Why Your Athlete Is Always Hurt

Fall is upon us and for many, that means it’s time to kick it back into sports season!  Friday night lights are on, cross country has returned and soccer games are ramping back up.  While excitement is in the air, with sports season inevitably comes an increased number of sports-related injuries. With this rising incidence of young athlete injuries, the quest to identify injury risk factors is at an all-time high.  Various studies have been performed examining contributing factors to injury risk.  Trying to figure out why your athlete is always injured? Let’s break it down and prepare your athlete for a winning and injury-free season.

 Risk Factors Linked to Increased Incidence of Injury:

Poor mobility

Mobility is the key to proper movement and encompasses motion across the joints, muscles, and ligaments.  Without it, the body is unable to efficiently propel itself through space and responds with compensatory movement.  As specific segments within the body’s kinetic chain lose their mobility capabilities, dysfunction results in compromised human movement and an increased risk of injury.  Particularly in young athletes, mobility can be impaired as we see a delayed period between bony growth and muscle lengthening.  Ensuring proper mobility training will minimize this discrepancy, ensure safe movement patterns, and improve efficiency when it comes to athletics.  

Impaired neuromuscular control

Most dysfunctions can be categorized as mobility dysfunctions or stability dysfunctions.  Stability refers to one’s ability to stabilize or control bodily movement.  Impaired stability therefore can lead to incoordination as well as poor mechanics both of which affect athletic movement.  Many stability or motor control dysfunctions stem back to poor motor development but can be addressed with an appropriate assessment.  

Muscle imbalance

Our body is a collection of joints and muscles that work in coordination to promote proper movement.  When discussing muscle imbalance, we are referring to the balance between agonists and antagonists which simultaneously contract and lengthen respectively during a specific movement.  In some instances, the opposing muscle groups may co-contract to stabilize a specific joint against an outside force.  If one of the two opposing muscle groups shows a significant strength deficit, it will result in inefficient and often injury-provoking movement.  The most classic example is quadriceps dominance seen in young female athletes with poor opposing hamstring strength which can increase the risk of knee injuries including ACL rupture.  

Improper conditioning

Conditioning refers to the process of training or preparing an individual to withstand the demands of a specific task or activity.  It includes muscular strength and endurance and helps athletes safely complete their sport of choice.  Unfortunately, many athletes go into a season poorly conditioned causing them to experience early fatigue which impairs movement patterns and increases injury risk.  Without a solid athletic foundation, which includes running, jumping, crawling, climbing, and rolling, the athlete is less prepared to move optimally and compete at a high level on the court or field. 

Inadequate hydration or nutrition

Nutrition and hydration can often be overlooked but are both key components to optimal performance.  Lack of hydration can negatively affect both physical and mental performance, leading to muscle cramping, reduced reaction time, and increased fatigue.  Approximately 60% of our body is made up of water therefore ensuring proper hydration and replenishment during activity is imperative.  Similarly, proper nutrition is essential to avoiding injury as our body relies on the macronutrients we get from healthy foods to support recovery, muscle mass maintenance, and optimal performance.  

Poor sleep

Poor or inadequate amounts of sleep have been shown to negatively impact performance by reducing concentration levels.  As concentration reduces, athletes often lose motivation as well as focus on the task at hand.  When we lose focus, movement gets sloppy and injuries tend to occur.  Luckily, research has shown that boosting sleep from less than 7 hours a night to 8.5 hours a night over seven weeks can have positive impacts on several aspects of athletic performance including reaction time, reduced fatigue, improved speed, and improved accuracy.  

Single sport specialization

Single sport specialization has become a hot topic as more and more young athletes are choosing to specialize in a single sport at a young age.  Unfortunately, this early specialization has been linked to both burnout and an increased risk of injury as young athletes are forced to complete repetitive movements, leading to muscle imbalance and overuse injuries. According to a 2020 study out of the University of Marymount, athletes that only play one sport show a 70-90% increased risk of injury than those that play multiple sports.  Finding the balance between achieving an elite level of play and keeping the athlete healthy is important to maintaining both motivation and safety.

Ultimately, athlete injury risk is multifactorial but most risk factors are simple to address and easily modifiable.  Assessing the athlete as a whole including their physical, emotional, and mental well-being is key to setting them up for success and keeping them healthy on the field or court.  

Can you be 100% risk free no but can you lower the risk of injury and your athlete be more resilient? Yes? How do you accomplish this? Find a professional that can help you build strength, conditioning, and stability to lower the risk of injury, if you are interested in trying out our program check out what we can do for you here! This is what we accomplish with our athlete performance training!