Sports, gym participation, and competitions, such as marathons, all risk injury to muscles, tendons, and ligaments. This is true for youth athletes to weekend warriors.
Most common injuries occur due to:
- Poor mechanics
- Weak muscles
- Repetitive movements
- Twisting or planting
- Using the same muscle groups
Because coaches for youth sports are often untrained but motivated parents, they turn to personal trainers at the gym who are focused on strengthening of normal muscles, which leaves a lot of room for injuries to occur.
Spectrum Sports & Training offers an alternative. We invite you to come for a Free Training Consultation to meet our therapist/trainer, Josh Van Gundy. Josh is a former professional basketball player on the European circuit who is not only a licensed therapist but also a certified personal trainer.
Josh’s expertise is in evaluating and creating a training plan that will help each client meet their personal goals while ensuring that they are safe and do not sustain injuries while participating in sports or exercise activities.
Josh says that to prevent injuries, there are many factors that come into play and need to be understood:
- Growth patterns and the effects on muscles for youth athletes
- Anatomy and physiology of muscle function
- Requirements for performance during athletics and exercise
All are valuable in setting up the proper conditioning and strengthening program for maximum performance and injury prevention.
A safe training plan should start with an evaluation that consists of:
- Medical and surgical history
- Current training or exercise program
- Range of motion and strength
- Flexibility
- Goals
Integrating techniques for injury prevention should be an essential part of any training or conditioning program. Some techniques that work well include:
- Interval training
- Starting with structured exercises such as cable/band exercises to encourage correct mechanics
- Starting with increased repetitions and light weight or resistance until correct mechanics and endurance improve
- Integrating sport specific training with opposite muscle group development to prevent overuse of required muscle groups
Want to know more? Please call (480) 714-3569 to schedule your Free Training Consultation or to speak with Josh directly.
For more information about GSC Therapy Services, GSC Elite or Spectrum Sports & Training, call us at (480) 855-8866, or check out our website: gsctherapy.com.