The Daily Dose of Training Advice: Preventing common injuries in HS athletes
The Daily Dose of Training Advice: Preventing common injuries in HS athletes
Marc is a canadian certified athletic therapist and a level 2 sprint coach. He’s worked with high school athletes since 2006 to try and develop their full potiental by combining sprint experience with his therapeutical background. Marc was the athletic therapist for Team Quebec at the Canadian Youth Championship and strongly believes that the future of sport comes from the proper development of youth athletes. He lives in Montreal suburb with his 3-year-old son who will do track very soon and his girlfriend who doesn’t understand sports!
Click here to learn more about Marc and his clinic, Osteo-Medsport.
Preventing common injuries in high school track athletes
Even though it would be pretentious to say that all injuries can be prevented, it is easier to do in track than in a sport such as football because the environment is much more controlled. The movements are more repetitive and the chance of being tackled is much less! Nevertheless, we know that a faulty movement pattern will eventually create micro-trauma that will lead to pain, cessation of the activity, long rehab process, anger, sadness, and no personal bests (to say the least). As a coach, a major problem is the limited knowledge when it comes to injuries and that’s all right - it’s not your job. But here are some tips to keep your athletes… on track!
Screen your athletes
They are many tests out there that claim to prevent injuries. One of the most common and by far my favorite is the Functional Movement Screen (FMS) by Gray Cook. This test is very easy to conduct (approx.7-10 minutes), can be done with large teams (eg: football teams), and almost anyone with knowledge in sports or exercises can learn how to do it. Go get your certification and start screening NOW! Otherwise, ask an athletic trainer or physical therapist to come at the beginning of each season to screen your athletes and give you recommendations.
Another quick and easy test is the Knee Tuck Jump Assessment. This test consists of repetitive knee tuck jumps in 10 seconds where the examiner watches different dysfunctions. More information on this test can be found here.
Old testing session like hamstrings flexibility, maximum push-ups, maximum sit-ups and grip strength are pretty useless when it comes to injuries prevention in track. Running is a movement pattern and we need to see if that movement is functional or not. If it isn’t functional, correct it; if it is, reinforce it.
How many of your athletes have shin splints or knee pain during a season? How many have tried orthoses and stretching to no avail? The problem might not be so superficial.
Have you checked their core stability? Have you asked a specialist to check if their pelvis was properly aligned? What if the answer was that simple? What if months and years of pain could be resolved just by looking at a chain instead of a specific area? To be honest, chronic knee pain almost never comes from the knee. If you don’t have the knowledge to check all of these things, hire someone to do it. It’s a very good investment to see your athletes running instead of doing correctives exercises the week before the nationals!
Flexibility and Stretching
This is a very delicate subject and some people don’t like to hear about it. Here is my opinion based on recent research: static stretching (holding a position for an amount of time) before a power exercise, such as sprinting, may reduce power. That’s why it is suggested to do dynamic stretching (moving through a range of motion).
Having said that, some people NEED to do static stretching before training. Someone recovering from an injury with some muscle tension will benefit from fascial releases and stretching before his or her activity.
Here’s an example of a protocol: Foam roller on the tight muscles for 20-30 little oscillations on the tight point (you know when you press and you start screaming… yes that one!), then stretch that muscle for 30 seconds, and then progress to your drills such as A skips and butt-kicks. This sequence gives the muscle a new range of motion and then allows it to use it for the training.
Convenient isn’t it?
Build a Foundation to Work On
That’s a concept that many coaches already know and use, but what about applying it to prevent injuries? At the beginning of the season, sprinters do more volume to build up their endurance. What about adding an important part of the training on stretching and preventive exercises to make sure everybody is on the same page? You can even do a “yoga-like” routine at the end of training that stretches all the patterns and muscles. Also, get a few foam rollers or sticks that athletes can use before and after.
For strengthening, your screening at the beginning of the season will show you the main issues with your athletes. You can either do a general corrective exercise program for everybody that has a little bit of everything or have your athletes do an individualized program made in relation to their own weaknesses. You can also ask the athlete to do their corrective exercises as part of the warm-up.
For shoes, I suggest wearing minimalist/barefoot shoes for track and for gym trainings. All athletes compete with spikes which are minimalist shoes. You have to make sure your athletes are ready to withstand those forces and more importantly, that their running gait is the same during training as while competing. That will increase your bone density and reduce the chance of stress fracture. If your athletes have been running for a few years in big shoes, make sure to do a slow transition to minimalism.
Posture
A tall and relaxed posture is essential in track. Telling your athletes to stay tall and relaxed is probably not enough. Give them automatic feedback. Teach them how to do a deadlift while holding a hockey stick on their back. The stick should be in contact with the back of your head, mid-spine (between the shoulder blades) and the sacrum. As they move they should always keep those three points of contact.
Jumping rope is also a good exercise to keep a tall posture. You cannot be efficient if you slouch. Plus it’s a good plyometric exercise and can also work on your anaerobic and aerobic endurance. Vary your position: try on 1 leg, 1 leg in front 1 in the back, etc.
