Engaging Muscles Massage

Playing baseball with Achilles bursitis is a recipe for a bigger injury.

I moved to Dallas, Texas, in 2009. I'm a massage therapist and started teaching kinesiology early on, which I did in Connecticut.

As a newcomer to the area, I wanted to build contacts and ultimately get clients.

To achieve both, I thought working part-time at a specialty running shoe store would be productive. Well, the experience I gained there turned out to be one of the best things I've done in my career.

One night, a father came in with his seven-year-old son. Wearing scrubs, he told me that he and his wife were physician assistants.

He went on to say they had seen three podiatrists to get orthotics for their sons' overpronating feet.

The first two podiatrists told them fitting their son for orthotics wasn't necessary at his age.

On the wrong side of right, they took their son to a third podiatrist, who agreed to fit their son for orthotics. In other words, the third podiatrist confirmed their bias (and increased compensation).

When we were about to fit his son for shoes, I explained how important it was to have his son's orthotics in a neutral shoe. The father's ego default led him to make a decision from the wrong side of right once again: he insisted his son was going to walk away with his orthotics in a "stability" running shoe.

Knowing how destructive orthotics are, and then increasing fragility with an overly supportive running shoe, was one of the worst things I've felt in my career. That was the last time I fitted a child for running shoes.