Pain AND Gain: On the Edge of Injury AND Glory
I got to spend my mornings last week with the First Ladies of soccer, the Washington Spirit. I have never seen that kind of soccer quite so up close and personal. These women are phenomenal. Just standing by, I can hardly believe the power and accuracy and quickness of their ball drills and their small-sided […]
Training the Fittest, Be Smart About Functional Over-reaching
Don’t call it over-training, they say, call it over-reaching. Or better yet, call it under-performing. All that to get away from the accusatory tone that comes with the word. How much is too much? Well, it all depends on how they play, right? At the ACSM conference I attended a session on “Over-training” in high-performing […]
Can the ACL Be Repaired Safely in Children?
Surgeons tell me their ACL repairs are coming in younger and younger packages. 200-400,000 repairs per year (depending on who you ask) costing us multiple billions of dollars. But if you have been the parent of one of these kids you know that doesn’t even touch the cost. The pain you feel for them and […]
Your Iliotibial Band Is Not Your Enemy
Your iliotibial (or IT) band travels on the outside of your thigh from your hip to just below your knee. Science speak says, “The IT Band is a lateral thickening of the fascia lata that rises from the tensor fascia latae and gluteus maximus, courses down the side of the leg to lateral femoral condyle […]
The Art and Science of Sport Concussion
“You’d rather be the hammer than the nail,” says Kevin Guskiewicz, from the Traumatic Brain Injury Research Center at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC. He’s on the forefront of the war we’re waging against sports concussions. His talk was billed as “translating data into concussion prevention.” I’m not sure we’re there yet. But here’s what I learned […]
The Key to Successful ACL Injury Prevention
Looking at the numbers of ACL tears and “revisions” – that’s a nice way to say re-tears – it is very clear this an injury we want to prevent. At all costs. The question is, can we? Sportsmetrics (Hewett in Ohio) and the PEP program (Santa Monica, CA) say YES. These groups have done solid […]
ACL Recovery and Return to Sport
If you are 4-6 months post ACL surgery and your doctor tells you it’s okay to return to play ask him/her this: “how do you know I am ready?” According to Dr. Tim Hewett, 85% of the doctors making this call are using no clinical data to make the decision. That is, they are looking […]
Breaking News from the Science of Sports
I just got back from the 60th annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine. It’s a HUGE meeting. The conference program had nearly 300 pages worth of scientific sessions, presentations, posters, and workshops to choose from. Everything for every body involved in sport and physical activity. By the end of the week I […]
Save the Ankles! Make Strengthening into Dynamic and Fun Fitness
When my girls were small, they deferred to the other player. “Here, you want the ball for a while?” their body language would say. It drove me nuts. Where was there competitiveness? their assertiveness? their drive? They were just too polite for their own good. I was sure I was a coaching failure. Until we […]
Prepare Their Ankles! Youth Soccer is More NASCAR, Less Drivers Ed
Getting over a sprained ankle? Got an ankle that always give you trouble? What do you do? Doctors are good for diagnoses. Surgeons are good for…surgery. Physical therapists are good for… therapy. All good. But you’re not done yet. To get back on the field again, you need to be performance-fit. Kids know performance. They […]