I had a long wait before my red-eye flight back to Indy from Las Vegas. The flight was to be even longer. So I picked up a copy of Born to Run by Christopher McDougall to pass the time. Several non-runners in the fitness industry that I respect have highly recommended the book. In fact, their reports have even been glowing. After I got a couple of pages into the book I understood why. Now, it is my turn. Buy the damn book and when you get a few pages into it you’ll understand why as well.
I’m not going deep into the story line but for this discussion I am going to focus on the author’s experience with running injuries and a surprising finding that pissed him off.
His attempt to become a serious runner was met by chronic injury roadblocks. Each specialist he sought out informed him that he was injured because he ran and if he wanted the pain to go away he should stop running. Not exactly the message he wanted to hear. Being resourceful, he went outside the sports treatment box and found the “barefoot” running movement and the Tarahumara Indian tribe who run the mountains and canyons of Mexico in flip-flops.
Weaving throughout the story is the idea that the very running shoes that were purchased to avoid injuries were in fact the cause of those injuries. Halfway through the book, McDougall drops the hammer on Nike and the running shoe industry with an in-depth discussion of the issue which includes the results of a European running injury study done in 1989. Of all the variables examined, running shoes stood out by far and away from the rest. An interesting finding was the more expensive shoes (> $95) were twice as likely to be related to injuries as cheaper shoes. It seems that the advanced technologies to cushion the foot and control motion was disrupting natural foot function and by encouraging heel-strike running exacerbated the injury potential.
When I stopped running years ago because of injuries, it never occurred to me to question the shoe. I thought it was just me. I assumed the shoe companies knew what they were doing and that they had my best interest at heart. Now it seems that either they didn’t know how their expensive injuries magnets were affecting the human body or, even worse, didn’t care. As long as the shoe was not in question, injuries and customer frustrations were part of their marketing plan. The suckers would buy another pair of shoes in search for relief so they could continue with their running addiction. Cool strategy unless the public connected the shoe–injury dots. Well, I believe Born to Run connected the dots and the running community will soon be grabbing pitchforks and torches to run (or hobble) after Nike and the other purveyors of injury time bombs. The wheel of Karma rolls corporate toes, too.
During a presentation regarding the endocrine response to resistance training at the recent NSCA National Conference, William Kraemer mentioned Heat Shock Proteins. I asked for his response to some supplement companies releasing products they claim increase the activation of Heat Shock Proteins within the body. His eyes rolled up toward the ceiling and with a heavy sigh he explained that the many varieties of Heat Shock Proteins are sight specific and even if such a product could be developed, how would it make through the digestive system.” Mmmm…”
One of my clients is a former head of a research department at a large pharmaceutical
company who had conducted considerable research involving Heat Shock Proteins.
When I mentioned supplement companies and Heat Shock Proteins, he rolled his eyes
toward the ceiling and with a heavy sigh he explained the role of Heat Shock Proteins in
the body and seriously questioned the science behind producing anything that would activate Heat Shock Proteins beyond the body’s ability to produce its own, on site and when needed. “Mmmm…”
It seems that scientist roll their eyes upward and sigh and I make the “mmm…” sound when serious bullshit is drifting through the air. Supplement marketing both is very entertaining and scary. It is entertaining to observe how a market segment is targeted; everything from the visuals of the ads to the informational content. We all want results from our training efforts and the faster the better. When someone really wants something they are easier to manipulate. The fitness world wants bigger, faster, stronger and prettier and, by the way, these results are hardwired to a charge card in your wallet or purse. The scary part is how science, real or imagined, can be twisted for financial gain without having to back their claims with “real” research. As Homer Simpson said, “Everything works in theory… even communism works in theory.”
MRI, one the companies offering Heat Shock Protein Activation, was scheduled to be in the Expo Hall of the NSCA Conference. They pulled out. I wanted to ask them for their research to justify their Heat Shock Protein marketing claims. So did a lot of academics with a “whack-a-mole” attitude toward junk science for profit. “Mmmm…”
When I returned from Las Vegas, I called MRI and stated clearly my desire to see the research regarding their Heat Shock Protein Activation product but I was transferred to a “scientist” or so I thought. What I got was an abrupt “hang-up” after I was informed that this line would not accept voicemail. I next e-mailed their customer service department and once again requested the research and you guessed it, no reply. “Mmmm…”
Are companies like Nike and MRI looking out for our best interest. Their marketing departments would like for us to believe that they are. All together now, roll your eyes toward the ceiling, take a deep breath and give out a heavy sigh and now put your lips together and go, “Mmmm…” Pitchforks and torches are optional.
