What would you do if you found out your child had Cancer? THEN, after you thought you had done everything and your child was in the clear, 8 months later, it comes back with a vengence! I honestly don’t know what I would do. Right now, there is a local family who is going through this ordeal. Cycling guru, Roy Knickman… (Olympics, Tour de France, Team 7-11) has a teenage son (ANDREAS KNICKMAN) who was a promising athlete until he got the diagnosis of cancer. Now, he is climbing a hill harder than his dad has ever climbed. To date, Andreas has been at the hospital 24 days straight and is fighting for his life. Being a father, I can’t imagine what I would do if this was happening to me and my family. Roy is an amazing man and has an amazing family. They need our help. I know times are tough but here is what I am going to do to help them. On Tue, Nov 2 from 7-12 noon, CSI is donating all the proceeds of our day to help with the Knickmans everyday medical expenses. ALL that attend get two things. You get to feel better and help a family in need. I will NOT be billing insurance that day and collecting only cash donations at a MINIMUM of $40 per treatment. For you cyclists doing the Mike Nosco Memorial ride the following day, this is a great way to get your body ready for the event. For those who have not been adjusted in a while, now you can come and get taken care of and help Andreas. If you have been wanting to see a Sports Chiropractor but needed a good reason, well now you can come. Dr. Terry, Dr. Amir and Dr. Ed will be helping you get better, and by helping you, your dollars will help the Knickman family. If you can’t make this day, yet you want to help out, you can drop off a check or cash to our office addressed to Andreas Knickman. Make checks to “Local 4148” (This is Roy’s fire departments association number) and put in the memo line – Andreas Knickman fundraiser. Tax ID# is 91-2167551. Thank you!

By: Dr. Amir Mahmud

A patient recently asked me “Is it ok to run barefoot?” My response to her was “yes and no”. It is ok to run barefoot if that is how you have walked and ran for most of your life. In parts of the world people do not have access to shoes and therefore walk barefoot all day long. In these cases their central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) and bodies have adapted to the altered gait, therefore not relying on an arch support or cushioning of the shoes. On the other hand in most developed countries as soon as we can walk we are put into shoes. From the first steps that we take our brain receives signals to rely on an artificial arch support. As we start to adapt to those signals and our bodies develop we become accustomed to a certain type of gait. So what do you think will happen if you suddenly decide to take off your shoes and run barefoot OR if you put that person who has walked all his life barefoot into a pair of shoes? What happens is that you start to alter your gait – over pronate/supinate, cause abnormal stress in your foot, ankle, knees, hips, low back and all the way up the spine. As a result of this abnormal stress up the kinetic chain you are more prone to injuries that you have never had before. Injuries such as plantar fasciitis, stress fractures, ankle sprain, meniscus injuries and back pain are just a few to name. Having said all this, I am not stating that you can’t run barefooted. I am stating that in order to avoid injuries, you need the proper training to adapt to your new biomechanics. This training WILL take quit a long time and wont happen over night. So if you do decide to start running barefooted, be prepared for some aches and pains. And remember, “If you fail to prepare, prepare to fail.”

If you have any questions, would like your biomechanics/injuries evaluated, or would like an overall assessment stop by our office and we will gladly help you!!!

Dr. Amir Mahmud is a Sports Chiropractor at CSI (Chiropractic Sports Institute) in Westlake Village. Dr. Amir has vast experience working with athletes both professional and Amateur. He is the current Team Doctor for the Newbury Park HS Lacrosse team and travels with the Mobile CSI Sports Medicine team caring for athletes across southern California. He can be reached at (805) 371-0737. www.gotcsi.com