Good posture should be maintained also during resistance training. Avoid machines as much as you can and focus on dumbbells, pulley systems, body weight training etc. Machines will make your stabilizer muscles lazy. Using free weights properly will allow you to train your stabilizers, so you won’t need to rely on a machine for positional feedback.
Medical Questionnaire
Probably one of the easiest parts yet much forgotten! Having your athletes complete a medical questionnaire at the beginning of the season can save you from emergency situations. For example, on a trip for a meet one of your girls begins having difficulty breathing, her tongue is swollen, she has rashes and faints. Unbeknownst to you she was allergic to peanuts and someone had a peanut butter sandwich right next to her. There are so many medical conditions that we are not aware of and your athletes might have one of them. It takes about 5 minutes to complete a questionnaire and can save a life. If the questionnaire comes back clear, then there is nothing to worry about and no harm’s done. If there’s a positive answer then you ask your athletes to get it checked by a physician to clear them for play.
What to do when injuries happen
Here are some quick tips before we go. Anytime you have an acute injury, don’t even ask yourself, "hot or cold?" It’s always cold! Ice helps to decrease metabolism and pain, both of which your athlete will benefit from.
Supportive tapings. Even though these are seen less than in football, some people tend to like taping as a preventive tool. Unfortunately it’s not. Having your ankle taped, for example, will atrophy your muscles, reduce your proprioception, and make you more prone for injuries. Taping should only be used in the return to play phase after an injury and for a brief period of time. This is even more important when working with kids and adolescents who are still growing. The last thing you want to do is create an asymmetry.
Finding a good therapist for your team might be hard when you don’t know what to expect. Have someone with good manual skills, that is knowledgeable about track and field, up to date, is good with exercises prescription (thus original), and cares about your athletes. Some therapists schedule 60 minutes appointments but in fact only spend 15-20 minutes actually treating your athletes. The rest of the time the athletes are plugged to a machine. Unless your therapist is alone for 500 athletes, they should take the time to treat, talk to, consider and educate your athletes.
If your athlete is injured, should he/she runs even if it’s painful? Unlike the usual “No pain, no gain” one of my university professors used to say “No brain, no gain”. Pain is a signal sent to your brain saying something is wrong down there. So the answer is no. If your athlete only has mild pain after training, it might be the beginning of a chronic injury. Give him some time to recover and get it fixed, and if it’s the early stage of an injury, it shouldn’t take long to heal. If the athlete always has pain then it’s more serious. It might take more time to treat, but if you don’t allow the body to recover, it will get worse and instead of having 2-3 weeks of rest it will probably be a few months.
Invest time and money in prevention, it will be worth it. Don’t do any drastic changes. Start incorporating some preventive exercise such as a mobility routine progressively. Athletes like their routine, don’t rush them.
Click here to learn more about Marc and his clinic, Osteo-Medsport.
Preventing common injuries in high school track athletes
Even though it would be pretentious to say that all injuries can be prevented, it is easier to do in track than in a sport such as football because the environment is much more controlled. The movements are more repetitive and the chance of being tackled is much less! Nevertheless, we know that a faulty movement pattern will eventually create micro-trauma that will lead to pain, cessation of the activity, long rehab process, anger, sadness, and no personal bests (to say the least). As a coach, a major problem is the limited knowledge when it comes to injuries and that’s all right - it’s not your job. But here are some tips to keep your athletes… on track!
Screen your athletes
They are many tests out there that claim to prevent injuries. One of the most common and by far my favorite is the Functional Movement Screen (FMS) by Gray Cook. This test is very easy to conduct (approx.7-10 minutes), can be done with large teams (eg: football teams), and almost anyone with knowledge in sports or exercises can learn how to do it. Go get your certification and start screening NOW! Otherwise, ask an athletic trainer or physical therapist to come at the beginning of each season to screen your athletes and give you recommendations.
Another quick and easy test is the Knee Tuck Jump Assessment. This test consists of repetitive knee tuck jumps in 10 seconds where the examiner watches different dysfunctions. More information on this test can be found here.
Old testing session like hamstrings flexibility, maximum push-ups, maximum sit-ups and grip strength are pretty useless when it comes to injuries prevention in track. Running is a movement pattern and we need to see if that movement is functional or not. If it isn’t functional, correct it; if it is, reinforce it.
How many of your athletes have shin splints or knee pain during a season? How many have tried orthoses and stretching to no avail? The problem might not be so superficial.
Have you checked their core stability? Have you asked a specialist to check if their pelvis was properly aligned? What if the answer was that simple? What if months and years of pain could be resolved just by looking at a chain instead of a specific area? To be honest, chronic knee pain almost never comes from the knee. If you don’t have the knowledge to check all of these things, hire someone to do it. It’s a very good investment to see your athletes running instead of doing correctives exercises the week before the nationals!
Flexibility and Stretching
This is a very delicate subject and some people don’t like to hear about it. Here is my opinion based on recent research: static stretching (holding a position for an amount of time) before a power exercise, such as sprinting, may reduce power. That’s why it is suggested to do dynamic stretching (moving through a range of motion).
