Wrestling Season is going strong

It is the time of year that screams a lot of winter sports.  With winter sports comes Wrestling season.  In Minnesota we love our wresting and at OSR we want to keep our wrestlers safe and wrestling.





Here are some wrestling tips and tricks from Certified Athletic Trainer Andrew at OSR Eden Prairie:

Shoulder Injuries are a big problem. To help keep your shoulders healthy:
-Stretch your chest muscles and even more specific your pec major and pec minor
-Strengthen your low traps, rhomboids, and rotator cuff complex

Neck injuries are also common:
-Neck strengthening - you could use a towel to perform your own manual resistance
-Neck stretches - work on a big range of motion

If you are concerned about a wrestling injury make sure to consult with a medical professional.  At OSR we offer free injury consultations and if appropriate can give you more individualized advice on your injury.

Cutting weight is also a big deal with wrestling.  Here are some more tips on "weight" with wrestling:
-Maintain a constant weight.
-Do not have huge fluctuations in weight due to weight ins.
-Have proper nutrition, hydration, and exercises year round.
-Do not binge after meets.
-Eat well with nutritious foods, rehydrate.
-High school wrestlers should not be on a "diet" out of season.
-Keep in mind High School wrestlers are still growing and need food.  

If you are looking for more info regarding wrestling season check out these helpful links:
themat.com
http://www.ncaa.com/sports/wrestling/d1


NATA position statement on safe weight loss:
http://natajournals.org/doi/pdf/10.4085/1062-6050-46.3.322

Thanks for your help Andrew and good luck to all the wrestlers out there this season!

Keeping Athletes Safe

Are you a middle school, high school or collegiate athlete?  If so you have a lot of pressures throughout the day.  School work, conditioning, practice, games, travel and more.

A big pressure we are hoping to minimize at OSR is injury.  Injuries are inevitable, they are going to happen.  We hope they become less through prevention, recognition and appropriate treatment post injury.

Here is a good clip on Athletic Trainers and their role with sports:
http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=he_mid#/video/health/2012/10/09/hm-hs-athlete-safety.cnn

Another great resource to check out is the Youth Sports Safety Alliance:
http://www.youthsportssafetyalliance.org/InTheNews.htm

At OSR we always offer free 15 minute injury consultations with one of our Certified Athletic Trainers in hope to look at your injury before it gets worse.  We will also offer our advice on treatment inside and out of OSR.

To schedule your free 15 minute injury consult contact us today and good luck in your season!
Chanhassen: 952-448-9081
Eden Prairie: 952-873-7400

ACL Injury Prevention

Winter sports are in full swing and unfortunately with that comes injuries and tired athletes.  A common theme I am hearing my teenage athletes talk about is ACL injuries.  Each sport will pose different risks to our bodies, including things like ACL tears.

Here is some advice we have on prevention of ACL injuries and tears this winter season.  There will always be situations in sports that could not have been prevented but it is always good to try some prevention first!

Most ACL injuries occur in sports that require sudden changes in direction while moving.  It is very common for the injuries to occur while an athlete has planted then twisted without any contact.  They can also tear during a hard tackle, improper landing from a jump or chasing something without good form.

Female ACL injuries are nearly three times more likely than male ACL injuries.  Researchers believe this is because of anatomy, hormone levels, fatigue, hip flexibility and mobility.

Things to do that can aid in lower leg strength and help minimize ACL injuries:

• Work on balance
• Make sure you are conditioned for your sport
• Work on jumping with proper landing techniques and a lot of knee control
• Make time for agility exercises in your warm up
• Leg exercises like bridges, squats and lunges

How to order your exercises during a workout program for ACL Prevention

1. Warm Up
2. Plyometics
3. Agility
4. Strengthen
5. Stretch
6. Cool down

Here are some other resources for you, if you want to learn more about ACL injuries:
http://www.moveforwardpt.com/resources/detail.aspx?cid=e01ef695-7434-4076-9b19-8b9057f6aa91
http://www.apta.org/Media/Releases/Consumer/2008/9/25/
http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/injuryprevention/a/ACL_prevention.htm
http://orthopedics.about.com/od/aclinjury/f/prevent.htm

If you are interested in knowing your risk for an ACL tear or learning specific exercises for you contact us at OSR!

Hockey Season is back

Although the NHL season has been in lockout, kids to adults have been playing their hearts out this winter.  Now it seems as if the wait is over which is the inspiration to this post.

What dose it take to train like a pro?  How can I lessen my chance for injury?  How can I maximize my season?

Here are some tips to train this hockey season and beyond:

1. Train explosively
• It is a great way to train your cardio and power
• You can use medicines balls or your body weight
• Focus on good form when you are training explosiveness
2. Train your core
• Focus on core, back and shoulder strength
• Work on core range of motion, that slap shot requires it
3. Work on leg strength to increase skating speed
• Running stairs, lunges, sprints and jumping will help with your endurance and speed on your skates
4. Take time to rest
• Hockey season is grueling, take some time to let your body repair itself
• Cross train with other sports and movements to lessen overuse injuries
• Drink a lot of water, with all the equipment you have to wear hockey players sweat a lot
5. Have fun
• Remember why you started to play and play for those reasons
• Take some time to play outdoor pick up games

Good luck this season and Go Wild!