Field and Court Athlete Agility
Knee Injury Prevention So why am I getting hurt? Welcome back, nerds. This blog will focus on the agility field/court athletes with lateral movements that include (but are not limited to) soccer, football, rugby, field hockey, basketball, and lacrosse. These sports are specifically called out because they often have non-contact knee ligament tears that can occur due to either muscular imbalance, muscle fatigue leading to joint instability, or improper/lack of prehab. Muscle imbalance just means to strengthen all the muscles around a joint. SO don’t just focus on your quads - do
Overhead Athlete Injury Prevention
... So why am I getting hurt? Welcome back, nerds. This blog will focus on athletes that do an overhead (throwing) motion, which include (but are not limited to) baseball, softball, soccer goalkeepers, football quarterbacks, and cricket players. These sports were specifically called out because they often “short arm” their throwing motion – which means they don’t use the full range of motion to accomplish the task. When the full range of motion isn’t used, muscles are forced to fire harder and quicker. Mix that with fatigue from overuse, and it’s
Agility Injury Prevention
Basics of Injury Prevention Do you know the caution signs? If you listen well enough, your body typically alerts you when an injury is imminent, giving you a window of time for prevention. The easiest way to listen is to first understand the 3 categories of caution signs. We’ll use the basic rules of a traffic light, meaning that there will be RED signs, YELLOW signs, and GREEN signs. As I hope you understand, RED signs means STOP, YELLOW means proceed with CAUTION, and GREEN means you’re good to GO. Let’s start
The Phases of ACL Injury Recovery
Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) tears are one of the most common knee injuries among the young athletic population, with the highest incidence affecting males and females ages 14-25. ACL injuries occur most in physically demanding sports, such as soccer, football, basketball, and lacrosse. The ACL has an important role in keeping the tibia (shin bone) from moving anterior or forward in relation to the femur (thigh bone). In other words, the ACL is an extremely important ligament that keeps the knee stabilized while doing anything athletic such as running, jumping,
NAKOA has innovative approach to train Pacific Ridge athletes
NAKOA coaches are working with Pacific Ridge athletes to incorporate strength, conditioning, speed and agility into the school's PE classes. CARLSBAD – In December, Carlsbad resident and Pacific Ridge School sophomore Kai Kelly was playing for his club lacrosse team when his hip suddenly tightened up during a game. "I could tell right away something wasn't right," he said. Kelly and his family turned to Carlsbad's NAKOA Fitness and Physical Therapy for help and he soon started an extensive rehab program for what turned out to be a labral tear in his hip. After 12 weeks of
Common Kettlebell Workout Mistakes
The Kettlebell can be one of the best exercise tools available when done correctly and when done incorrectly the Kettlebell could be one the most hated exercise tools available. Like any exercise worth its weight or worth doing, doing Kettlebell exercises is a skill that needs to be practiced and honed in. Something that requires skill is not always something people like doing because of the “I feel like a fool” or “I just don’t understand this” effect on the ego. Regardless, the Kettlebell has been used for over 300 years for a reason, it
The NAKOA Experience: FMS
Would we be allowed to jump in a car and drive along the freeway at 80 miles an hour without having obtained a driver’s license and/or understand the rules of the road? How about deciding to just start your Ph.D. with no Masters or bachelor’s degree? Dream on… So, how about loading a new client with a 200 lbs barbell compound exercise with no understanding of their current movement literacy? This type of coaching is not only unrealistic, it is dangerous. Insert -> NAKOA Experience <- here! Our NAKOA Experience is an hour-long introductory session
Ironman or Iron Pain?
The idea of swimming 2.4 miles, then hopping on a bike for 112 miles, and finishing off with a marathon, all in one day, is not fun. In fact, it is downright masochistic, and sadistic in its nature. So why do endurance athletes do it? To push their mind and body past their pain threshold and show in the furnace of adversity, how far the human spirit can take them. I was one of these athletes, and let me tell you, completing one of these events liberates you like you have
Anatomy 101: A Thrower’s Arm
On average 50% of baseball and softball players experience a throwing-related injury. According to the American Sports Medicine Institute, “The 2014 National Electronic Injury Surveillance System reported 130,376 emergency room visits due to baseball/softball related shoulder, elbow, trunk, lower arm, head, neck, ankle and facial injuries.” First and foremost, the main goal of training should be to keep athletes healthy, best acquired with a comprehensive approach. This should include a sport-specific strength and conditioning programming, shoulder and elbow care programming, and an in-depth educational process. Education is imperative to help athletes understand how to take care of their
Get To Know The NAKOA Physical Therapy Team
Get to know Allison Nelson, Director of Physical Therapy at NAKOA! Do you have any nicknames? Chico (my maiden name), Cheeks, Al, Alli, Big Al (haha not my favorite) How long have you been at NAKOA? I have been at NAKOA since 2013 If you could have one superpower what would it be? To breathe underwater and fulfill my dream of being a mermaid Whats your favorite food to indulge in? Chocolate chip cookies or french fries
Surf Smart, Prevent Injury
Surfing is not the first thing you think of when considering sports-related injuries. However, it has its fair-share of complications. Surfing poses risks of concussion, head injury, and even spinal fractures. Although these injuries are scary, they are much less common and not necessarily preventable with preparation (other than looking out for nearby kooks). Many musculoskeletal injuries, on the other hand, are preventable. This blog outlines some simple preemptive steps you can take to protect yourself from sprains, strains, and worse. Mobility! Mobility! Mobility! The BEST thing you can do for your
The Four Performance Qualities EVERY Skateboarder Needs
Skateboarding can be an extremely entertaining sport to watch- these wiry humans spinning through the air, grinding on rails and flipping their boards in seemingly impossible ways. Even the SOUND of skating seems to be quite pleasing to the ears. (check out our boy Tom Schaar winning the recent Vans Park Series Event at the 2017 Australian Open) What few fans of skating realize, however, is the BRUTAL TOLL it takes on their bodies. From concussions, broken bones, soft tissue injuries and skin lacerations, these stereotyped “skate rats” are much
