Re: NSCA Conference - Injuries

[Guest guest]

The below statement seems odd:

" 2. Don't train to prevent injuries. " It appears to me that this should a

major goal of strength training programs?

Who is Jennie Fench?

Scherger

Ridgefield WA

>

> Someone anonymously sent us this information.

>

> NSCA Review by Lou Schuler

>

> http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1218200

>

> ..The latter effect kicked in on Friday afternoon, when the Family

> Stone gave a 60-minute lecture titled " How to Avoid Injuries. " Dr.

> Stone is one of the world's greatest sports scientists. His

> wife, Meg Stone, is a former Olympic athlete for the UK and current

> track and field coach. I could've listened to either of them talk

> about this topic for two hours, but getting both of them with just

60

> minutes to burn was a brain-tease.

>

> To his credit, Dr. Stone realized how little he could cover in the

> time allotted, and managed to sum up his message with two easy-to-

> remember points:

>

> 1. Don't do stupid stuff.

>

> 2. Don't train to prevent injuries.

>

> Of course, point #1 is a little bit more complicated than that.

> Performing exercises improperly falls into the " stupid stuff "

> category, as does poor program design (particularly if there's a

lack

> of variation in exercise selection, volume, and/or intensity) and

> failure to monitor the fatigue meter.

>

> " Fatigue " applies to everything in life that can be fatiguing, and

> Dr. Stone brought up one example that most of us would miss. To

help

> raise money for his team, an athlete was assigned to work at a

> concession stand, putting him on his feet for much of a weekend. On

> Monday, he couldn't squat for shit in his regular workout. Who

> would've guessed that the fatigue from working a concession stand

> could have that kind of effect on performance?

>

> The truth of point #2 is also more complex than it seems at first

> glance. Dr. Stone noted that training for improved performance in

> one's sport can lower the risk of injury, while training to prevent

> injury might have the opposite effect.

>

> For example, several studies have linked excessive range of

motion —

> perhaps from an overly aggressive flexibility program — to higher

> injury rates. And no one has yet found a link between training on

> unstable surfaces and lower injury rates. In fact, Dr. Stone

> suggested, the opposite may occur: training on an unstable surface

> (wobble board, Swiss ball) may alter or slow down your muscle-

> activation patterns, leaving you more vulnerable to injury.

>

>

> (Side note: Another presentation at the conference suggested that

> flexibility training might reduce delayed-onset muscle soreness —

> DOMS. That doesn't contradict what Dr. Stone said, but it does show

> that everything worth talking about in exercise science has at

least

> one caveat.)

>

> Meg Stone's presentation was more of an overview of the kinds of

> injuries that occur in sports. Some interesting tidbits:

>

> • The rate of injury in strength training is 0.0035 per 100 hours

of

> participation. By contrast, the rate in children's soccer is 6.2

per

> 100 hours. (This is from a study published in 1994.)

>

> • Women have 2 to 8 times the rate of ACL injuries as men. Women's

> ACL injuries tend to occur in non-contact situations — cutting,

> decelerating, etc.

>

> • With men, 50 percent of all football injuries are to the lower

> body, and 36 percent of those involve the knee. Those injuries, as

> you might imagine, are often caused by contact — when helmet meets

> hinge joint, hinge joint loses.

>

>

> • For women playing fast-pitch softball, 75 percent of injuries

occur

> during away games. If anyone can explain why playing on another

> team's field causes three times more injury than playing on your

own,

> you win a free date with Jennie Fench.

>

> -----------

> Comments?

> Carruthers

> Wakefield, UK

>

[Guest guest]

I think that the point being made was that striving for better performance

should be the goal, the necessary consequence of that process (assuming a

properly designed program which was point one in the post) would be injury

prevention.

Regards

Nick Tatalias

Johanesburg

South Africa

>

>

> The below statement seems odd:

>

> " 2. Don't train to prevent injuries. " It appears to me that this should a

> major goal of strength training programs?

>

> Who is Jennie Fench?

>

> Scherger

> Ridgefield WA

>

>

> >

> > Someone anonymously sent us this information.

