Save your Knees...Stop with the Stiff Landings!

The term "Stiff Landings" is exactly what the name implies-landing stiff and upright, and more importantly, landing without utilizing your body's own shock absorption system-the Hips AND Knees.

Look at the stick figures attached.

According to this study by Devita, P and Skelly, W; there was a 19-25% difference in impact force in the hips, knees, and ankles comparing the soft landing vs the stiff landing.

And this is in a double leg jump. So if you do the math, and multiply the amount of times a basketball player jumps in a single game (50 on avg) x the difference in impact force, x a whole season; now you are understanding the significance of learning the right jumping mechanics.

In addition, many sports are single leg impact sports that include jumping, cutting, running. Imagine the impact and increased risk on knee structures.

A recent study by Laughlin, Walter et al shows a single leg stiff landing resulted in a 23% greater peak ACL force.

No wonder recent statistics report that up to 70% of ACL injuries are non contact.

There is also more to this that people and athletes should understand.

Most people know how important it is to bend your KNEES when you squat or land, but did you know how maybe more important it is to bend your HIPS?

An often neglected area of the body and training. If the knees are bending and the hips are not, you might be setting yourself up for injury.

When the knee bends and the hips do not, this can place a great amount of anterior shear of the femur on the tibia, and can cause compression load to the patello-femoral joint.

When the hips bend first, the knee can function as a true hinge joint and minimize anterior shear and compression.

I know it is a lot to grasp.

This is why it is important to screen young athletes to help protect their knees and set them up for success!

Please invest in your health and schedule a screen.

Can Stretching Help Save Your Shoulder?

I wanted to tell you a story of a close friend of mine. He was an all star short stop in high school and was offered a full ride scholarship to a private school. He had quite an arm that the coach wanted to convert him into a pitcher. He was feeling some elbow pain during the middle inning of one of his games. Then the next instant, he felt a snap in his elbow. He was diagnosed with an ulnar collateral tear. A month later, he needed Tommy John surgery. He ended up losing his scholarship as the team needed to replace his position. The school would not even pay for him to complete the semester

This is a common story. You feel fine until you are not with rotator cuff and ulnar collateral injuries so common in baseball. It can be life altering. In his case, it was devastating as it meant losing a full ride scholarship. It was a fork in the road for his career both baseball and academically.

But what can be done to prevent these injuries?

Pitch count? yes but only helpful if the coaches really stay conservative with them to give the arm more recovery time to repair any micro damage.

Strengthening? Yes, you need to strengthen the rotator cuff muscles and core muscles

Mechanics Training? Yes, pitchers and overhead athletes need to know the proper sequencing to maximize forces and avoid compensations.

But what about Stretching? How many baseball players know how to stretch their shoulders appropriately?

According to the study by Shitara, et al 2017, there was a significant improvement in outcomes and injury prevention with baseball players that performed stretches on a daily basis. See below the abstract and excerpts of the article. Hmmm, daily stretching can be career saving....

Have you heard of Text Neck?

"Text Neck" is...you guessed it:

It is a condition describing the posture one is in when texting. It is classified as a repetitive stress injury.

Do you know the short term and long term effects of being in this position?

Well, here are some:

-research estimates that for every 10 degrees of neck flexion or bend, it adds at least 10 lbs of force to the cervical discs (see illustration above).

-think about the effects of the forward head position when the human head can weigh over 12 lbs.

You can see how this can cause significant strain to the neck and shoulder muscles (upper traps, levator scapulae, scalene, suboccipitals, paraspinals), in addition stress to the TMJ and overuse of the masseter muscles.

In the long term, this position can:

-cause abnormal wear and tear to the cervical joints leading to premature osteoarthritis.

-can contribute to shoulder impingement and neck impingement syndromes.

-can cause chronic inflammation and overuse

-can lead to chronic tension headaches

-and can also lead to a hump formation to the upper back termed as a Dowingers hump.

And can all this be prevented?.....YES....IT....Can!

So, please educate yourself and your kids!

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