How much can you handle in 60 seconds?! Our *MINUTE FIT* Challenge for Fall is all about pushing yourself to the limit in 12 different intervals💪🏻 With a little recovery time between each one, we’re sure you’ll be able to surprise yourself with what you’re capable of! Here’s a sneak peek of what to expect – which one would you try first?!
As physical therapists the main complaint we deal with daily is pain. It may be as straightforward as a patient reporting isolated ankle pain due to an ankle sprain 3 days ago sustained playing soccer or as complicated as a patient reporting widespread pain throughout their body for over 10 years that has progressively worsened over time. Interestingly, even though almost everyone will deal with some sort of pain condition in their lifetime, our collective understanding of pain seems to be hugely lacking…For instance, if I were to ask you “what is pain?” do you think you would be able to answer? My guess is probably not, and the reason why is that pain is surprisingly and wonderfully complex! As a result, it can be very difficult to understand and manage. So…the question is, what exactly is pain? Well, pain is an amazing gift that helps us protect ourselves by alerting us to real or potential dangers. The intention is that by alerting us to these real or potential dangers we will make a change to address the danger, and the best way that our body can alert us to these dangers is through the unpleasant experience known as pain! Just think about it, if you were walking and had a nail go through your shoe and stick into your foot it would be important to feel pain to get the nail out of your foot. The unpleasant sensation of pain that occurs is a fantastic signal to get us to do something about the nail! On the other hand, if you were unaware of the nail in your foot, or if the sensation was not an unpleasant one, you would be far less likely to address the problem and it could cause more tissue injury if left unattended to. This example perfectly highlights the purpose of pain! Pain is your body’s attempt to tell you “protect yourself” or “change something”. Unfortunately, we often misunderstand the intention of pain! We view it as the villain because of the unpleasant experience that is associated with it. However, if we can instead view pain is a helpful warning sign or signal for change, it can help us better understand that we should not necessarily fear pain. Instead, when we feel pain, it means we should investigate why it is occurring. We must ask, “why does my body feel it needs protecting?” and address the real or potential dangers to make the body feel protected! However, the complex part is that there are so many factors that feed into your body’s decision that you need protecting that the driver behind the resulting pain experience can be a very difficult thing to understand. These factors can include actual tissue injury and include life stressors, previous experiences with pain and injury, other underlying health conditions, and more. It is our hope that through this series on pain we can better inform you about pain so that you can understand what it means and what you can do about it.
Ankle sprains are one of the most common injuries that young athletes sustain while participating in sports. More specifically, in the sport of soccer, ankle sprains constitute approximately 80% of all injuries, lateral ankle sprains (inversion mechanism) being the most prevalent.1,2 Due to the high demand of running, cutting, and jumping, soccer is among the few sports with the highest percentages of ankle sprains.3 Research shows that females sustain more lateral ankle sprains compared to their counterparts.4 The peak incidence of ankle sprains occurs within the 2nd and 3rd decade of life, leaving older athletes more prone to ankle injury compared to the adolescent population. 4 Furthermore, lateral ankle sprains incur the greatest health care cost compared to medial and high ankle sprains, suggesting the need for preventative care. 4 In a study by Powers et al, hip weakness in competitive male soccer players was shown to result in poor balance and compensatory movement patterns in the ankle, leading to an increased propensity for noncontact lateral ankle sprains.5 In this research study, competitive male soccer players between the ages of 14-34 were tracked over 1 soccer season. Each participant’s hip abductor strength was assessed prior to the start of the season. At the end of the season, 25 noncontact lateral ankle sprains were reported. Based on baseline hip abductor strength, those who sustained a lateral ankle sprain had weaker hip abduction. It was suggested that decreased hip abductor strength can lead to decreased postural control and increased compensations at the ankle, which can lead to ankle sprains. Furthermore, additional research by De Ridder et al shows reduced hip extension muscle strength is an independent risk factor for lateral ankle sprains in male youth soccer players.6 Why Is This Important Information? The mere prevalence of ankle sprains among U.S. youth sports strongly suggest the need to have preventative care measures. Lateral ankle sprains incur the greatest health care cost compared to medial and high ankle sprains, further emphasizing the need to find avenues of injury prevention.4 Research is suggesting a strong correlation between hip weakness and ankle injury in soccer players. This becomes a potential solution to decreasing or preventing ankle sprains. If athletes are able to optimize hip strength, perhaps susceptibility to an ankle sprain will decrease. This correlation can be applied beyond soccer athletes; other field sports and recreational activities that may involve a significant amount and repetition of running, cutting, and jumping can potentially benefit from heeding the research data for preventative care. References: 1) Giza E, Fuller C, Junge A, et al. Mechanisms of foot and ankle injuries in soccer. Am J Sports Med 2003;31:550–4 2) Nery C, Raduan F, Baumfeld D. Foot and ankle injuries in professional soccer players: diagnosis, treatment, and expectations. Foot Ankle Clin N Am. 2016;21(2):391-403. DOI: 10.1016/j.fcl.2016.01.009 3) Waterman BR, Owens BD, Davey S, Zacchilli MA, Belmont PJ Jr. The epidemiology of ankle sprains in the United States. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2010;92(13):2279–2284 4) Shah S, Thomas AC, Noone JM, Blanchette CM, Wikstrom EA. Incidence and Cost of Ankle Sprains in United States Emergency Departments. Sports Health. 2016;8(6):547-552. doi:10.1177/1941738116659639 5) Powers, C.M., Ghoddosi, N., Straub, R.K., & Khayambashi, K. (2017). Hip Strength as a Predictor of Ankle Sprains in Male Soccer Players: A Prospective Study. Journal of athletic training, 52 11, 1048-1055. 6) De Ridder, R., Witvrouw, E.E., Dolphens, M., Roosen, P., & Ginckel, A.V. (2017). Hip Strength as an Intrinsic Risk Factor for Lateral Ankle Sprains in Youth Soccer Players: A 3-Season Prospective Study. The American journal of sports medicine, 45 2, 410-416.
