In the past few years the term “load management” took the sports world by storm. Now, NBA superstars such as Kawhi Leonard or Lebron James miss games during the season as part of the load management program. Load management has trickled down to the collegiate level and even to the recreational fitness athlete but the question remains what is load management? What is internal load? Is it something you should implement into your own training? We will break down exactly what is internal load and how you can add it to your prehab repertoire!
Soccer is the world’s most popular sport and demonstrates continued growth in the United States each year. Over 13 million Americans play soccer, and according to US Youth Soccer, there are over 3 million youth soccer players registered in the United States today. Although there are benefits to playing soccer such as improved cardiovascular health, strength, and self-esteem, there are also some inherent risks involved. One study found that there were over 2.4 million soccer-related injuries leading to an Emergency Room visit between the years 2000 and 2012. Another study showed that soccer is the high school sport with the highest risk of injury for female athletes (1-3). In this article, we will highlight the most common injuries seen in soccer and teach you research-based soccer prehab exercises to help prevent these injuries!
Rock climbing is a sport that has been gaining popularity over the last few years. The diverse range of movement, mobility, and strength the sport requires makes it appealing to everyone from the weekend warrior to the most serious and dedicated athlete. This fast-growing allure has helped catapult climbing into the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. The three disciplines that will be included in the upcoming Olympics are sport, bouldering, and speed. Each discipline has its own unique demands varying in power, agility, strength, and endurance naturally inducing risk for both traumatic and overuse injury. In this article, I will highlight the most common injuries seen in rock climbing and demonstrate rock climbing injury prevention exercises based on research and biomechanics to prevent these injuries.
