say you're stretching your quad you hold it for a good, you know, normal 15 or so seconds and you just engage the muscles you press against your hand or whatever you're holding your leg up with for a few seconds three seconds, one, two, three and then you relax.

00:26:37.615 --> 00:26:44.489
After you relax, you'll pull further into the stretch and you'll notice you can go deeper into the stretch.

00:26:44.489 --> 00:26:51.994
Like I said, what happened is you were able to shut off that reflexive contraction mechanism that our body does and you're able to get a deeper stretch.

00:26:51.994 --> 00:26:54.950
But that also helps with knots.

00:26:54.950 --> 00:26:58.546
When you have a knot in a muscle that's really stubborn, you're having a hard time with it.

00:26:58.546 --> 00:27:00.829
That contract, relax, stretch is really valuable.

00:27:00.829 --> 00:27:06.546
So that's another example of a really valuable circumstance where stretching is great, it's fantastic.

00:27:06.546 --> 00:27:21.031
So yeah, like I said, if we're just talking about warming up, then I think it's better to do a dynamic type warmup, but there are certain circumstances where you need to stretch, because it's a valuable tool.

00:27:21.836 --> 00:27:30.634
Yeah, now you talked about some of the exercises that are potentially doing a stretch and I think earlier on we got into a little bit of the practices like the rolling and the percussion gun.

00:27:30.634 --> 00:27:44.127
But can you share with us just some basic exercises or routines that you feel might be useful for runners like us that we might be able to do at home just to kind of keep ourselves in a good health state?

00:27:44.569 --> 00:27:45.653
Totally so.

00:27:45.653 --> 00:27:54.478
Going back to that pattern, I like to talk about patterns because it helps create a framework for the victim-culprit concept.

00:27:54.478 --> 00:28:07.551
So, like I was saying, a really common pattern is tightness in the hip flexors, tightness in the quads and then relative Pattern is tightness in the hip flexors, tightness in the quads and then relative I don't want to say weakness, but inactivity, disuse of the glutes and hamstrings.

00:28:07.551 --> 00:28:15.017
So with that, doing the lunge stretch is a really valuable stretch for the hip flexors.

00:28:15.017 --> 00:28:16.898
There's some nuance to it.

00:28:16.898 --> 00:28:22.241
Sometimes people do that stretch incorrectly and it leads to and they're just not feeling a good stretch.

00:28:22.241 --> 00:28:30.366
So the hip flexor stretches in a lunge type position.

00:28:30.366 --> 00:28:36.519
If you'd like, I could send you a video a YouTube video that I have that goes over how to do that stretch correctly for your listeners.

00:28:37.505 --> 00:28:38.166
Yeah, absolutely.

00:28:38.166 --> 00:29:07.234
I mean, if you've got any, I will put them in the show notes and we can just link straight out to to your YouTube videos for anyone that wants to take a that stretch and you're not arching your back, but you have a flat back in that, in that lunge type stretch.

00:29:07.675 --> 00:29:10.790
That makes a real big difference in getting the stretch in the right place.

00:29:10.790 --> 00:29:14.688
So and then also, like I said, you know, stretching the quad.

00:29:14.688 --> 00:29:16.513
Most people know how to stretch their own quad.

00:29:16.513 --> 00:29:19.749
You know the classic pull your heel to your butt.

00:29:19.749 --> 00:29:22.231
You know from gym class when you're in eighth grade.

00:29:22.231 --> 00:29:24.496
I like to do that.

00:29:24.496 --> 00:29:25.497
That's a great stretch.

00:29:25.497 --> 00:29:39.867
I like to do that same thing, but instead of using my hand to hold my foot where it's supposed to be, I like to use a couch, a bed, a bench, something to prop my foot on.

00:29:39.867 --> 00:29:44.696
So that way I have both my hands free and I'm not trying to balance on one leg and hop around.

00:29:45.238 --> 00:29:45.939
Ah, makes sense.

00:29:46.199 --> 00:29:50.830
Yeah, little sort of pro tip, if you will, on that stretch, but but it's the same stretch.

00:29:50.830 --> 00:29:58.748
And then, as far as the glutes and the hamstrings, I'm a big fan of of simple stuff like hip bridges.