> >

> > NSCA Review by Lou Schuler

> >

> > http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1218200

> >

> > ..The latter effect kicked in on Friday afternoon, when the Family

> > Stone gave a 60-minute lecture titled " How to Avoid Injuries. " Dr.

> > Stone is one of the world's greatest sports scientists. His

> > wife, Meg Stone, is a former Olympic athlete for the UK and current

> > track and field coach. I could've listened to either of them talk

> > about this topic for two hours, but getting both of them with just

> 60

> > minutes to burn was a brain-tease.

> >

> > To his credit, Dr. Stone realized how little he could cover in the

> > time allotted, and managed to sum up his message with two easy-to-

> > remember points:

> >

> > 1. Don't do stupid stuff.

> >

> > 2. Don't train to prevent injuries.

> >

> > Of course, point #1 is a little bit more complicated than that.

> > Performing exercises improperly falls into the " stupid stuff "

> > category, as does poor program design (particularly if there's a

> lack

> > of variation in exercise selection, volume, and/or intensity) and

> > failure to monitor the fatigue meter.

> >

> > " Fatigue " applies to everything in life that can be fatiguing, and

> > Dr. Stone brought up one example that most of us would miss. To

> help

> > raise money for his team, an athlete was assigned to work at a

> > concession stand, putting him on his feet for much of a weekend. On

> > Monday, he couldn't squat for shit in his regular workout. Who

> > would've guessed that the fatigue from working a concession stand

> > could have that kind of effect on performance?

> >

> > The truth of point #2 is also more complex than it seems at first

> > glance. Dr. Stone noted that training for improved performance in

> > one's sport can lower the risk of injury, while training to prevent

> > injury might have the opposite effect.

> >

> > For example, several studies have linked excessive range of

> motion —

> > perhaps from an overly aggressive flexibility program — to higher

> > injury rates. And no one has yet found a link between training on

> > unstable surfaces and lower injury rates. In fact, Dr. Stone

> > suggested, the opposite may occur: training on an unstable surface

> > (wobble board, Swiss ball) may alter or slow down your muscle-

> > activation patterns, leaving you more vulnerable to injury.

> >

> >

> > (Side note: Another presentation at the conference suggested that

> > flexibility training might reduce delayed-onset muscle soreness —

> > DOMS. That doesn't contradict what Dr. Stone said, but it does show

> > that everything worth talking about in exercise science has at

> least

> > one caveat.)

> >

> > Meg Stone's presentation was more of an overview of the kinds of

> > injuries that occur in sports. Some interesting tidbits:

> >

> > • The rate of injury in strength training is 0.0035 per 100 hours

> of

> > participation. By contrast, the rate in children's soccer is 6.2

> per

> > 100 hours. (This is from a study published in 1994.)

> >

> > • Women have 2 to 8 times the rate of ACL injuries as men. Women's

> > ACL injuries tend to occur in non-contact situations — cutting,

> > decelerating, etc.

> >

> > • With men, 50 percent of all football injuries are to the lower

> > body, and 36 percent of those involve the knee. Those injuries, as

> > you might imagine, are often caused by contact — when helmet meets

> > hinge joint, hinge joint loses.

> >

> >

> > • For women playing fast-pitch softball, 75 percent of injuries

> occur

> > during away games. If anyone can explain why playing on another

> > team's field causes three times more injury than playing on your

> own,

> > you win a free date with Jennie Fench.

> >

> > -----------

> > Comments?

> > Carruthers

> > Wakefield, UK

[Guest guest]

,

I may be wrong, but Jennie Fench is one of the top

softball pitchers in the USA. Her statement does not

seem odd to me because many athlete's make statements

about things that they have little knowledge. But, of

course, I would agree that it is a good idea to train

for injury prevention as part of an overall training

program.

Dave Barry

Former AAU Mr. America

Former NABBA Mr. USA

ACE and ACSM certified

Park, Michigan

--- jsscherger wrote:

>

> The below statement seems odd:

>

> " 2. Don't train to prevent injuries. " It appears

> to me that this should a major goal of strength

> training programs?

>

> Who is Jennie Fench?

