Brian Schiff’s Blog
Injury Prevention, Sports Rehab & Performance Training Expert
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Rotational stability within the shoulders, torso and hips is critical for optimal performance in sport and injury prevention. Often, clients will exhibit asymmetries with respect to trunk stability with pillar assessments and the Functional Movement Screen (FMS). I often see 2/1 scores on the RS. Addressing any asymmetry is important for athletes and weekend warriors involved in cutting, pivoting, and rotational sports.
There are several exercises that can be used to increase rotary stability. One exercise I recently featured for PFP Magazine in my online column, Functionally Fit, uses a bottoms-up kettlebell hold with trunk rotation to accomplish this. This particular exercise can be used to increase anti-rotation strength and improve rotary stability. The pictures below illustrate a knee bent (beginner) and knees straight (advanced) version of the exercise.
The knee bent position allows for easier control of the lumbar spine while keeping the shoulder blades flat on the floor. cadence should be slow and deliberate avoiding momentum that may be caused by gravity. Once this variation becomes easier, progress to the straight knee version below.
Form is everything here so be sure to use a weight that you can control, while slowly lowering the legs each direction. This movement pattern blends in nicely with movement prep/pillar prep activities that work on hip disassociation as well.
Click here to see my video and full column for PFP Magazine on this exercise.
Manufacturers tout the benefits of compression stockings by telling runners they improving running performance via aiding or increasing venous blood return. They assert that the compression around the calves increases the calf muscle pump mechanism thereby increasing end-diastolic volume and cardiac output during exercise and allowing for higher intensity output. However, research to date has not supported this assertion.
Running a marathon presents a large physical challenge as a runner needs more than 30,000 foot strikes to finish a 26.2 mile race. Studies to date have revealed that compression stockings may reduce muscular vibrations and oscillations in the calf with prolonged running. They may also help decrease subjective feelings of pain following exercise bouts, but the use of them is still controversial as science also suggests they do not alter running performance.
A recent study in the Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy sought to investigate the benefit of wearing graduated compression stockings for running pace, prevention of muscle damage and maintaining muscle performance during a real marathon race. They had 34 experienced runners (running at least 5 years and completed no less than 3 marathons) take part int he study: 17 in the control group wore socks, while 17 runners wore foot-to-knee graduated compression stockings.
Runners were excluded if they were on medications in the 2 weeks prior to marathon, suffered a musculoskeletal injury in the 3 months prior to competition, and not completing the marathon. The stockings were commercially available (NRG Energy – Medilast Sport) and covered from the foot to the inferior pole of the patella with graduated pressure.
Participants were given a pair of stockings 2 weeks before the marathon and encouraged to wear them at least 3x prior to race day. Forty eight hours prior to the race a blood sample was taken, O2 saturation was measured, lower leg volume was assessed and maximum countermovement jump height was assessed. On race day, participants wore their selected garments and were not given any instructions about food or drinking, while running at their own pace. The same measurements taken pre-race were again measured following the race.
Results
- Total race time similar between groups
- Average running pace similar throughout the race
- Change in body mass during the race was similar
- Perceived exertion and lower limb soreness the same immediately after the race
- At 24 hours post-race soreness was reported to be less in stockings group, but this difference was no longer present at 48 hours
- Blood and serum responses were not different between groups
- Blood markers for muscle damage revealed no differences between groups in pre-race and post-race values
- Lower leg volume and countermovement jumps decreased in both groups after the race and no statistical differences or benefits to wearing the compression stockings
Summary
The use of compression garments in experienced runners is an ineffective strategy to reduce muscle damage over the course of a marathon. Further, they do not reduce immediate post-race perceived soreness, nor do they increase performance compared to those runners wearing socks. This is the first study to look at garments in a real race covering this distance. Additional studies should be done to look at the impact of these garments on novice or less experienced half and full marathoners.
If you want more information on how to prevent injuries, resolve common running related pains and maximize your running, be sure to check out my comprehensive guide at www.FitForRunning.com.
Reference: The use of compression stockings during a marathon competition to reduce exercise-induced muscle damage: are they really useful? Areces F et al. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2015 Jun;45(6):462-70.
As a father, coach and physical therapist working in a sports medicine environment, I am all too familiar with youth injuries. While we can not prevent every injury, I do believe we need to do everything possible to keep our young athletes out of harm’s way. In today’s ultra competitive society, parents are faced with pressure to “keep up” or fall behind.
Contrary to what research and real life has to say about it, organizations and coaches who want to win now tell parents and players you need to choose one sport at an early age if you want to be the best. I see the club fees that organizations charge, the emotional heartbreak of not making the top tier teams and the grind of all the “extra” training sessions for skill work, speed training, etc. that athletes endure.
Gone are the days where just playing for your school team is enough to garner attention at the next level. It seems as if athletes must play in AAU, clubs, travel teams or showcase opportunities to stand out. It is apparent to me as if we have become hyper focused on training our children to obtain a scholarship at such an early age. Some of the things I hear parents say illustrate to me their are pushing their children very hard to meet these expectations. The idea that sports should be fun for young kids seems to be lost on the coaches and parents in many cases.
My 9 y/o son (picture above running the ball) told me one reason he does not want to play Pop Warner football next Fall is because of all the practice time required. We practiced 5 days per week in August, followed by two hour practices 3 nights per week and a Saturday game during the regular season. He loves the game and was one of the best players on his team, but the time and exhaustive training simply wore him out. So, he says he wants to play soccer next Fall instead. I told him this was fine as he needs to be the one that wants to play – not me telling him to play. He also plays basketball in the Winter and soccer in the Spring.
As a parent, I want to encourage others to listen to their kids and put their own goals and interests aside. We should not try to live vicariously through our kids on the court or field. Sports should not be work for young people, and adults should not care more about the game than the participants at a young age. As coaches and medical professionals, we need to do everything in our power to promote health and life balance for young people.
If you follow my blog, you may remember that about this time last year I posted some info about a compilation of body weight training resources. Well, a new version is back for 2015, and as a person who contributed to the project, I wanted to make you aware of the offering. It is available from today until March 27 at 11:59 PM and includes content from different disciplines within the health and fitness community.
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This post is dedicated to improving mobility in two areas I commonly find restrictions in among my clients – the ankle and thoracic spine. Specifically, I often find limitations in dorsiflexion and thoracic spine rotation that create undue stress on other parts of the kinetic chain.
Standing wall touch
Recently, I wrote an article for the WeckMethod site on how to assess and improve ankle mobility. As a clinician and coach, I see this issue in many runners and athletes I work with. At times, it is joint restriction, while in other cases it is soft tissue limitations that impact mobility.
There are several potential reasons why one might possess less than optimal movement in the ankle. The most common causes include: joint stiffness following injury and/or immobilization, soft tissue tightness in the gastroc/soleus complex, scar tissue from a prior injury, anterior ankle impingement, chronic ankle instability and adaptive shortening of the Achilles tendon. Want to read more?
Click here to read my article on the WeckMethod site
Decreased mobility in the thoracic spine often creates dysfunction and stress on other parts of the kinetic chain, namely the shoulder and lumbar spine. In many cases, clients will demonstrate asymmetry based on their sport, activity level and injury history. In light of this, I often prescribe a simple, yet effective corrective exercise they can do at home to restore motion. The exercise below is taken from my ‘Functionally Fit’ column I recently did for PFP Magazine.
Side lying t-spine roll
In the full online column, I reveal two ways to do this and the applications for it. This exercise also offers a way to assess your own range of motion, while teaching you a straightforward corrective exercise to improve mobility.
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