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Irene Davis is the founding Director of the Spaulding National Running Center at the Harvard Medical School. In this episode, Irene describes how her research of biomechanics and clinical work with running injuries, as well as research by others, has shaped her views on maintaining body alignment and foot health. Irene discusses her argument for the role of modern footwear in running-related injuries and how minimalist footwear helps resolve the subsequent biomechanical issues.

We discuss:

• Irene\u2019s path to her Ph.D., her entry into physical therapy, and her interest in biomechanics [3:20];
• How Irene\u2019s thinking about the use of orthotics has changed [7:15];
• The evolution of the human foot and\xa0the\xa0transition from walking to running [10:30];
• The evolution of shoes and its impact on running injuries [17:30];
• An overview of\xa0running injuries\xa0[26:00];
• Cushioned running shoes, heel striking and impact forces\xa0[29:30];
• Shin splints [33:45];
• How heel strike\xa0patterns\xa0promotes knee stress through rate of loading [35:30];
• The critical importance of exercise [42:15];
• Impact forces and injury potential\xa0[45:45];
• How shoe cushioning alters impact forces\xa0despite\xa0forefoot\xa0striking\xa0[49:00];
• An overview of\xa0minimalist shoes [52:30];
• Irene\u2019s\xa0protocol\xa0for transitioning people out of orthotics [58:45];
• Transitioning to minimalist shoes and a forefoot strike [1:05:30];
• Foot muscle volume,\xa0minimalist shoes, and orthotics [1:07:00];
• The recognition of the importance of foot strength\xa0in podiatry [1:09:45];
• Minimalist shoes across the lifespan\u2014from children to adults [1:12:30];
• Why learning to forefoot strike on soft surfaces is not the best approach [1:20:00];
• Knee valgus and factors related to knee injury [1:21:45];
• IT band syndrome [1:28:30];
• Physics and ground reaction forces [1:33:15];
• Irene\u2019s approach to retraining a runner\u2019s gait [1:36:00];
• Case study\u2014How\xa0the\xa0transition to minimalist shoes decreased\xa0injury\xa0and improved performance\xa0[1:42:15];
• Importance of proper movement patterns\xa0and the negative influence of our modern environment [1:45:30]; and
• More.

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Show notes page for this episode: https://peterattiamd.com/irenedavis\xa0

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