>

> Scherger

> Ridgefield WA

>

>

> >

> > Someone anonymously sent us this information.

> >

> > NSCA Review by Lou Schuler

> >

> > http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1218200

> >

> > ..The latter effect kicked in on Friday afternoon,

> when the Family

> > Stone gave a 60-minute lecture titled " How to

> Avoid Injuries. " Dr.

> > Stone is one of the world's greatest

> sports scientists. His

> > wife, Meg Stone, is a former Olympic athlete for

> the UK and current

> > track and field coach. I could've listened to

> either of them talk

> > about this topic for two hours, but getting both

> of them with just

> 60

> > minutes to burn was a brain-tease.

> >

> > To his credit, Dr. Stone realized how little he

> could cover in the

> > time allotted, and managed to sum up his message

> with two easy-to-

> > remember points:

> >

> > 1. Don't do stupid stuff.

> >

> > 2. Don't train to prevent injuries.

> >

> > Of course, point #1 is a little bit more

> complicated than that.

> > Performing exercises improperly falls into the

> " stupid stuff "

> > category, as does poor program design

> (particularly if there's a

> lack

> > of variation in exercise selection, volume, and/or

> intensity) and

> > failure to monitor the fatigue meter.

> >

> > " Fatigue " applies to everything in life that can

> be fatiguing, and

> > Dr. Stone brought up one example that most of us

> would miss. To

> help

> > raise money for his team, an athlete was assigned

> to work at a

> > concession stand, putting him on his feet for much

> of a weekend. On

> > Monday, he couldn't squat for shit in his regular

> workout. Who

> > would've guessed that the fatigue from working a

> concession stand

> > could have that kind of effect on performance?

> >

> > The truth of point #2 is also more complex than it

> seems at first

> > glance. Dr. Stone noted that training for improved

> performance in

> > one's sport can lower the risk of injury, while

> training to prevent

> > injury might have the opposite effect.

> >

> > For example, several studies have linked excessive

> range of

> motion —

> > perhaps from an overly aggressive flexibility

> program — to higher

> > injury rates. And no one has yet found a link

> between training on

> > unstable surfaces and lower injury rates. In fact,

> Dr. Stone

> > suggested, the opposite may occur: training on an

> unstable surface

> > (wobble board, Swiss ball) may alter or slow down

> your muscle-

> > activation patterns, leaving you more vulnerable

> to injury.

> >

> >

> > (Side note: Another presentation at the conference

> suggested that

> > flexibility training might reduce delayed-onset

> muscle soreness —

> > DOMS. That doesn't contradict what Dr. Stone said,

> but it does show

> > that everything worth talking about in exercise

> science has at

> least

> > one caveat.)

> >

> > Meg Stone's presentation was more of an overview

> of the kinds of

> > injuries that occur in sports. Some interesting

> tidbits:

> >

> > • The rate of injury in strength training is

> 0.0035 per 100 hours

> of

> > participation. By contrast, the rate in children's

> soccer is 6.2

> per

> > 100 hours. (This is from a study published in

> 1994.)

> >

> > • Women have 2 to 8 times the rate of ACL injuries

> as men. Women's

> > ACL injuries tend to occur in non-contact

> situations — cutting,

> > decelerating, etc.

> >

> > • With men, 50 percent of all football injuries

> are to the lower

> > body, and 36 percent of those involve the knee.

> Those injuries, as

> > you might imagine, are often caused by contact —

> when helmet meets

> > hinge joint, hinge joint loses.

> >

> >

> > • For women playing fast-pitch softball, 75

> percent of injuries

> occur

> > during away games. If anyone can explain why

> playing on another

> > team's field causes three times more injury than

> playing on your

> own,

> > you win a free date with Jennie Fench.

> >

> > -----------

> > Comments?

> > Carruthers

> > Wakefield, UK

[Guest guest]

In response to the below statement -

> The below statement seems odd:

>

> " 2. Don't train to prevent injuries. " It appears to me that this should a

major goal of strength training program

****

I think the point that was trying to be made was don't design your training

program with the goal of preventing injuries in the weightroom. That is, be

aggressive in your program design emphasizing free weight training and the

Olympic style exercises rather than selecting " safe " but non-functional machine

based training. I don't think they would ever suggest to not train to prevent

sports related injuries.

