Equity Fitness

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Why Equity Youth Team Training - Part I: Injury Prevention

Berek Bryan

Equity Team Training and Injury Prevention

We have three goals when we work with sport teams at Equity. 

  1. Reduce Risk of Injury

  2. Improve Mindset

  3. Increase Physical Capacity

Our primary focus for the teams we work with is injury prevention. No matter the physical activity there is a risk of injury from gardening, jogging, racquetball, corn-hole, to football.

The BIG issue that we can help with is non-contact ACL injuries. This injury is seen a lot in youth sports.

Why do these injuries occur?

  1. Kids growing faster than their muscles. When the muscles are underdeveloped the joint does not have enough support for high impact movements.

  2. Over emphasis of speed and agility training. Speed and agility alone WILL increase the risk of injury. Without proper muscular strength to support the joint, going too fast can cause issues. Example if you don't build the skills to handle a vehicle, going super fast with just the smallest turn of the steering wheel can result in a crash.

  3. Poor / improper moving mechanics. If you cut with poor or improper form there is an increased risk of injury.

  4. Even with all the form and training accidents can still happen but we can mitigate the risk.

How to determine if an athlete is high risk?

  1. The valgus knee. If an athletes knee collapses in particular movements they are higher risk.

  2. The standing broad jump is a great tool in spotting this issue.

How do we address the issue?

  1. Proper movement mechanics. Using plyometrics, interval work, and skill work. Drills should be used to re-enforce mechanics at low intensity.

  2. Strength. Build strength around the joints with compound movements.

So, TLDR (short version)?
Strength and mechanics will lead to less injuries.

Strength
If you can lift 200 pounds you are less likely to hurt yourself lifting 50 pounds or your body-weight, than if you can only lift 75 pounds. Building muscles around a joint will help protect the joint.

Mechanics
As with all things proper mechanics will allow for safer and more efficient movement. Example: when squatting if the knees are caving in that is not safe for the knee or back. Squatting with the knees over the toes will keep the movement safe and allow for heavier loads.

Do you have any questions about ACL injuries or the prevention of other injuries?
berek.bryan@equity.fitness

Interested in signing your team up for our 8 week team training program?
https://equity.fitness/team-training

Cheers,
Berek