When I was growing up, Canadians were always a little shy about being overtly proud of their nationality. Unless it comes to hockey - our national pastime. But even the Canadian men’s hockey team had a 50 year gold medal drought at the Olympics until 2002. As a Canadian living in the United States, the Olympics are always an interesting psychosocial challenge. I am always reminded of the Canadian medal count, and how it compares to that of the United States. Our Olympics sport self-image has almost become a bit of a Canadian inferiority complex.

I think I really started to notice a collective change sometime around, well, 2002 – the year that the men’s hockey team ended their 50 year drought. When they won – the whole nation cheered. Loudly.

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If there was an Olympic event for back surgery, then the United States would be a gold medalist year in and year out. The United States is not only number one in the world in back surgeries performed annually, but it is also number one in the world in failed back surgeries annually. More than 20,000 lumbar spinal fusions are performed annually in this country. There are eight times as many spinal surgical procedures are carried out in the United States per capita as in Britain. Either the United States just coincidentally happens to have a lot of bad backs, or there are a lot of surgeries being performed needlessly.

There is also a direct relationship between the number of spinal operations performed in any one geographical area and the number of orthopaedic and neurosurgeons in that area. That being the case, the likelihood of you having surgery prescribed for you is related more to the demographics of your locale than it is to "getting the patient better".

Lumbar spinal fusion is costly – from an economic standpoint, and from a societal one as well. This is a consumer issue with some staggering numbers and facts.

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The Live Music Capital of the World. You see it as soon as you fly into Austin Bergstrom International Airport. The City of Austin have been using this as their motto for quite some time now. I’ve never really doubted the truth in it. I discovered Austin because of the music. When I found out that there were more guitar players per capita in Austin than in any other place in the universe (my statistics), how could I not want to visit?

After peeling away the layers upon layers of Austin guitar players, you then discover the vibe, the sound, the feel that is “Austin music”. It is a blend of many musical styles that has grown and evolved organically to create that unmistakable vibe. It’s Joe Ely, live at the Liberty Lunch. It’s Sarah Hickman or Lyle Lovett or David Garza at the Cactus. It’s Stevie Ray Vaughan at Antones. It’s Asleep At The Wheel at the Broken Spoke. Or how about the Arc Angels at the Opera House? Or Soul Hat at the Black Cat Lounge? Or Storyville at Stubbs?

Much of that “Austin sound” has been fostered by the laid-back music scene, where artists could come to play their music amongst others who would appreciate it, groove to it, and cultivate it. You came to Austin to play music in the presence of others who love music. My own personal experience as a musician was reflective of that.

But sadly, we are now faced with yet another Austin music landmark closing. With this week’s announcement of the closing of the Cactus Cafe, I am left to ponder the evolution – or perhaps devolution - of the Live Music Capital of the World.

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This is the third in a series of RunSmart videos. The series is on-going, with a new video released on a monthly basis. These videos complement the material presented in the book “RunSmart: A Comprehensive Approach To Injury-Free Running”. The full series of videos can be found here. A transcription of the video will also be available with each post.

For those of you that are interested in a more interactive learning environment, consider attending a four hour RunSmart Level One program. You can further your education with the Level Two and Level Three programs which will focus on the application of RunSmart principles to both coaching and training program development and running injury recovery.

In this video, I will discuss the three keys to running mechanics. There are a number of simple cues that can foster an improvement in your running mechanics.

I hope you enjoy the video series. If you would like me to address any specific aspect of the RunSmart approach, drop me an email or add a comment to this article.

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