Respectfully,

Hedrick, M.A., C.S.C.S.*D

Coach Practitioner

Head Strength and Conditioning Coach

U.S. Air Force Academy

[Guest guest]

In the extract from t-nation the following statement was made.

" Who would've guessed that the fatigue from working a concession stand could

have that kind of effect on performance?

I have experienced this. When coaching Gridiron here in South Africa we

were often cash strapped and had a fund raiser, the morning before the Gold

Reef Bowl final which had our players on their feet for several hours. We

had been undefeated that year, but lost the game. Our players were

undersized relative to the opposition thus we had a timing offence and fast

linebacker based defence. We had beaten our opposition before, but our

players were flat so we missed plays with timing that was off and we lost by

a touchdown late in the game as our defence physically collapsed, with minor

injuries to key defensive players. I put that loss down to the players

losing their edge, when we did the post game analysis. Fatigue of any sort

is disruptive to the players.

Regards

Nick Tatalias

Johannesburg

South Africa

>

> Someone anonymously sent us this information.

>

> NSCA Review by Lou Schuler

>

> http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1218200

>

> ..The latter effect kicked in on Friday afternoon, when the Family

> Stone gave a 60-minute lecture titled " How to Avoid Injuries. " Dr.

> Stone is one of the world's greatest sports scientists. His

> wife, Meg Stone, is a former Olympic athlete for the UK and current

> track and field coach. I could've listened to either of them talk

> about this topic for two hours, but getting both of them with just 60

> minutes to burn was a brain-tease.

>

> To his credit, Dr. Stone realized how little he could cover in the

> time allotted, and managed to sum up his message with two easy-to-

> remember points:

>

> 1. Don't do stupid stuff.

>

> 2. Don't train to prevent injuries.

>

> Of course, point #1 is a little bit more complicated than that.

> Performing exercises improperly falls into the " stupid stuff "

> category, as does poor program design (particularly if there's a lack

> of variation in exercise selection, volume, and/or intensity) and

> failure to monitor the fatigue meter.

>

> " Fatigue " applies to everything in life that can be fatiguing, and

> Dr. Stone brought up one example that most of us would miss. To help

> raise money for his team, an athlete was assigned to work at a

> concession stand, putting him on his feet for much of a weekend. On

> Monday, he couldn't squat for shit in his regular workout. Who

> would've guessed that the fatigue from working a concession stand

> could have that kind of effect on performance?

>

> The truth of point #2 is also more complex than it seems at first

> glance. Dr. Stone noted that training for improved performance in

> one's sport can lower the risk of injury, while training to prevent

> injury might have the opposite effect.

>

> For example, several studies have linked excessive range of motion —

> perhaps from an overly aggressive flexibility program — to higher

> injury rates. And no one has yet found a link between training on

> unstable surfaces and lower injury rates. In fact, Dr. Stone

> suggested, the opposite may occur: training on an unstable surface

> (wobble board, Swiss ball) may alter or slow down your muscle-

> activation patterns, leaving you more vulnerable to injury.

>

> (Side note: Another presentation at the conference suggested that

> flexibility training might reduce delayed-onset muscle soreness —

> DOMS. That doesn't contradict what Dr. Stone said, but it does show

> that everything worth talking about in exercise science has at least

> one caveat.)

>

> Meg Stone's presentation was more of an overview of the kinds of

> injuries that occur in sports. Some interesting tidbits:

>

> • The rate of injury in strength training is 0.0035 per 100 hours of

> participation. By contrast, the rate in children's soccer is 6.2 per

> 100 hours. (This is from a study published in 1994.)

>

> • Women have 2 to 8 times the rate of ACL injuries as men. Women's

> ACL injuries tend to occur in non-contact situations — cutting,

> decelerating, etc.

>

> • With men, 50 percent of all football injuries are to the lower

> body, and 36 percent of those involve the knee. Those injuries, as

> you might imagine, are often caused by contact — when helmet meets

> hinge joint, hinge joint loses.

