Physical Therapy

What are the benefits of injury prevention programs?

Unlocking the Benefits: Injury Prevention Programs and Risk Reduction

So what are the benefits of injury prevention programs? First, we'll talk a little bit about what prevention really means. And we think that it means that you're going to prevent something from happening. And that's really difficult to do, is to actually measure how you can prevent something in the future from actually happening. So instead, I like to look at these more as risk reduction programs, where we're actually able to reduce someone's risk of hurting themselves or getting a certain injury. And these are what we would usually prescribe preemptively. It could be anything from a fall prevention program for older adults to an ACL prevention program in athletes, for example. And what we have to do is we have to identify what those risk factors for injury are. And if they are, for example, related to exercise or some type of protective equipment, that's what we would use in our injury prevention or risk reduction program, is to make sure first that we have the appropriate risk factors addressed. And then hopefully, the benefit would be you would see a reduction, not just in the risk, but on the overall incidence of the injuries themselves. But of course, not everybody has the same level of risk. So they're not going to work across the board. But even if we don't have the ability to prevent that injury and one does happen, hopefully that prevention program will have components that will actually help you with your rehab to get better, quicker, and back to what you were doing.

Injury prevention programs are used to reduce the risk of injury. These programs can involve the use of protective equipment, exercises and other measures to reduce the risk of injury. If an injury does occur, these programs can also help with rehabilitation and getting back to pre-injury activities.

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The benefits of injury prevention programs are significant. While it's challenging to measure the actual prevention of future injuries, these programs focus on reducing the risk of harm or specific injuries. They are typically prescribed proactively, targeting various populations such as older adults for fall prevention or athletes for ACL injury prevention.

To design effective programs, it's crucial to identify the risk factors associated with the injury. This may involve addressing exercise techniques or implementing protective equipment. The ultimate goal is to not only reduce the risk but also decrease the overall incidence of injuries.

It's important to note that not everyone has the same level of risk, so these programs may not work universally. However, even if an injury does occur, a well-designed prevention program can still offer benefits. It may include components that aid in rehabilitation, facilitating a quicker recovery and return to normal activities.

In summary, injury prevention programs focus on risk reduction and can lead to a decrease in both the likelihood and severity of injuries. Additionally, they may provide support during the rehabilitation process if an injury does occur.

Musculoskeletal

What can you do to accelerate healing for a repeatedly tweaked hamstring? 

Decelerate, Focus on Eccentric Exercises for Hamstring Healing

You're the big thing with repeated. Hamstring injuries is the lack of time to heal them. Many times athletes will injure their hamstrings and go back into competition because they feel good and they really haven't allowed the healing time that's necessary and they go right back to the same activity. So the first thing I would say is you really can't accelerate healing. I think you need to decelerate a little bit and Then focus on The Eccentric exercises. Looking at particularly eccentric control at the end of terminal extension of the knee, which is where the hamstrings act functionally in terms of slowing down the acceleration of the tibia during the end of the Swing phase. So I think it's important that we look at hamstrings and say, you know, there are some things that we can do to potentially accelerate muscle injury healing. But the problem that I see I see with hamstrings is really more related to the fact that we don't give it enough time to heal and recover. We tend to go back a little bit too quickly. And then of course we focus too much. I think on just con Centric and stretching exercises when I think the really the key there is going to be to exercise, eccentric lie in the final functional ranges of motion.

Hamstring injuries can be difficult to heal due to the lack of time devoted to them. The best way to accelerate healing is to focus on eccentric exercises in the final functional range of motion and also to decelerate your activity a bit to allow more time for healing.

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When dealing with repeatedly tweaked hamstrings, the most important thing to address is the lack of sufficient healing time. Athletes often return to competition too soon without allowing their hamstrings to fully recover. So, instead of trying to accelerate healing, it's crucial to decelerate and focus on specific exercises.

