Injuries: Questioning prevention and maintenance

[zarakotas5]

Foremost: thanks for all who replied.

As an aside: Did anyone catch LaDanian Tomlinson's interview today on this very subject? I personally found it interesting that he assuaged the professional aspect of avoiding injury and talked about an athlete's personal responsibility in doing so. This from a guy who gets 400+ touches a year.

 

[Pats726]

I find this a very interesting thread...because injuries has eben a big factor the past years....in 02..there were hardly any..I would say quite lower than average...and then in 03, the injury bug hit...MORE injuries..more than any other Lombardi winner..More so...and then in 04 even worse..and yet, the still got the Lombardi. But then in 05, even more..and when one looks at the inactive list and sees almost all players inactive beacuse of injuries and NOT coaches decisions...Last year the lists were almost completely injury driven for most of the season...so much more so than in other years. I wonder if this year will be more like 02?? or???

 

[satz]

I am reminded of something i read a few yrs back.Pats are one of the best team when it comes to prevention and safety.
A doctor in the south shore develops his mouth gaurds which when locked in leave a little gap in the jaw and which translates to a drop in concussions.It wa expensive as it needs to be custom fit for a player and his jaw bones.
NFL refused to implement this as a compulsory gaurd.we are the only team which paid from its pocket for this.

Football is explosive and also sudden sport .it is a shocking experience every time they engage unlike field hockey,
rugby, or soccer.Also , when you play a sport where its more cardio players are thinner and more flexable unlike a DL at 300 lbs.

 

[Ochmed Jones]

Satz,
You'd be surprised just how much the big uglies work on flexibility and stretching. Some teams now have a yoga coach to assist the big guys in increasing their flexibility.

If the medical scientists ever successfully develop synthetic ACL's and other ligaments for use in a human body, you will see a complete revolution in the S&C programs. Regardless of the size of the player.

 

[Mike the Brit]

You'd be surprised just how much the big uglies work on flexibility and stretching. Some teams now have a yoga coach to assist the big guys in increasing their flexibility.

Fascinating.

To be honest, I'd got the impression that football -- despite the enormous technology and resources -- was quite conservative on training and conditioning. There seems to be a huge emphasis on "pumping iron"

I read a very interesting article about Polamalu, who trains with an athletics coach called Marv Marinovich in California. Polamalu is very critical about standard training routines:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05220/550403.stm

Is there serious dietary planning/control on alcohol consumption? Do they use ice baths for recovery?

I just started yoga myself a year ago, by the way, and I'm now a bit of an evangelist. The trouble is that people think you have to be able to put your foot behind your ear for it to do you any good. I'm convinced that the stiffer and less flexible you are when you start, the more good it does you (provided you use the right style, have the right teacher and do the right poses). I'd endorse using it for football players one hundred per cent.

 

[Pats726]

Yoga..flexibility???

Do you remember the hit that Tedy took I believe..against Buffalo??? He was basically like a prezel..and one wondered that something had to be toen and such..can even remember him looking at the monitor and?? He was fine..even after seeing the replay many time.s...flexibility important!!! But I do remember that..and wondering if other players WERE as flexible...good point!!

 

[Mike the Brit]

Re: Yoga..flexibility???

Do you remember the hit that Tedy took I believe..against Buffalo??? He was basically like a prezel..and one wondered that something had to be toen and such..can even remember him looking at the monitor and?? He was fine..even after seeing the replay many time.s...flexibility important!!! But I do remember that..and wondering if other players WERE as flexible...good point!!

I DO -- I was just thinking of that myself. Wasn't it amazing? But I think Tedy is just very unusual like that.

 

[Pats726]

Tedy..in all directions...

I DO -- I was just thinking of that myself. Wasn't it amazing? But I think Tedy is just very unusual like that.

I know..but when you mentioned yoga AND flexibility...that situation came to mind..I thoought for SURE something was out of kilter..esp after the replay..and seeing things twisted and??? But he might be..but again..I wonder about that..maybe he does do something to get that flexible...if he does..OTHERS should do similar things.

 

[jimleehunt]

someone made a good point earlier that most of the pats injuries were a result of contact and not conditioning. tears and pulls are mostly due to conditioning problems-specifically, poor flexibility/mobility. if ayounger player has a pull/tear -it is usually because he doesnt stretch enough,or properly. a lot of younger nba and nfl players dont bother,because theyre young. but there are actually more tears and pulls to younger than older players in both sports. why? because the older players know how to take care of themselves. almost every nfl and nba team has a yoga program. name an older player in either sport who still functions at a high level and hes probably doing yoga regularly. martial arts training is also common and similar to yoga. the reason the younger players get the tears/pulls so much is because even tho theyre younger-theyre lifting so many weights that they become very susceptible to these injuries w/o a good stretching routine. steroids also increase the risk of these injuries. usually a guy like wilson will not have this reoccur-because now hes learned his lesson. it looks like the pats are a pretty well-conditioned team. contact injuries are part of the game.