>

> • For women playing fast-pitch softball, 75 percent of injuries occur

> during away games. If anyone can explain why playing on another

> team's field causes three times more injury than playing on your own,

> you win a free date with Jennie Fench.

>

> -----------

> Comments?

> Carruthers

> Wakefield, UK

[Guest guest]

Ok I've left the original comments by the original poster attached. Along

with the misconceptions.

Read it again, folks. The person making a statement was NOT Jennie Finch,

the softball pitcher, but it was a comment about the training session, if

you could explain WHY a certain thing was true, you " win a date with the

famous softball pitcher " . That such a date would be a prize for solving a

riddle that does make little or no sense, in that softball players are

HIGHLY at risk on fields other than their home fields for injuries!

NOT a statement BY the famous softball pitcher.

The incidence of injury on NON home playing fields was far higher than home

fields, and that was from the givers of the seminar, NOT Ms. Finch. The

givers of the seminar were " The Family Stone " as remarked in the top of the

commentary lol. In this particular case, it referenced Meg Stone's

presentation on injury prevention.

Ms. Finch is not only a gifted

softball pitcher but by most male accounts, considered highly attractive.

But regardless of these clear advantages, she was not giving the seminar

reviewed nor making the remark given.

Now, as to the notion of training to prevent injuries, I would say I am in

agreement with the seminar giver in that if you focus on injury prevention,

you fail to ingrain good form and thus you actually are enhancing the chance

of injury. Promoting good form and not focusing on " prevention " actually is

the higher form of prevention of injury in that you are not making the

deviation that CREATES the injury in the first place. For example,

performing the squat with good form on all reps makes training to prevent an

injury superfluous....because if your form is good, you will not be likely

to make the break that causes the injury and you won't get stronger doing

injury PREVENTION exercises.

Also in the case of the softball players, the injuries seem based on

LOCATION of the game...and how the heck are you going to do exercises to

prevent those?

The Phantom

aka Schaefer, CMT, CSCS, competing powerlifter

Denver, Colorado, USA

It was written (moderators please leave ALL THREE POSTINGS to clear this one

up, thank you!)

> ,

>

> I may be wrong, but Jennie Fench is one of the top

> softball pitchers in the USA. Her statement does not

> seem odd to me because many athlete's make statements

> about things that they have little knowledge. But, of

> course, I would agree that it is a good idea to train

> for injury prevention as part of an overall training

> program.

>

> Dave Barry

> Former AAU Mr. America

> Former NABBA Mr. USA

> ACE and ACSM certified

> Park, Michigan

>

It was written again:

>> The below statement seems odd:

>>

>> " 2. Don't train to prevent injuries. " It appears

>> to me that this should a major goal of strength

>> training programs?

>>

>> Who is Jennie Fench?

>>

>> Scherger

>> Ridgefield WA

It was originally written:

>> > Someone anonymously sent us this information.

>> >

>> > NSCA Review by Lou Schuler

>> >

>> > http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1218200

>> >

>> > ..The latter effect kicked in on Friday afternoon,

>> when the Family

>> > Stone gave a 60-minute lecture titled " How to

>> Avoid Injuries. " Dr.

>> > Stone is one of the world's greatest

>> sports scientists. His

>> > wife, Meg Stone, is a former Olympic athlete for

>> the UK and current

>> > track and field coach. I could've listened to

>> either of them talk

>> > about this topic for two hours, but getting both

>> of them with just

>> 60

>> > minutes to burn was a brain-tease.

>> >

>> > To his credit, Dr. Stone realized how little he

>> could cover in the

>> > time allotted, and managed to sum up his message

>> with two easy-to-

>> > remember points:

>> >

>> > 1. Don't do stupid stuff.

>> >

>> > 2. Don't train to prevent injuries.

>> >

>> > Of course, point #1 is a little bit more

>> complicated than that.

>> > Performing exercises improperly falls into the

>> " stupid stuff "

>> > category, as does poor program design

>> (particularly if there's a

>> lack

>> > of variation in exercise selection, volume, and/or

>> intensity) and

>> > failure to monitor the fatigue meter.

