The simple solution to defeating acl injuries: teach healthy movement to our U-8s and U-10s!
To beat ACL injuries which are devastating our athletes in their teens and twenties, we have to train them to move healthier when they’re 8-14! Here’s how you can put that in place.
How to make your dynamic warm-up into an ACL injury prevention warm-up
Dynamic warm-ups are the norm for teams getting ready to play, but they’re not enough to address the high risk for ACL injuries that exists for female high school athletes today. To do that, we need to include ACL injury prevention exercises. There is strong evidence that well-structured ACL injury prevention warm- ups work. They […]
The Secret to Beating ACL Injury
ACL injuries should be on the decline since we know that ACL injury prevention programs like the FIFA 11+ significantly reduce the risk of this injury. But instead, they’re on the rise — especially among high school athletes and particularly among high school female athletes in running, jumping and cutting sports like soccer, basketball, field […]
16 Action Items for Healthy Sport, Fitness and Life
The world’s leaders in exercise science and sports medicine met in Minneapolis at the 65th annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine. The result: BIG news and reliable, evidence-based recommendations for physical activity, health and the reduction of injury. Here are my top 16 headlines with news you can use. Knee Injury Prevention ACL injury […]
Four Signs that Kids Sports Are Actually Hurting Them
When I was growing up playing sports, nobody ever got hurt, at least not seriously. I don’t remember a single teammate ever complaining of knee pain, shin pain, heel pain or hip pain. Today nearly all young athletes eventually experience at least one of these maladies. What has changed since the “good ole days?” Plenty. […]
The Killer Dynamic Warm Up in 5 Simple Steps
Confused about getting your dynamic warm up right? It’s the first thing I do with every youth team, no matter the sport, is make sure they perform a complete dynamic warm up before every practice and every game. A regular dynamic warm up, done with dedication and proper form, has been shown to reduce the chance […]
What Does an ACL Really Cost?
What does an Anterior Cruciate ligament (ACL) tear really cost? Young athletes don’t have a clue. I’ll never forget sitting with Katherine and her dad as we looked at the video of her performance in the screening exercises. I cautioned Katherine about the ACL injury risk in athletic girls whose knees tended to fold inwards […]
Beating ACL Injuries: Three Steps Every Coach Can Take
ACL tear. Out for the season. Words no one ever wants to hear. But we keep hearing them. In soccer, football, basketball, field hockey, lacrosse and even in ultimate frisbee! If you know these kids personally, this becomes a personal issue. The ACL tear disrupts the whole family, and repair deals pain and anguish for everyone. […]
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 […]
Dynamic Youth Fitness: Wall Jump
Here’s a look at girls performing the wall jump. They are asked to jump off of two feet using their arms to propel them upwards, and to land quietly on both feet. Then to spring up again. Their verbal cue is to jump “straight as an arrow” and to land “light as a feather.” This is a […]