00:29:58.748 --> 00:30:12.839
I, I I work with patients a lot on these types of issues and hip bridge is something I use all the time with my patients so making sure they're feeling it in the right place and they're not overarching their back.

00:30:12.839 --> 00:30:14.082
Those are important concepts.

00:30:31.846 --> 00:30:32.807
But a hip bridge is just.

00:30:32.807 --> 00:30:36.471
It's a really nice little simple, easy, you can do it anywhere.

00:30:36.471 --> 00:30:41.076
Exercise to get glutes and hamstrings a little bit active.

00:30:41.076 --> 00:30:43.619
How is consistent physical activity?

00:30:43.619 --> 00:30:49.394
How does that contribute to our overall health beyond just where we're at in the running?

00:30:49.394 --> 00:30:52.047
Well, why should we continually move?

00:30:52.047 --> 00:30:53.990
Why is movement so good for us?

00:30:54.992 --> 00:31:11.576
Yeah, it's something I'm really passionate about and that little phrase I kind of started using I didn't come up with that phrase, that's been around, I use it and I like it and I think it makes a lot of sense.

00:31:11.576 --> 00:31:25.339
The reason I think it's so valuable is you look at so many of the common causes of death in our society and all of Western culture.

00:31:25.339 --> 00:31:32.792
They're all lifestyle-based Heart disease, stroke, cancers, diabetes, lung disease.

00:31:32.792 --> 00:31:38.205
Those are all related to lifestyle factors what you eat.

00:31:38.205 --> 00:31:41.288
If you're physically active, do you smoke?

00:31:41.288 --> 00:31:56.182
If you eat better food, better choices, and you stay physically active, don't smoke, you can really avoid the top killers of people in our world.

00:31:56.182 --> 00:32:11.732
So from that standpoint, that's why I'm so passionate about helping people stay in these activities they love doing Stay running or weightlifting or whatever it is Golf or hiking.

00:32:12.925 --> 00:32:17.493
I want to help keep people involved in these little athletic endeavors.

00:32:17.493 --> 00:32:21.160
They're a part of because it's so important to our overall health.

00:32:21.160 --> 00:32:27.388
Part of because it's so important to our overall health.

00:32:27.388 --> 00:32:33.086
Physical activity is super important for our cardiovascular health, our musculoskeletal health muscles, joints but also our mental health.

00:32:33.086 --> 00:32:36.922
We've learned a lot about that more recently in these past few years.

00:32:36.922 --> 00:32:40.368
That physical activity is so important for mental health.

00:32:40.368 --> 00:32:55.290
It is unbelievable the amount of benefit it has for different mental health issues, whether it be anxiety or depression, and then also our metabolism, how our internal body functions.

00:32:55.290 --> 00:33:08.048
So much research that that's come out in the past decade, two decades, about how important physical activity is for so many different aspects of our of our health.

00:33:08.550 --> 00:33:21.734
So and then the other kind of piece to that is you know, if you have a physical injury, a physical problem, then in my opinion a physical solution is most appropriate.

00:33:21.734 --> 00:33:30.343
If you have a chemical problem, um, then a chemical solution tends to make more sense as being appropriate.

00:33:30.343 --> 00:33:37.903
But the sort of traditional Western medical model doesn't view it that way.

00:33:37.903 --> 00:33:44.401
They just use chemical approaches for everything, a chemical approach for every problem.

00:33:44.401 --> 00:33:49.500
So that's sort of an aspect of that little phrase as well.

00:33:49.500 --> 00:33:57.321
If you have a biomechanical problem, then a biomechanical solution is the most appropriate solution.

00:33:58.724 --> 00:34:04.182
Yeah, and I think that sort of resonates with the audience for this podcast too.

00:34:04.182 --> 00:34:08.742
I mean, nobody is out here saying you have to move quickly or be the fastest.

00:34:08.742 --> 00:34:15.018
I think people are just saying just get out there and move, that fluidity.

00:34:15.018 --> 00:34:18.804
I think really we have such a sedentary lifestyle.

00:34:18.804 --> 00:34:22.717
We sit around as we've talked about just a short while ago.

00:34:22.878 --> 00:34:50.661
We sit around and we don't move during our work life and we work longer and longer hours and there's so much evidence, I think, that not just from the physical but, as you brought up, the mental side of things, that getting outside, in particular trail running as well as many other sports out there, but when you're out in nature and you're moving around, moving along the landscape on your own two feet and just kind of, there is definitely a mental aspect.