>> >

>> > " Fatigue " applies to everything in life that can

>> be fatiguing, and

>> > Dr. Stone brought up one example that most of us

>> would miss. To

>> help

>> > raise money for his team, an athlete was assigned

>> to work at a

>> > concession stand, putting him on his feet for much

>> of a weekend. On

>> > Monday, he couldn't squat for shit in his regular

>> workout. Who

>> > would've guessed that the fatigue from working a

>> concession stand

>> > could have that kind of effect on performance?

>> >

>> > The truth of point #2 is also more complex than it

>> seems at first

>> > glance. Dr. Stone noted that training for improved

>> performance in

>> > one's sport can lower the risk of injury, while

>> training to prevent

>> > injury might have the opposite effect.

>> >

>> > For example, several studies have linked excessive

>> range of

>> motion -

>> > perhaps from an overly aggressive flexibility

>> program - to higher

>> > injury rates. And no one has yet found a link

>> between training on

>> > unstable surfaces and lower injury rates. In fact,

>> Dr. Stone

>> > suggested, the opposite may occur: training on an

>> unstable surface

>> > (wobble board, Swiss ball) may alter or slow down

>> your muscle-

>> > activation patterns, leaving you more vulnerable

>> to injury.

>> >

>> >

>> > (Side note: Another presentation at the conference

>> suggested that

>> > flexibility training might reduce delayed-onset

>> muscle soreness -

>> > DOMS. That doesn't contradict what Dr. Stone said,

>> but it does show

>> > that everything worth talking about in exercise

>> science has at

>> least

>> > one caveat.)

>> >

>> > Meg Stone's presentation was more of an overview

>> of the kinds of

>> > injuries that occur in sports. Some interesting

>> tidbits:

>> >

>> > . The rate of injury in strength training is

>> 0.0035 per 100 hours

>> of

>> > participation. By contrast, the rate in children's

>> soccer is 6.2

>> per

>> > 100 hours. (This is from a study published in

>> 1994.)

>> >

>> > . Women have 2 to 8 times the rate of ACL injuries

>> as men. Women's

>> > ACL injuries tend to occur in non-contact

>> situations - cutting,

>> > decelerating, etc.

>> >

>> > . With men, 50 percent of all football injuries

>> are to the lower

>> > body, and 36 percent of those involve the knee.

>> Those injuries, as

>> > you might imagine, are often caused by contact -

>> when helmet meets

>> > hinge joint, hinge joint loses.

>> >

>> >

>> > . For women playing fast-pitch softball, 75

>> percent of injuries

>> occur

>> > during away games. If anyone can explain why

>> playing on another

>> > team's field causes three times more injury than

>> playing on your

>> own,

>> > you win a free date with Jennie Fench.

>> >

>> > -----------

>> > Comments?

>> > Carruthers

>> > Wakefield, UK

[Guest guest]

> Someone anonymously sent us this information.

>

> NSCA Review by Lou Schuler

> For example, several studies have linked excessive range of motion —

> perhaps from an overly aggressive flexibility program — to higher

> injury rates. And no one has yet found a link between training on

> unstable surfaces and lower injury rates. In fact, Dr. Stone

> suggested, the opposite may occur: training on an unstable surface

> (wobble board, Swiss ball) may alter or slow down your muscle-

> activation patterns, leaving you more vulnerable to injury.

***

Although I'm not a particular fan of the unstable surface training

the latter statements seem somewhat odd. Could anyone add further

insights? How can unstable surface training affect muscle activation

patterns (slow down or alter) in what way, in comparison to what? This infers

that a sprinter would be more vulnerable to injury if a squat were used as a

training tool?

Thanks in advance

Carruthers

Wakefield, UK

[Guest guest]

For women playing fast-pitch softball, 75 percent of injuries occur

> during away games. If anyone can explain why playing on another

> team's field causes three times more injury than playing on your own,

> you win a free date with Jennie Fench.

***

Unfamiliarity with the surface of the field, every field is graded

differently, groomed differently, etc. I would guess also just as in

high school sports, the travelling team has a different warm-up pattern

than the home team due getting on the bus and travelling to the site.

