Are We Praising Athletes Who Are More Likely To Get Injured?

The WGEM news station here in Quincy, IL recently did a special report on the potential risks of athletes lifting too much weight at a young age. If you haven’t already seen/read the report, you can view it here: http://www.wgem.com/story/23946627/2013/11/12/pressing-it.

In their report, “Pressing It,” they interview different high school athletes and coaches about the potential dangers of lifting weights at a young age and the risks involved with doing so. They argue (correctly) that lifting weights can damage growth plates and can impact the child's’ health as they continue to grow. This is true if the young individual has not been properly taught correct lifting mechanics prior to lifting weights. It is especially true if the child cannot move correctly to begin with. That is an entirely different matter itself.

Breaking Down The Softball Pitcher: Post 2 of 2

Part One focused on the different phases of the softball pitcher's windmill as well as the muscles activated during the process. This post will focus more on injury prevention while also going more in-depth on the importance of core/trunk/lower body strength and the role they play in improving a pitcher's velocity, stamina, and overall stability.

Breaking Down The Softball Pitcher: Post 1 of 2.

A common mistake made by coaches, trainers, therapists, etc. when looking at an injured softball pitcher's shoulder/elbow is ignoring the reason for the injury in the first place. Many times it was the shoulder/elbow that broke down due to an inability to properly recruit muscles in the lower extremities. This post will focus more on the phases of the softball pitch and the muscles activated. My second post will focus more on injury prevention and what can be done to improve lower body support/stabilization.

What is the Difference Between Power and Strength?

Power and Strength. These two words are often used as synonyms. And while they do have some similarities, it's their differences that you must take note of when training yourself and/or your athletes.

Differential Diagnosis: Groin Strain or Sports Hernia?

Sports hernias are one of the most commonly missed diagnosed injuries in the athletic population. Due to the pain being in the groin, a sports hernia is often incorrectly diagnosed as a groin strain.

Something All Coaches/Trainers Should Know Regarding ACL Tears in Female Athletes

It is fairly common knowledge that female athletes are more likely to tear their anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) than males. But do you know why? And more importantly, what can you do to help prevent it?

Why Do Some Pitchers Seem to Always Have Arm Trouble?

I've been away from the blog for a while. This post has been sitting in the back of my head for some time now and I finally feel like I have time to set it free. I have a few other posts that I hope to make this week regarding the Deep Squat, as well as why we should screen our athletes before each sport season.

Back to the topic of this post: Why does it seem that some pitchers seem to have more trouble when it comes to arm injuries? Growing up a St. Louis Cardinal fan, one name comes to mind immediately: Chris Carpenter. He has struggled with countless elbow and shoulder injuries throughout his career, beginning in Toronto with the Blue Jays (debuted in 1997) and continuing on through 2013 with the Cardinals.

Before I go much further, let me state that Carpenter is a great pitcher (when healthy) and has been a leader for the Cardinals pitching staff since 2004 (winning the Cy Young Award in 2005), resulting in one of the best 10-year stretches in Cardinals' history. But how much better could he be/have been with better health? Is it just a case of bad luck or was some of this preventable?

Quick Synopsis of What I learned from PRI and Bill Hartman (Among Others)

“Posture is a reflection of the “position” of many systems that are regulated, determined and created through limited functional patterns. These patterns reflect our ability and inability to breathe, rotate, and rest, symmetrically with the left and right hemispheres of our axial structure.” -Ron Hruska Jr., MPA, PT

Despite popular belief, the human body is not symmetrical. In fact, our bodies are full of asymmetries (as they should be). The respiratory, neurological, vision, muscular, and circulatory systems are not the same on the right side of the body as they are on the left. They each have different functions, positions, responsibilities and demands on them. This system asymmetry is a good thing. The human body is balanced through the integration of system imbalances.  For example, the torso is balanced with your heart on the left and your liver on the right.  Extremity dominance is balanced through reciprocity; i.e. right arm moves with the left leg and vice versa.

