Preventing Sports injuries

Part three — Technique

By MORT MALKIN

Athletes who perform at a high competitive level are at high risk of injury. The human body is only flesh and bone; and overtraining is overtraining. As dually noted in part one of this series, avoiding excesses of distance, intensity and frequency (how far, how fast, how often) will reduce the chances of injury.

Another way to lessen musculoskeletal risk is the old reliable: gently, gently. You may object, “But I’m so competitive, I go all out on every play. I don’t know how to play gently.” Performing at your best can be done gently, nonetheless. Gentle is a matter of: 1) fluid form and 2) coordination of effort by all the large muscle groups so as not to place undue stress on one or two muscles.

Fluid form is a matter of technique. In runners, ground contact must be light and stride progression smooth. Such form prevents injury and improves running economy. Two examples are illustrative. A local high school middle distance runner, Lani (not her real name), is tall and strong with a long stride that she used for powering through half-mile or mile races. She almost always took first place in local competition, but rarely won in regional meets. Her bounding form caused excessive forces to be exerted on the ligaments and joints of the lower body. In her senior year, Lani suffered a ligament tear that took her out of competition for a few weeks. Technique work could have created a smoother, lighter stride and prevented her injury. At the same time the energy costs of running would have been reduced and her performance level would have improved.

The second example is from the world stage of track and field. Jim Ryan had held the U.S. record for the mile run for many years. An era later, Steve Scott was the premier American miler. Scott tried many times but failed to break Ryan’s record. A group of sports medicine researchers, who were doing a study of running economy, had data on Ryan’s efficiency and were testing Scott. They found that Scott’s running efficiency was a little lower than Ryan’s. Steve decided to work on mechanics. The following year his running economy was measured again and had improved beyond Ryan’s best. Later that year, Scott broke the American record. Technique!

Fluid form is just as important in other sports. Underlying Wayne Gretsky’s arsenal of skills was his wondrous skating. In soccer, Franz Beckenbauer was seamless in his movements and was the most elusive of all the superstars of the Pele era. The greatest basketball players, from Dr. J to Michael Jordan, have been smooth in their movements as well as accurate in their shooting.

The second component of “gently” is having the burden of power production shared among large muscle groups. For example, a pitcher in baseball can throw by whipping his arm around. Or, he can throw with his shoulder and his arm. Better yet, he can add hip and leg power to upper body effort. Thus, the force behind a 100-mph pitch is shared by several muscle groups and the risk of injury is reduced. The same principle is applied to golf—in a perfect drive, hip rotation initiates the swing. Golfers start by facing sideways and finish facing forward. In boxing, too, arm power is supplemented with shoulder and hip power. The classic picture of Joe Louis knocking out an opponent with a right cross shows his power coming from his hip and shoulder as much as from his arm. Athletes in the weight events in track and field—i.e. javelin or shot put—learn early that hip rotation leads the throw. In each of these events the athlete finishes with the entire dominant side of the body forward. All the muscles cooperate.

Technique offers a third prequisite beyond preventing injury and improving performance. It raises the bar for aerobic exercise. As noted above, technique enlists more large muscle groups for the power of athletic movement. In doing so, aerobic power is increased. The equation is simple: a greater muscle mass produces a greater aerobic effect. Whether your reasons for aerobic exercise are for raising fitness levels, reducing size/weight, or improving health, technique will heighten the aerobic effect.

Athletes, coaches and health educators need to focus on technique.

[Dr. Mort Malkin is an Attending Surgeon Emeritus at Brooklyn Hospital Center and author of four books on exercise and health—most recently, “Aerobic WalkingThe Weight Loss Exercise.”]