One effective approach is to incorporate eccentric exercises, particularly targeting the control at the end of terminal extension of the knee. This is where the hamstrings functionally work to slow down the acceleration of the tibia during the end of the swing phase. By emphasizing eccentric exercises in the final functional ranges of motion, you can help strengthen and rehabilitate the hamstrings.

It's important to recognize that the issue with repeatedly tweaked hamstrings is often related to insufficient healing time and premature return to activity. Simply focusing on concentric and stretching exercises may not be enough. Prioritizing eccentric exercises and allowing ample time for healing and recovery can contribute to a more effective rehabilitation process.

Knowing what you know now, is there anything you would go back and change about your thesis on Thera-Bands for posterior rotator cuff strengthening? 

Thera-Band Study: Valid Approach for Rotator Cuff Strengthening

Question was if I could do over again or change anything, would I change anything on my thesis I did with TheraBand and baseball pitchers at Mississippi State. I did that study back in the early 90s, and I used a diagonal pattern with TheraBand focusing on the eccentric phase or the deceleration phase that replicates the baseball pitch, and we applied that exercise with our pitchers at Mississippi State in addition to the regular strengthening routine that they were doing. As I look back at that, I really wouldn't change much if anything, particularly in the context of the study as a master's thesis, I thought it was pretty well done. Any training study is difficult to do, and to be able to pull it off with a master's program is pretty good. The only thing I might have done was maybe had them do just TheraBand or just dumbbell exercises. What we would have found was that they probably would have improved similarly because we know that the TheraBand resistance does provide similar strength gains to isotonic resistance. The key was in the deceleration pattern and the eccentric strength. In summary, I don't know that I would have changed much of my study. I think it's still a valid approach today, and I look forward to someone replicating it or making it better, as a matter of fact, would be what I would like to see.

I wouldn't change much of my thesis on Thera-Band and baseball pitchers at Mississippi State. The only thing I might have done was maybe had them do just Thera-Band or just dumbbells to see the effect. The key was in the deceleration pattern in the Eccentric strength, and I think the study is still valid today. I look forward to someone replicating it or making it better.

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If given the chance to change anything about my thesis on Thera-Bands for posterior rotator cuff strengthening, I would say that I wouldn't change much, if anything at all. The study was conducted in the early 90s at Mississippi State, focusing on using a diagonal pattern with Thera-Band to target the eccentric or deceleration phase that mimics the baseball pitch. We incorporated this exercise alongside the pitchers' regular strengthening routine.

Looking back, I believe the study was well-executed, especially considering it was part of a master's thesis. Conducting training studies can be challenging, and successfully completing it within a master's program is commendable. The only potential change I might consider is comparing the results of just Thera-Band exercises versus just dumbbell exercises. However, it is likely that both approaches would have yielded similar improvements, as Thera-Band resistance has been shown to provide comparable strength gains to isotonic resistance.

In conclusion, I believe the study remains valid and relevant today. I would welcome the opportunity for someone to replicate or enhance the research, as it would contribute to further advancements in this area.

Breaking Down Laminectomy: Removal of Lamina Relieves Spinal Cord Pressure

The question is, what's a laminectomy? Well if we break down the word it means removal of the lamina. Which the lamina the lamina is an area of your vertebral bone, which is the bones, that make up your spine from your neck down to your back. And the lamina is an area that is located in between the spinous process which are the bumps that you feel on the top of your spine, as well as a transverse processes, which project laterally from the each vertebrae. And so, the lamina is that area of the vertebra that is in between those two parts and what is done, is that area is removed with taking some of that bone out of there. And what that does is actually decompresses, the spinal cord, if it's enlarged, or has some type of irritation, a laminectomy will be performed to remove the lamina which then relieves pressure off of that area of the spinal cord.

A laminectomy is a surgery that removes part of the vertebrae in order to relieve pressure on the spinal cord.