Having said that, some people NEED to do static stretching before training. Someone recovering from an injury with some muscle tension will benefit from fascial releases and stretching before his or her activity.
Here’s an example of a protocol: Foam roller on the tight muscles for 20-30 little oscillations on the tight point (you know when you press and you start screaming… yes that one!), then stretch that muscle for 30 seconds, and then progress to your drills such as A skips and butt-kicks. This sequence gives the muscle a new range of motion and then allows it to use it for the training.
Convenient isn’t it?
Build a Foundation to Work On
That’s a concept that many coaches already know and use, but what about applying it to prevent injuries? At the beginning of the season, sprinters do more volume to build up their endurance. What about adding an important part of the training on stretching and preventive exercises to make sure everybody is on the same page? You can even do a “yoga-like” routine at the end of training that stretches all the patterns and muscles. Also, get a few foam rollers or sticks that athletes can use before and after.
For strengthening, your screening at the beginning of the season will show you the main issues with your athletes. You can either do a general corrective exercise program for everybody that has a little bit of everything or have your athletes do an individualized program made in relation to their own weaknesses. You can also ask the athlete to do their corrective exercises as part of the warm-up.
For shoes, I suggest wearing minimalist/barefoot shoes for track and for gym trainings. All athletes compete with spikes which are minimalist shoes. You have to make sure your athletes are ready to withstand those forces and more importantly, that their running gait is the same during training as while competing. That will increase your bone density and reduce the chance of stress fracture. If your athletes have been running for a few years in big shoes, make sure to do a slow transition to minimalism.
Posture
A tall and relaxed posture is essential in track. Telling your athletes to stay tall and relaxed is probably not enough. Give them automatic feedback. Teach them how to do a deadlift while holding a hockey stick on their back. The stick should be in contact with the back of your head, mid-spine (between the shoulder blades) and the sacrum. As they move they should always keep those three points of contact.
Jumping rope is also a good exercise to keep a tall posture. You cannot be efficient if you slouch. Plus it’s a good plyometric exercise and can also work on your anaerobic and aerobic endurance. Vary your position: try on 1 leg, 1 leg in front 1 in the back, etc.
Good posture should be maintained also during resistance training. Avoid machines as much as you can and focus on dumbbells, pulley systems, body weight training etc. Machines will make your stabilizer muscles lazy. Using free weights properly will allow you to train your stabilizers, so you won’t need to rely on a machine for positional feedback.
Medical Questionnaire
Probably one of the easiest parts yet much forgotten! Having your athletes complete a medical questionnaire at the beginning of the season can save you from emergency situations. For example, on a trip for a meet one of your girls begins having difficulty breathing, her tongue is swollen, she has rashes and faints. Unbeknownst to you she was allergic to peanuts and someone had a peanut butter sandwich right next to her. There are so many medical conditions that we are not aware of and your athletes might have one of them. It takes about 5 minutes to complete a questionnaire and can save a life. If the questionnaire comes back clear, then there is nothing to worry about and no harm’s done. If there’s a positive answer then you ask your athletes to get it checked by a physician to clear them for play.
What to do when injuries happen
Here are some quick tips before we go. Anytime you have an acute injury, don’t even ask yourself, "hot or cold?" It’s always cold! Ice helps to decrease metabolism and pain, both of which your athlete will benefit from.
Supportive tapings. Even though these are seen less than in football, some people tend to like taping as a preventive tool. Unfortunately it’s not. Having your ankle taped, for example, will atrophy your muscles, reduce your proprioception, and make you more prone for injuries. Taping should only be used in the return to play phase after an injury and for a brief period of time. This is even more important when working with kids and adolescents who are still growing. The last thing you want to do is create an asymmetry.
Finding a good therapist for your team might be hard when you don’t know what to expect. Have someone with good manual skills, that is knowledgeable about track and field, up to date, is good with exercises prescription (thus original), and cares about your athletes. Some therapists schedule 60 minutes appointments but in fact only spend 15-20 minutes actually treating your athletes. The rest of the time the athletes are plugged to a machine. Unless your therapist is alone for 500 athletes, they should take the time to treat, talk to, consider and educate your athletes.
If your athlete is injured, should he/she runs even if it’s painful? Unlike the usual “No pain, no gain” one of my university professors used to say “No brain, no gain”. Pain is a signal sent to your brain saying something is wrong down there. So the answer is no. If your athlete only has mild pain after training, it might be the beginning of a chronic injury. Give him some time to recover and get it fixed, and if it’s the early stage of an injury, it shouldn’t take long to heal. If the athlete always has pain then it’s more serious. It might take more time to treat, but if you don’t allow the body to recover, it will get worse and instead of having 2-3 weeks of rest it will probably be a few months.
Invest time and money in prevention, it will be worth it. Don’t do any drastic changes. Start incorporating some preventive exercise such as a mobility routine progressively. Athletes like their routine, don’t rush them.
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