00:34:51.331 --> 00:34:53.719
But you can only get there by moving right.

00:34:53.719 --> 00:35:03.445
So if you look after your engine, your car, you can get out there and drive it and go to some really cool places and get the benefits of the mental side of things.

00:35:03.445 --> 00:35:13.304
But I think you know when your car starts to break down you can't take it places and then you lose that option from the mental side of things.

00:35:13.304 --> 00:35:19.481
I agree, I think, just moving, and I don't care if you're the slowest person out there or the fastest person out there.

00:35:19.481 --> 00:35:26.739
I think it's amazing when people get up and give it a go and just commit to moving, really, just commit to moving, really.

00:35:27.079 --> 00:35:35.289
Yeah, there's um, there's been some just such cool little uh examples in recent history.

00:35:35.289 --> 00:35:41.619
I've seen of people in their eighties, sometimes nineties, running marathons.

00:35:41.619 --> 00:35:52.889
You mentioned just earlier of a recent experience you had with, uh, someone in their eighties, I believe you said running their first marathon, with someone in their 80s, I believe you said running their first marathon.

00:35:52.889 --> 00:36:00.217
I've seen other examples of men and women doing incredible athletic feats well into their years and they didn't start that way.

00:36:00.217 --> 00:36:06.063
They started where they could and then they built up and worked at it.

00:36:06.710 --> 00:36:17.159
But I think that's so inspiring because we just tell ourselves the narrative, the lie, that well, I'm getting older, I guess I can't run anymore.

00:36:17.579 --> 00:36:20.112
Well, I'm getting older, I guess I can't do this anymore.

00:36:20.112 --> 00:36:26.534
And I think in a lot of cases that's just wrong, that's a lie that we kind of buy into.

00:36:26.534 --> 00:36:38.760
But I think if you just keep moving, you know, even if you can't do as much as you used to be able to do, but at least if you just keep moving, you're going to preserve your joints, you're going to preserve your muscles, you're going to make your body more resilient.

00:36:38.760 --> 00:36:48.115
So bone density right, bone density is is improved when you bear weight in your body, when you run, lift weights.

00:36:48.115 --> 00:36:50.181
Those things help improve bone density.

00:36:50.181 --> 00:37:08.530
So there's just there's so many health medical benefits for staying physically active, and I hope that more and more people decide to go against the grain and say you know what, even though I'm getting older, I'm still going to get out and I'm going to try this new activity.

00:37:08.530 --> 00:37:11.552
I'm going to try to do a trail run, like you said.

00:37:12.052 --> 00:37:21.900
I think it's really interesting when you look at the demographics of people out doing ultra runs and these are, by definition, anything longer than a marathon.

00:37:21.900 --> 00:37:33.056
It could be anything up to hundreds of miles, you know, but the demographics of people at these races are all 35 to 65 and maybe a bit higher than that.

00:37:33.056 --> 00:37:55.181
There's relatively few young people actually getting into the sport age and thinking, wow, I'm really feeling like I haven't run, I haven't been athletic, I haven't moved for I don't know 10, 15 years since I was in my twenties.

00:37:55.181 --> 00:38:06.681
It seems like there's a lot of people in this particular sport of ultra running who are in that age bracket, certainly the 40 to 65 bracket.

00:38:06.681 --> 00:38:08.916
So I think it's really interesting that.

00:38:08.916 --> 00:38:09.998
I think it's.

00:38:09.998 --> 00:38:22.021
It's one of these moments where people kind of have this aha, and they go all right, I need to move again, yeah, and it's a sport that allows you to move to some degree at your own pace.

00:38:22.161 --> 00:38:36.331
You don't have to be fantastic at it, you just have to get to the finish and be to cut off here and there, yeah, so yeah, I just think the demographics of it kind of fit the I'm getting older narrative and actually I really want to do an episode on that.

00:38:36.331 --> 00:38:40.605
I want to do a whole episode on on sort of training and running races.

00:38:40.605 --> 00:38:47.983
Uh, as an older athlete, as as people who are aging, as I approach my 50th year, I think that's only appropriate.

00:38:47.983 --> 00:38:57.063
But but yeah, I mean, things change, right, and maybe your approach to training changes and your approach to racing changes because of the age.