When we get in trouble is when we continually go to the “path of least resistance.” For the vast majority of the population, this “path” is a right unilateral stance. When in this position, we place limitations on our body’s ability to move and function correctly. Body segments held out of alignment for extended periods will result in adaptive shortening or lengthening and further result in postural deterioration. Malalignment will cause inefficient interaction of muscle strength, joint proprioception in the foot and ankle, alignment, and postural tone. Failure to organize dynamic alignment and synergistic action of the musculoskeletal system will result in compensatory learning.

How do we get “stuck” in our path of least resistance? Perceived stress from anywhere in the body or outside of the body. Example: While doing a squat, the body realizes the weight is too heavy and goes into lumbar hyperextension to protect itself. It could also mean that a constant emotional stressor could cause improper breathing patterns and lead to a right stance pattern in an individual. Being able to get out of that pattern, or stay out of it, is determined by how all the systems interact with each other.

Sources: Bill Hartman, Mike Robertson, Eric Oetter, and Kane Sivesind

Keys to Jumping Higher

Some coaches/evaluators see an individual that can jump out of the gym and instantly label them a "great" athlete or "very athletic." While there are many other things that go into being a good athlete (such as one's ability to fluently move throughout space), the height of one's jump can be a better indicator that you may think.

Let's break down the jump to individual body segments/muscle groups.

Will A Speed/Agility Ladder Make Me Faster?

I hear a lot of athletes say they want to get faster. A lot of coaches/parents think the best way to get faster is to improve foot speed with speed ladders and jump ropes. Makes sense, right?

Not necessarily. The question of improving an athlete's speed is a loaded one. There are many factors that go into an individuals' running speed. Starting with your feet, you must look at dorsiflexion, whether you pronate/supinate excessively, your balance in split stance (or upon foot strike), excessive heel strikes, etc.

But that's just the start. The fact of the matter is that we don't gain speed by increasing how quickly our feet move. We get our speed from the force we generate into the ground. To generate a greater amount of force, we must improve the strength and power of our lower extremities.

Great Video from Cressey

This is basically what I'm talking about. I will try to post more videos like these as I get the opportunity. Your athletes should be doing exercises like these.

Below is a YouTube video done by Eric Cressey.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6MW6iGfoB0

Posture and Alignment

Hello, all! I decided it was time to make a new post. I attended a course recently in Indiana where Bill Hartman was the main speaker. Here is a quote from him, where he breaks down the basics of the course I attended:

"....body segments held out of alignment for extended periods will result in adaptive shortening or lengthening and further result in postural deterioration...

...malalignment will cause inefficient interaction of muscle strength, joint proprioception in the foot and ankle, alignment, and postural tone...

... if the individual uses compensatory shoulder elevation and neck shortening for stability due to an inactive trunk, there will be consequential inefficiencies in trunk rotation and increasing postural misalignment...

...Failure to organize dynamic alignment and synergistic action of the musculoskeletal system will result in compensatory learning...

...Normal musculoskeletal alignment provides for kinesiological synergistic activation of muscle groups for stability in the core of the body an sustained activation of the musculature of the limbs for perform complex tasks...

So my question to all... if you don't know how to determine position/alignment of your client, you can't restore neutral. If you're not restoring neutral, then how effective do you think your training program will be?"

My First Post

This is my first post. I'm officially a "blogger" now, I reckon'.

Basically, my goal with this blog is to post videos, pictures, articles, thoughts/ideas, and potentially workouts, warm ups, exercises etc. for athletes of all ages. The term "athlete" here doesn't solely apply to individuals currently involved with a "team," but can also include persons just looking to get (or remain) active.

Being a big baseball fan, the majority of my posts will likely be aimed in that general direction. Most of these exercises, drills, techniques, etc. can be applied to multiple sports/conditions. For example, if I make a post about shoulder mobility/stability exercises for a pitcher, that same information can be used for a quarterback, tennis player, swimmer, or even someone who at one time had shoulder surgery.