GREAT NORTHERN PHYSICAL THERAPY P: 406-586-4678

Injury Prevention for Youth Sports

There are several important components to a good injury prevention program.  Some sports require flexibility training specifically while all sports require a combination of strengthening, explosive power, and proprioceptive activities. 

Proprioception is our body’s ability to tell where a joint is at in space.  When you close your eyes and bend your elbow it is the proprioceptive system that allows you to perceive what angle your arm is at.  In a more functional example, if you are running down a trail and step on a rock it is the proprioceptive system that recognizes a sudden change in joint position and tells the body to turn on certain muscles and turn off others to prevent an ankle sprain.  You can train your proprioceptive system by focusing on balance exercises combined with dynamic movement.

Core and hip strengthening are also imperative to injury prevention.  The upper core provides a stable platform for the upper extremities to work off of while the hips and abdominals work to help control mechanics of the lower extremities.  Weakness in the core and hips can lead to injuries down the chain in the shoulders, elbows, knees, and foot/ankle complex. Explosive power can be trained through the use of plyometric exercises.  These activities typically involve jumping and it is important to focus on the proper take-off and landing mechanics.

A common injury in youth sports is an ACL injury with a tear to one of the major stabilizing ligaments of the knee.  One example of a proven program designed for ACL injury prevention is the 11+ Injury Prevention Program.  It was developed specifically for soccer players but can be easily adapted for other sports such as football, lacrosse, basketball, and volleyball.  It can be incorporated into a warmup routine or performed during the offseason.  This program incorporates proprioceptive, strengthening, and plyometric activities.   Check out this link (http://www.yrsa.ca/pdf/Fifa11/11plus_workbook_e.pdf) for an in depth description of this program. 

Give us a call to schedule an appointment for an individualized injury prevention program designed to address specific deficits or areas of need. Many of the injury prevention concepts with strengthening, proprioception, flexibility, and explosive power also apply to rehabilitating an injury and returning to sports.  If you already are dealing with an injury, we would be happy to help you recover to the highest level of performance and well as do everything possible to prevent recurrence.

Seth D. Halverson DPT, OCS

Change in Weather…Change in Exercise

Mar 27, 2023

Great Northern Physical Therapy Ph: 406-586-4678 Fax: 406-586-4670 www.greatnorthernpt.com Changes in the Weather Mean Changes to Your Exercise Bozeman, MT March 2023 When the weather gets cold, you should make some changes to how you exercise. We're not talking about...

Breathing and Your Pelvic Floor

Feb 13, 2023

The pelvic floor is certainly a hot topic of conversation for many men and women. Specifically, people begin to focus on their pelvic floor when they are having incontinence, urgency/frequency, prolapse, or pain associated with going to the bathroom or having sex. These are all issues related to pelvic floor dysfunction. But, what many don’t realize, is that your pelvic floor is also integral in one of our most basic functions: breath.

The diaphragm, our respiratory muscle, is located at the bottom of the ribcage. At rest, the diaphragm is a domelike shape, and with inhalation the diaphragm muscle contracts and drops downward toward your pelvis. This downward motion is followed by a shifting downward of internal organs, into the pelvic bowl. The pelvic floor muscles and fascia make up the bottom of the pelvic bowl. So, with this downward force during inhalation, the pelvic floor muscles also descend or stretch slightly downward. Immediately following inhalation and pelvic floor descent, is exhalation, and similarly, the pelvic floor follows the diaphragm as it rises upward to a resting position. This synchronous rising and falling of the diaphragm and pelvic floor is often referred to as the “piston effect”.

Not to be left out, the lower abdominal muscles (transverse abdominis) also contribute to this synchronous movement pattern. Working together by relaxing and stretching with inhalation and a “belly breath”, and tightening and drawing inward slightly with exhalation. In this way, the diaphragm, abdominals, and pelvic floor make up an abdominal cylinder that modulates intra-abdominal forces and pressure changes.

When this cylinder isn’t coordinating well together, or if there is tightness or weakness within the system, we see common musculoskeletal complaints: low back pain, SIJ pain, poor stability through the back and pelvis, hip pain, pelvic pain, incontinence, urgency/frequency of urine or stool, prolapse, poor posture, balance issues, and intolerance to exercise.

Our pelvic floor physical therapists can help evaluate these movement patterns and coordination of these systems, and create a treatment approach specific to you and your individual challenges.

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