Overcoming vs. Yielding Isometrics
Overcoming vs. Yielding Isometrics: Two Tools, Two Very Different Jobs This article is general information, not medical advice. See the note at the end. Isometric exercise gets lumped into one bucket — “hold this position” — but that flattens out a distinction that actually matters. There are two very different types of isometric contraction, and they do two very different jobs. Mix them up, and you’ll either underload an athlete trying to get stronger, or overload a joint that’s supposed to be calming down. Here’s the honest, no-fluff breakdown: what overcoming and yielding isometrics actually are, how to perform each one properly, and...
Recovery Tools the Pros Use
Recovery Tools the Pros Use: Do NormaTec, Percussion and Tecar Therapy Actually Work? This article is general information, not medical advice. See the note at the end. Walk into any pro locker room and you’ll see it: athletes zipped into compression boots, hammering a percussion device over their quads, or wired up to a machine most people have never heard of. For years, that kind of recovery tech was locked behind pro-team budgets and full-time therapists. We looked at that and thought: why? If the science says these tools help athletes recover and feel better, everyone should be able to walk in and...
Do Custom Orthotics Actually Work?
Do Custom Orthotics Actually Work? An Honest Guide to When They’re Worth It This article is general information, not medical advice. See the note at the end. Ask ten people about custom orthotics and you’ll get ten different answers. Some swear they fixed years of foot and knee pain. Others call them an expensive scam. So who’s right? Here’s how we do things at Strike: straight talk, backed by the science. Orthotics aren’t magic, and they’re honestly not for everyone. But for the right person — the right foot, the right problem — they can be a real difference-maker. The whole game is...
Plantar Fasciitis: Why Your Heel Hurts Every Morning
Plantar Fasciitis: Why Your Heel Hurts Every Morning (and How to Fix It) This article is general information, not medical advice. See the note at the end. If the first few steps out of bed send a sharp, stabbing pain through your heel, you’re not imagining it — and you’re definitely not alone. That signature “worst pain in the morning” ache is the calling card of plantar fasciitis, one of the most common causes of heel pain we treat at our North Burnaby clinic. The reassuring news: the large majority of people improve with simple, conservative treatment once they understand what’s going...