BRINGING SCIENCE TO TREATMENT
What makes an athlete’s motor skills fail when they need them most? Jason Tee investigates this phenomenon and reveals surprising and important implications for performance, injury prevention, and rehabilitation. In the 1993 Wimbledon women’s final, Croatian sensation Jana Novotna led Steffi Graf 6-7, 6-1, 4-1, and required a single service point to go into a... MORE
in Improve, Power development, Strength
Female athletes use resistance training to enhance their strength and performance. The pelvic floor is perhaps the only region where physical exertion may create a negative effect. Tracy Ward examines the issue to determine if females are at risk of causing or worsening pelvic floor problems with weighttraining. Females have unique anatomy, biomechanics, and physiology... MORE
in Female Athletes, Improve, Strength
Female athletes with persistent musculoskeletal pain may suffer from joint hypermobility syndrome. Though often overlooked, it is associated with an increase in injuries and can significantly affect athletic abilities. Tracy Wardprovides an overview of the condition, its implications, and specific treatment strategies to enhance performance. Joint hypermobility syndrome (JHMS) is a connective tissue disorder that... MORE
in Knee injuries, Tools and technology
Females suffer more ACL injuries than males and have a lower rate of return to sport while also a higher incidence of reinjury. Jessica Montgomery explains how neuromuscular electrical stimulation can level the playing field for post-ACLR female athletes. Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries occur two to eight times more often in females than males(1,2).... MORE
in Anatomy, Diagnose & Treat, Female Athletes, Improve
Tighter is not better, and strengthening is not always the answer when muscles are stiff or sore. Sandra Hilton expounds on why this is as true for the pelvic floor as stiff backs, shoulders, or ankles. Treating pelvic pain is a unique challenge because its the association with bowel, bladder, and sexual function. A common misconception... MORE
in Email Newsletters, Improve, Prevent
The perfect training load to elicit a desired functional adaptation is the elusive goal of every training session for every clinician and athlete. Doing so ensures that training is efficient and purposeful. However, there’s little guidance for measuring training loads in healthy athletes, much less those in rehab. Recently, Tim Gabbett, the father of training... MORE
in Email Newsletters, Improve, Other
Women and men suffer the same types of sports injuries. However, they experience them differently. For instance, women have higher rates of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries(1). They also have a significantly greater chance of reinjury after an ACL repair (ACLR)(1). While great strides have been made in decreasing the rates of ACL injury in... MORE
Clinical pathways and protocols often dictate exercise prescription based on the diagnosis. However, as Tracy Ward explains, understanding muscle structure, function, metabolism, and movement allow for innovative program design tailored to each athlete. Diagnosis-based protocols focus on the specific injury. For example, hamstring injuries are treated with Nordic exercises, adductor strains with the Copenhagen protocol, Achilles... MORE
Running for sport is just as popular among young people as it is with adults. Up to 40% of children participate in running as a sport in some parts of the world(1). For youth in the US, running is the second most popular activity(1). As the popularity of running grows, so do the numbers of... MORE
Bio-banding and altering training parameters play a role in preventing injury in very young athletes. Tracy Ward explains the developmental basis for these strategies and how to incorporate them into your youth training and rehab programs. Image by Dimitris Vetsikas from Pixabay Three processes characterize youth development from birth to adulthood(1): Growth refers to the changes in body composition,... MORE