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A laminectomy is a surgical procedure that involves the removal of the lamina, which is a part of the vertebral bone in the spine. The lamina is located between the spinous processes (the bumps on the top of the spine) and the transverse processes (which project laterally from each vertebra). By removing the lamina, the procedure aims to decompress the spinal cord if it is enlarged or experiencing irritation. This helps to relieve pressure on the affected area of the spinal cord.

As a PT, are you a user of the IASTM instrument?

PT reveals the surprising neurological benefits of IASTM!

Yes, as a physical therapist, I do use instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization. I've been using it for over 10 years. I started using it as a patient myself with tennis elbow. Chronic they got better after two treatments. And after that, I started really integrating it into practice and teaching it with continuing ed, as well as now to my physical therapy students will find that it's very helpful and it's not as I think mechanical as some People think it is. It's more of a neurological input, which is why we use it to kind of stimulate the afferent response, increasing, local circulation, circulation of the skin. I don't really know that it's going to increase much below the skin, but it does give us that opportunity to influence the sensorimotor system through our instruments, which gives us great feedback into our own hands in terms of the tissue response.

Yes, I use instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization in my physical therapy practice. It is a neurological input that helps stimulate the afferent response and increase local circulation.

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Yes, as a physical therapist, I do use instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization (IASTM). I have been using it for over 10 years. I initially started using it as a patient myself to treat my tennis elbow, and I experienced significant improvement after just two treatments. This positive outcome led me to integrate IASTM into my practice and teach it through continuing education courses. I also teach it to my physical therapy students.

Contrary to what some may think, IASTM is not purely mechanical in nature. It actually provides a neurological input that helps stimulate the afferent response. This stimulation increases local circulation and circulation of the skin. While I'm not certain if it has a significant impact below the skin, it does allow us to influence the sensorimotor system through the use of instruments. This, in turn, provides valuable feedback to our hands in terms of tissue response.

What exercises are used to strengthen muscles?

Unlocking Muscle Strength: Exercises That Build Power

So the question is how to strengthen muscles with exercise. That's a very broad question. Obviously any exercise that overloads the muscle and creates tension within it should be what's used to improve strength and many types of exercises and types of muscle contractions can lead to strength gains. You don't have to lift weights. You can do isometric exercises where you just hold a contraction of the muscle without moving. You can also do bodyweight exercises, things like push-ups and squats, things where you're actually moving your own body weight and then of course if you overload that with weights or with resistance bands or anything like that, machines, that also will help you to strengthen muscles. So basically the types of exercises that you need to do or anything that involve increasing the tension of the muscle to improve strength.

To strengthen muscles with exercise, do exercises that create tension within the muscle such as isometric exercises, bodyweight exercises, or exercises with weights or resistance bands.

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To strengthen muscles, exercises that create tension and overload the muscle are key. There are various types of exercises and muscle contractions that can lead to strength gains. It's not necessary to lift weights exclusively. Isometric exercises, where you hold a muscle contraction without movement, can be effective. Bodyweight exercises like push-ups and squats, which involve moving your own body weight, are also beneficial. Additionally, using weights, resistance bands, or machines to provide additional resistance can help strengthen muscles. In summary, any exercise that increases muscle tension will contribute to improving strength.

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Phil Page PhD, PT, ATC, CSCS, FACSM, LAT is a licensed physical therapist, athletic trainer and certified strength & conditioning specialist with 25+ years of experience in rehabilitation and sports medicine. He was recently named Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine and is currently Global Director of Clinical Education and Research for Performance Health. He is an instructor at LSU and Tulane Medical School and his interests include muscle imbalance and physical activity for health-related physical fitness. He lectures and provides workshops internationally, and has published 3 books. He has worked with LSU, Tulane, the New Orleans Saints, Seattle Seahawks and the US Olympic Track and Field Trials. He lives with his wife and 4 children in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Neither AnyQuestion nor its Experts provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment or otherwise provide professional healthcare services.