00:38:57.110 --> 00:39:15.005
It doesn't mean I mean you might be slower relative to yourself at age 30, but you can still set goals and you can still go out and train and you get all the side benefits that we talked about from a health perspective for doing that as you age and maybe then you are healthier later into life.

00:39:15.005 --> 00:39:30.344
So I think that's kind of why I like the sport and there's lots of opportunity to take on a challenge within that and sort of keep yourself mentally active as well as physically active and outside in some beautiful places across the world.

00:39:30.344 --> 00:39:44.585
So yeah, I think maybe an episode on aging as an ultra runner, the differences in training and the age-appropriate challenges that come with getting older, how we might approach those.

00:39:44.585 --> 00:39:47.378
So yeah, good thoughts indeed.

00:39:47.378 --> 00:39:54.458
Now I know you're not just a chiropractor Outside of your own practice.

00:39:54.458 --> 00:39:58.525
I think you're a fairly accomplished ultimate Frisbee player.

00:39:58.525 --> 00:39:59.266
Is that accurate?

00:40:10.369 --> 00:40:11.030
like to play and I've been on um.

00:40:11.030 --> 00:40:17.181
I've been on houston's club team for a number of years, so um, it was called space city back in, starting in 2010.

00:40:17.181 --> 00:40:21.876
So I was on houston's club team for several years about five years.

00:40:21.876 --> 00:40:33.231
Then I actually hung up hung up my cleats for a few years because I couldn't, couldn't manage it with family life and owning a practice and everything that went into it.

00:40:33.311 --> 00:40:44.541
But just to give some context, club club when I say club, that used to be the, the highest level of ultimate frisbee there's actually professional leagues now.

00:40:44.541 --> 00:40:56.559
Believe it or not that it's been around since 2016 or 17, I think the professional ultimate Frisbee league, but it runs sort of parallel to club.

00:40:56.559 --> 00:41:01.536
All the club players that are the highest level athletes play on those professional teams.

00:41:01.536 --> 00:41:24.150
But the professional league is run by completely separate individuals who are trying to make a business, you know, sports, professional sports, out of it and the club, the people that run the, the what's called club ultimate frisbee, are just, you know, it's a non-profit, it's just for the sport and the things like that.

00:41:24.150 --> 00:41:26.112
But essentially the same type of people play.

00:41:26.112 --> 00:41:37.224
But more of the past few years I've picked it back up because I aged into the masters category, so masters is oh yes, 33 and up.

00:41:37.844 --> 00:41:41.675
So I aged into that category it doesn't seem like masters.

00:41:41.675 --> 00:41:45.402
I think you need to be older to get into masters.

00:41:45.402 --> 00:41:47.456
I'm sure 33 and up boy, that's.

00:41:48.038 --> 00:41:52.934
Yeah, that really cut you off there, um pretty early, right, I know, yeah, you can still.

00:41:52.934 --> 00:41:55.840
You can still play, no matter how old you are.

00:41:55.840 --> 00:42:01.077
You can still play in other leagues, but you can't be in masters until you're 33.

00:42:01.077 --> 00:42:05.592
But it's a little bit shorter of a season, the masters season.

00:42:05.592 --> 00:42:08.498
It doesn't go as long as the normal club season does.

00:42:08.498 --> 00:42:12.972
So it it it lends itself a little bit better to my.

00:42:12.992 --> 00:42:20.610
You know, I'm married, I have three kids yeah a business owner, so it it kind of works nicely.

00:42:20.610 --> 00:42:34.204
So we actually just had our regional tournament a couple weekends ago, and so I was in oklahoma city competing and our team uh, we didn't do as well as we wanted to, but we competed pretty well and we had a good time.

00:42:36.454 --> 00:42:38.119
I love the concept of Ultimate Frisbee.

00:42:38.119 --> 00:42:44.083
When I was in university a while back, I think it was just getting started as a sport, really.

00:42:44.083 --> 00:42:50.443
So just for my own benefit, as I'm naive on this, do you score goals in Ultimate Frisbee?

00:42:50.443 --> 00:42:51.655
Is that the?

00:42:51.655 --> 00:42:52.358

Movement is Medicine: Dr. Matthew Brackney on Muscle Mechanics, Injury Prevention, and Keeping You Running Strong

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