When planning to start the long process and break up the progressive stages of a knee rehabilitation program, an understanding of what can influence movements from a mobility and stability perspective is critical. Many of the best exercises to develop strength into weak areas are not necessarily the best option in the early stages as the body compensates and adapts to the pain and injury. Using various tools and drills to “retrain” the brain and nervous system is very important in being able to restore efficient functional movements of the body. The quadriceps can be a real problem in the beginning as they may have contributed greatly to creating the injury in the first place, and are often left with excessive tightness and weakness. This makes it very difficult to strengthen without creating more pain, and also more dysfunction. In this article, I am going to explain the role of using the Decline Board Squat to overcome this problem. I will show you how to gradually progress to heel plate squats, to eventually floor based squats and pain free movement. The purpose of the decline squat is to improve the overall strength of quadriceps while maintaining muscle balance and optimal movement pattern of squatting.
ACL Injuries In Female Sports – 7 Reasons Why They Are More At Risk Than Males
Injury in sport has always posed a risk that minute any athlete both professional and amateur cross the line to participate. The risk of putting your body on the line in difficult situations and awkward positions and pushing your body to the limits will sometimes come at a cost. And in collision sports like football, rugby, and even basketball the stakes are even higher. But of all the injuries that are sustained in sports, the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture or tear would be right up there as the worst. This particular injury is a season-ending injury and even a career-ending injury for some! And with females, the chances of this injury occurring are a staggering 5-8 times higher than males in sports like soccer, basketball and more recently in Australia in Women’s AFL. As opposed to collision injuries that are being in the wrong place at the wrong time, up to 70% of ACL injuries are non-contact injuries, meaning they were caused from a poor cutting move or pivot or landing poorly from a jump. This is not bad luck but something that could have been avoided if a correct training program was employed early enough that addressed the bio-mechanical warnings of this upcoming injury. Unfortunately, this rarely happens as fitness training is preferred over quality of movement. In this article, I am going to share with you the seven reasons females are more at risk with an ACL injury, and more importantly what you can do about it.