By Heather Rozen
@rozenpt
With Spring and Summer comes flowers blooming, baseball games, and….tennis elbow? I’ve been seeing so many overuse injuries lately in the form of tennis injuries, golf injuries and people that have returned to running after having the winter off. I’m hoping that by now most of my clients understand the importance of having adequate mobility and overall good movement. During the classes at different fitness studios, I can hear the trainers explain why they are giving a certain hip mobility or thoracic mobility drill. And I’m hoping that members see the value in movement screens to not only reduce injuries but also to utilize the screens to ultimately improve speed and strength. After all, if you want to improve your 5K speed or improve your tennis game your strength and conditioning program won’t help you very much if your ankles don’t move. And you are just asking for an injury if you aren’t doing the right conditioning during the offseason and preseason even as a recreational athlete. But there’s also another component of your program that I would like for you to consider. Sports specific coaching.
Why a coach? Well, when patients come to me with complaints of elbow pain I do typically uncover issues at the neck, shoulder or wrist that contribute to the elbow issues. And aside from treating the injury I also teach them what they can do in their warm up or program to prevent the injury from returning. But a good movement base and a good strength and conditioning program don’t necessarily mean that you will have a good golf swing or tennis swing or that you will have a good swim time during the triathlon. That’s where a good coach come in. And I don’t mean that you have to train with a coach for weeks on end. I know that most of you aren’t looking to be serious competitors. But a coach is going to be able to improve the mechanics of your form which not only improves your game but reduces the chance for injury. It doesn’t cost much to have a few sessions but can drastically improve your mechanics.
It’s important to choose a fitness class where members learn the proper form of a deadlift or a kettlebell swing. But whether you are a beginner or you’ve been a member for years, it’s worth having someone double check your deadlift or kettlebell swing one on one. Do you hit the heavy bag? Have a couple of sessions with the boxing coach (whether or not you want to hit a person is irrelevant, I’m just trying to save your wrists, not necessarily your face). A quick look on CoachUp Nation, Peak Triathlon Coaching or a call to your local gym will show you that it doesn’t cost much to meet up with a professional one on one.
