The entire point of the PPPE is to safely clear the student-athlete. Yes, we want them to play, but safely! The two main reasons athletes do not clear their PPPE is due to blood pressure and vision issues. It is important to take blood pressure readings with the athlete supine vs. sitting on a table. Make sure the athlete is in a calm state and in a back supported chair. Also, make sure the athlete does not need to go to the bathroom! As for vision, a 2023 study of athletes in Galveston, Texas found that 38.0% the student athletes did not bring their prescription eyeglasses, which resulted in the need for retesting while wearing their glasses.
05
Sep 2024
Off
03
May 2023
Off
Leg Lifts Are A Bad Idea…Here’s Why!
Leg lifts? Really?
What are they really doing? Many will tell you that leg lifts (any variation) are good for the abdominal region. Why they believe this is beyond me. I’ve never seen an anatomy chart that has shown the abdominal muscles attaching to the lesser trochanter (hip). In fact, leg lifts are great for facilitating already facilitated musculature. What does this mean?
Facilitated muscles are muscles that are shortened and have lost their ability to stretch. It’s more of a neurological issue vs. the sensation of just an area feeling ‘tight.’ The last thing we want to do with these muscles is shorten them any further. The hip flexor muscles, or the muscles that are responsible for that silly leg lift exercise, tend to be chronically facilitated.
After all, we tend to sit/drive all day and certainly, we are not going out of our way to exercise our gluteal region. We certainly do not need to tighten the hip flexors any further. If we are trying to target the abdominal muscles, we need better ways of doing it (likely coming soon to a blog near you). Continue Reading →
01
Mar 2023
Off
Superman is a Meathead!
Take a look at the exercise above. What do you see? I’ll make it easy…what you are seeing is a soon-to-be low back injury.
It looks like a fit guy doing what is classically called a ‘Superman’. Well, we all know the man of steel is invincible. But, we are not. In fact, our kryptonite is the low back injury that is going to occur when we extend the spine like this. In fact, studies show that this exercise can create about 6000 Newtons of energy into our low back.
Superman will not break…we will. Just so you now, 1 Newton equals about .225 pounds of force. So, if we multiple 6000 x .225, we get 1350 pounds of pressure in the low back. Do you think your facet joints, ligaments, and discs are made to take this type of pressure? Well, this is NOT what you want to do. I’ve heard far too many people over the years saying they love the ‘burn’ in their low back that they feel when performing this exercise. Well, guess what? That burn is severely damaging your back. Don’t Be a Meathead!