TOTAL BODY CONDITIONING

Most newsletters that I write about are on the challenges of injuries including the back, hamstrings, knees, shins and ankles. This newsletter will be about how the causes of injuries have evolved through the decades. When I started treating athletes, many of the injuries were caused by overtraining, overstretching, poor footwear and dehydration.
 
As years went by and we started to understand the principles of periodization, nutrition and the poor affects of static stretching, I started to see more injuries caused by a weak core. This was caused by repetitive stress and not training other movement patterns. We have improved the injuries associated by a weak core with resistance training.
 
Everything changed in March 2020. At this time, almost everyone (including athletes) spent most of their day sitting and lounging. Many "active" individuals that train 30-90 minutes/day, 4-5days/week were sedentary the rest of the time spending most of their time behind electronic devices.
 
Currently the vast majority of injuries that I have been treating are caused by a weak posterior chain (the back muscles from the shoulders to the low back), weak glutes and poor hip mobility. In addition to my treatments of adjustments, manipulation, cupping, taping, Kinesio-taping and instrument assisted soft tissue manipulation (IASTM), I frequently recommend posterior chain exercises including; rows, pulldowns squats, lunges and hip mobility exercises