“Stiffness” is vital for injury prevention, management and sport performance, yet it’s neglected in the design of many athletic development programs. To understand stiffness requires an understanding of the stress-strain curve. This is the starting point of this concept. Next, we will explore stiffness in the human body; focussing on how the body controls stiffness to: Move correctly Prevent injuries Enhance power, force, and velocity Improve sport performance This control is mediated by three systems that work together to respond to the demands placed on the body and by the body – they are: a) passive system, b) active system,
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Why do some people get the fame and fortune and everything that goes with it? and some, while seemingly as talented, never rise above local or provincial level? There are many possible answers to these questions, they have always been hypothesis and theory……until now. Researchers from York University, Victoria University in Australia and the Australian Institute of Sport have begun a project designed to determine why some end up like Sidney Crosby, and some spend their careers playing for the Marlies. The project will collect data from a variety of sports that both Canada and Australia compete in, and try to
Read more →Stiffness and reactiveness are arguably the most important quality we develop at FITS that determines, agility, change of direction ability, joint stability (such as knee, low back, shoulder, and neck), running economy, athletic performance, and injury prevention. You’re probably wondering what is stiffness? Stiffness is the athletes’ ability to resist muscle lengthening (or deformation) during loading. To illustrate the stiffness concept, compare the suspension between a 1960 Cadillac vs. a Formula One race car. The Cadillac is soft and gives a comfortable ride, whereas the Formula One race car is stiff, responsive and designed for performance. Can you guess which
Read more →What physiotherapists, chiropractors, and other health care professionals may be missing with rotator cuff injuries. The rotator cuff acts concentrically and eccentrically to produce internal and external rotational torques during the overhead-throwing motion. It has been reported that during the overhead- throwing motion, strong eccentric force production by the shoulder external rotators plays a vital role in the prevention of shoulder injuries caused by excessive glenohumeral translation. The majority of upper extremity treatment and training programs questionably emphasize concentric internal rotator strength as a primary outcome measure yet the shoulder external rotator musculature is functionally responsible for eccentric deceleration of
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Sit-ups and back pain are they synonymous? If you go into virtually any gym, you will see people performing traditional sit-ups. They are sweating and straining and thinking they will have strong abdominals and less back pain. Instead of preventing back pain, many of these motivated exercisers will be increasing their low back pain. The movement of a traditional sit up is mainly trunk flexion. Repeated trunk flexion is one of the main mechanisms of injury for lumbar disc herniations. So, many of these people devoted to the sit up will be setting themselves up for low back pain. However, when
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