BRINGING SCIENCE TO TREATMENT
in Email Newsletters, Sports psychology, Tools and technology
March madness culminated in the NCAA men’s championship finals when Texas Tech met the University of Virginia. With both schools given the chance to win their first basketball championship, the Raiders of Texas Tech were celebrating what has been for them a comeback season. To what did they attribute their success? Sleep! After a three-game... MORE
Last year a landmark study revealed that vertical loading forces, long thought the scourge of injured distance and recreational runners, are likely not the causes of repeated injuries(1). Rather, Canadian researchers found that when evaluating kinetic variables in 65 healthy female runners, only peak braking force (PBF) was a significant predictor of repeated running injury... MORE
in Sports psychology, Tools and technology
Trevor Langford explores the physiological effects of stress, and the implications for athletes seeking to reduce pain and return to normal function. Figure 1: Stress and homeostasis Through its impacts on the CNS, endocrine and immune systems, stress can alter the physiological homeostasis in the body. Background Athletes at all levels of sport are exposed... MORE
in Agility, Email Newsletters, Improve, Power development, Speed development
Spring has sprung in the Northern Hemisphere while the mild days of fall are starting in the Southern. With the change in the weather, young athletes everywhere are getting out and playing footie. Meanwhile, coaches scrambling for best practices to give their team the edge often resort to technical training. Chilean researchers have just released... MORE
in Power development, Strength
In part one of this two-part series, Pat Gillham looked at injury incidence and prevention in golfers. In this article, Pat explores the role of strength and conditioning for enhancing golf performance. Simple physics tells us that by generating more force against the ground (vertical ground reaction force), we can increase velocity. This applies directly to... MORE
in Email Newsletters, Sports psychology
In our series on pain in athletes, we’ve explained how pain perception effects an athlete’s potential to return to their previous level of play. If an athlete has a tendency toward catastrophizing, they will see only the negative aspects of their injury. In addition, they may tend to focus more intently on their pain, increasing... MORE
in Sports psychology, Tools and technology
Andrew Hamilton looks at new research on the growing popularity of analgesic medication use by athletes, and considers the implications for clinicians with athletes in their care. As an ex-triathlete, researcher and writer, I spend a lot of my spare time searching through the scientific literature on sports health and injury. It was with great... MORE
in Email Newsletters, Sports psychology, Tools and technology
Fear is an emotional response to a threat, either real or perceived. It is a great motivator and rapidly modifies behavior. Fear avoidance is making behavioral choices to avoid that which instills fear, like taking a circuitous route to keep from driving down a street you know is a police speed trap. As discussed in... MORE
in Email Newsletters, Sports psychology
Let’s face it, no one ever walks into the physiotherapist’s clinic because they feel awesome. The thing that usually brings them in is pain of one sort or another. Whether it’s acute pain from a recent incident or a niggling pain that’s been bothersome for a while, people seek out physios because something hurts. Embracing... MORE
In the first of a 2-part article, Pat Gilham explores the biomechanics of the golf swing and the implications for prevention. The golf swing is a multi-segmented and complex skill, which involves accurate body perception and well-coordinated muscular actions(1). It involves a kinetic chain initiated from movement of the legs and hips followed by the trunk... MORE
Knee pain is the most common of all sports injuries and virtually every sport has its share of knee injuries and related problems. If you or your client has played sport for any sustained period of time, the chances are you've already experienced at least one bout of knee pain. Be it a temporary, mild nuisance you've shrugged off, or a debilitating injury that forced you to seek specialist help. The good news for athletes, coaches and sports injury professionals, is that thanks to some important recent work in this area, sports scientists now know more than ever about the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of knee injuries. And now you too can share in these insights, courtesy of this special report. MORE
Understand and manage the shoulder's function, recognise how and why pathologies develop and learn the concepts behind current and best practice of shoulder injury management. MORE
Drawing from the knowledge and experience of our panel of sports scientists, physiotherapists and sports therapists we have compiled a holistic, technical and hands-on approach to understanding, treating and managing running injuries. The report covers prevention, physiology, core stability and technique, and includes case studies and illustrations throughout. It will stay with you as an invaluable reference point through your running career, and not only help you stay injury free but also increase your biomechanical efficiency for long term gains. MORE
