After a two-year delay due to Covid-19, my husband and I were excited to finally be on the start line for the 2022 Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder (OTGG). The OTGG is a 5-day stage race in the Cascade mountains. Our trek included nearly 350 miles and more than 30,000 feet of climbing. A bonus of our pos...

Let’s say you’re a runner, because the person who inspired this blog is, and this is her story. I’ll call her Kate, although it’s not her real name. In a nutshell, Kate took a week off of running, then she went back to it at the same intensity and duration as before. The result: she suffered knee pa...

Shoes, shoes, shoes! There are so many to choose from, making it hard to select the right pair. As a result, I am often asked for advice on this purchase. So, here’s what I usually say: Your shoes provide the interface between your feet and the ground. Good posture and movement patterns start with p...

We learned everything we needed to know about our skeleton in kindergarten . . . Recall a section of the lyrics from the children’s song Dem Bones:

“The ankle bone's connected to the leg bone,
. . .
The leg bone's connected to the knee bone,
The knee bone's connected to the thigh bone,
The thigh bo...

Back extension is a normal human movement! However, doing back extension exercises, particularly of the lumbar spine (low back), is not universally practiced or accepted. In fact, people have strong opinions about this issue. I have had students refuse to do these types of exercises in class--they’d...

Listen to the audio version of this blog Here.

Thoughts are inputs into the nervous system that can increase or decrease your sensation of pain.

Have you ever noticed your pain decrease when you are having fun, in a beautiful place, or engaged in a meaningful activity?

Conversely, have you felt...

The clamshell is a classic exercise that’s typically given to strengthen the gluteus medius through external hip rotation. Unfortunately, many people often perform the exercise without proper positioning, muscle integration, and breathing. Something I often tell my clients is, We don’t want to stren...

Millions of Americans suffer from chronic back pain (CBP). However, the majority of those with CBP—85%, in fact—have not been diagnosed with a definitive structural cause for their pain. Instead, changes in the central nervous system, including the brain, are causing the pain. This type of pain is r...

Plantar Fasciitis is an inflammation and tearing of the connective tissue on the bottom of the foot. There is a central and a lateral plantar fascia, as you can see in the image to the right. This fascia connects the toes to the heel. The main symptom of plantar fasciitis is heel pain, which is ofte...

Pain flare-ups are no fun! How do I know? Because I’ve had plenty myself. Sometimes, flare-ups are understandable, such as when we increase an activity too quickly. For example, perhaps you pushed it a bit too far on your run, hiked a longer and steeper trail than usual, added too many intense hill ...

Your subconscious mind directs the actions and behaviors that create the results you experience in your life. Interestingly, your subconscious is more powerful than your conscious mind. It comprises the majority of your mind capacity. As you can see in the iceberg image to the right, the subconsciou...

I am excited to announce the pre-launch of The Pain Free Athlete membership website. The site officially launches on October 1, 2021. The creation of this website is one of the benefits of Covid-19. A year and a half ago, I moved all of my in-person classes to Zoom. Then, I transitioned to working w...