Pitchers mound are all slightly different. I would guess these factors

and others would contribute.

Of course, should I win the free date, I would be both honored and

happy to attend. Please let me know where and when I can claim the

prize

Slavik

Tampa, FL

[Guest guest]

---

Hi !

Dr. Stone cited some studies where the amount of force produced by

prime movers when exercising on an unstable surface was greatly

reduced in the movements studied. For example pressing, squatting,

deadlifting ect. required much lower weights when done on unstable

surfaces as the muscles were mainly used to keep balance rather than

exert force. He also cited a study where injuries were greatly

increased when training shifted from stable to unstable surfaces.

Best wishes!

Dan Wathen, Youngstown (OH) State University, USA

In Supertraining , " carruthersjam "

wrote:

>

> > Someone anonymously sent us this information.

> >

> > NSCA Review by Lou Schuler

>

> > For example, several studies have linked excessive range of motion —

> > perhaps from an overly aggressive flexibility program — to higher

> > injury rates. And no one has yet found a link between training on

> > unstable surfaces and lower injury rates. In fact, Dr. Stone

> > suggested, the opposite may occur: training on an unstable surface

> > (wobble board, Swiss ball) may alter or slow down your muscle-

> > activation patterns, leaving you more vulnerable to injury.

>

> ***

> Although I'm not a particular fan of the unstable surface training

> the latter statements seem somewhat odd. Could anyone add further

> insights? How can unstable surface training affect muscle activation

> patterns (slow down or alter) in what way, in comparison to what?

This infers that a sprinter would be more vulnerable to injury if a

squat were used as a training tool?

>

> Thanks in advance

> Carruthers

> Wakefield, UK

>

[Guest guest]

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> Hi !

>

> Dr. Stone cited some studies where the amount of force produced by

> prime movers when exercising on an unstable surface was greatly

> reduced in the movements studied. For example pressing, squatting,

> deadlifting ect. required much lower weights when done on unstable

> surfaces as the muscles were mainly used to keep balance rather than

> exert force. He also cited a study where injuries were greatly

> increased when training shifted from stable to unstable surfaces.

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Below are a few extracts from a recent research review concerning the

the role of instability with resistance training (Behm and ,

2006).

The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: Vol. 20, No. 3,

pp. 716–722.

<<<..Typically, the ability to exert force or power is depressed

under conditions of instability. Behm et al. (7) found decreases in

force output of approximately 70% and 20% when performing leg

extensions and plantar flexor contractions, respectively, while

seated on an unstable ball…. Thus, although externally-measured

forces are impaired by instability, muscle activation can be

maintained or increased because of the increased reliance on

stabilization functions....

In another study from our laboratory, muscle activation measured by

the interpolated twitch technique was recorded with single- and

double-leg extensions and squats (10). The highest activation levels

were found with the squats and lowest with the single-leg extensions.

The contractions of multiple lower-body muscle groups during the

squats may have enhanced quadriceps activation. In addition, greater

levels of activation may have been necessary to cope with the

stabilization necessary for bilateral and multi-articular

contractions (squats). These findings would benefit musculoskeletal

rehabilitation because high muscle activation can be maintained while

using lower-intensity resistance. The use of heavy weights under

stable conditions to activate high-threshold motor units increases

the chance of injuring the recovering muscle tissue. Current research

in our laboratory is exploring whether longer term instability

resistance training can modify the extent of stabilization functions

in order to improve motive forces.

In addition, the preliminary purpose of the instability need not be

significant strength gains, but an attempt to improve balance,

stability and proprioceptive capabilities.

Finally, the benefits of instability resistance training may be more

pronounced for those individuals pursuing primarily health and

rehabilitation benefits and not participating in challenging athletic

activities or training with free weights involving high loads (Table

2 ). It is not known at this time whether instability resistance

training provides greater benefits to active athletes for balance,

trunk muscle activation, and coordination when implemented in

conjunction with a traditional resistance training program. There are

many questions still to be answered regarding this area of

training.>>>

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Carruthers

Wakefield, UK