Now that you have a good understanding of the Forward or Prone Plank from our post on Monday, next try this Side Plank Series Beginner to Advanced! Side Plank will strengthen numerous important muscles of the core including the back muscles called the multifidus and quadratus lumborum, the obliques, as well as the side hip muscles including the gluteus medius (and let’s not forget the shoulder stabilizers and neck muscles as an added bonus too!). With Forward and Side Plank you’re well on your way to developing a strong healthy core! If you can do the last one in this series, you’re a STAR. 🌟 . A ripped core is cool, but how well you can use that musculature for movement and stability of the spine, pelvis and hips during life when applying or absorbing external forces is key! Having a strong core is extremely important for EVERYONE from the average person to the professional athlete. To safely and easily manage the loads in your life, whether they be lifting/carrying kids, groceries or trash; tolerating a hit or cutting and changing direction on the soccer pitch; or jumping and landing in volleyball or basketball, a strong core is a good place to start. Try this Side Plank Series to help you expand your toolbox and get stronger! 1️⃣Side Plank on Hands & Knees 2️⃣Side Plank on Elbow & Knees 3️⃣Side Plank on Elbow with Knee Down & Starfish 4️⃣Side Plank on Elbow & Feet Staggered 5️⃣Side Plank on Elbow & Feet Stacked 6️⃣Side Plank on Elbow Starfish. IMPORTANT FORM TIPS: ▶️Maintain a neutral spine all the way from your neck to the hips ▶️ Brace abdominals and avoid sagging at waist ▶️Push down through the floor with your hand/elbow to avoid sagging in shoulder blade ▶️Use a mirror to check yourself! Give these variations a try during your warmup, inside of a circuit, or as an accessory during your next abdominal training day. Need help? Email us! Concierge@elevateptfit.com
Continuing with our core strength development series, this week we’ll focus on a great trunk stabilization exercise, The Plank. Here’s a prone plank progression, beginner to advanced. Try them all! Our ability to create stability around the pelvis and lower back is an important factor when trying to limit our potential for injury. For example, have you ever picked up a heavy box, package, or toddler and had to carry it from one place to another? Your ability to stabilize the spine and hips often determines how easy or hard that is for you because that external load is either pulling your torso forward or laterally. Pushing a couch from one place to another, or pulling a refrigerator away from its space requires a good amount of core stability to be done safely and easily. When it comes to playing sports, battling an opposing player for position to grab a rebound in basketball will require the athlete to both take a hit and give it back, and control the trunk when landing, cutting and changing direction in order to avoid injury. Planks can help improve core stability and control while absorbing and applying force to make those daily activities easier, reduce risk for injury during those activities as well as during sports, AND improve performance. So let’s do it! Here is a nice progression of prone plank from beginner to advanced. 1️⃣Plank on hands & knees 2️⃣Full plank on hands 3️⃣Forearm plank 4️⃣Plank walk-ups 5️⃣Plank reaches 6️⃣Plank with hip extensions 7️⃣Plank reaches with hip extensions. . IMPORTANT FORM TIPS: Maintain a neutral spine all the way from your neck to the hips. Brace your abdominals and avoid sagging in your low back. Push down into the floor through your hands/elbows to avoid sagging at the mid back/shoulder blades. Avoid lifting hips in the air. Use a mirror to check yourself! Give these variations a try during your warmup, inside of a circuit, or as an accessory during your next abdominal training day. Need help? Email us! Concierge@elevateptfit.com
