MJ HEALTH & FITNESS: Prevent Sports Injuries - The latest injury-prevention techniques

Prevent Sports Injuries
The breakthrough new drill you can do to stop the hurt before it starts

On most pro sports teams, players get patched up after they've been injured. But before the season even starts, players on the Phoenix Suns perform basic body-weight squats while trainer Aaron Nelson snaps digital photos. A few computer clicks later, each Sun learns all the injuries he's likely to get during the season -- or rather, would get, if Nelson didn't set him up with a custom fitness plan based on the info. It's all part of a new program from the National Academy of Sports Medicine to educate trainers everywhere -- including your health club -- in the latest injury-prevention techniques. Called Corrective Exercise Training, it views the body as a "kinetic chain" of interconnected parts. A knee that buckles during a squat, say, is a clue that muscles on the inside of the leg might be too tight to allow outer muscles to do their job. Identify the weak links in the chain and you're well on your way to being the healthiest weekend warrior on your block. You don't even have to wait for your trainer to get up to speed. Just perform the easy self-assessment at right. Pick up a foam roller ($17; everythingtrackandfield.com) for loosening tight spots and add the corrective drills to the start of your workout twice a week.

THE PERFECT SQUAT
Ideally, your toes point forward, your knees don't turn in or out, and your back is relatively upright (above). But in reality, very few people can do a flawless squat, which is why it's the perfect exercise for detecting tight and weak muscles. Do it in front of a mirror and look for the warning signs:

FORWARD LEAN
If your back bends like this:
It means: You may have tight hip flexors, a weak core, and poor posture -- all seeds of a hamstring strain.
Avoid injuries by doing this:
1. Firmly press the front and sides of your hips against a foam roller, 40 seconds per spot.
2. Leading with your right foot, do a lunge while raising your left arm overhead and rotating your upper body to the left. Hold for 30 seconds. Do 2 on each side.
3. Lie facedown on a stability ball, with the ball under your chest and your hands touching the floor at your sides. Raise into a back extension. Do 2 sets of 15.
4. Place a stability ball between your back and a wall. Slowly squat, letting the ball roll up. Do 2 sets of 15.

BUCKLED KNEES
If your knees buckle in like this:
It means: You may have weak glutes, tight inner thighs, and you're prone to knee and lower-back pain.
Avoid injuries by doing this:
1. Firmly press your inner and outer thigh against a foam roller, 40 seconds per spot.
2. Lunge out, but at a 45-degree angle. Hold for 30 seconds. Do 2 per side.
3. Lie on your right side, elbow bent, your head supported in your right hand. Raise and lower your left leg, keeping it straight. Do 2 sets of 15 per side.
4. With a resistance band around your ankles, sidestep 15 steps to the right and then back for one set. Do 3 sets.

TURNED FEET
If your toes turn out like this:
It means: You may have tight outer calves, hams, and weak inner thighs, and you're at risk for Achilles tendonitis.
Avoid injuries by doing this:
1. Firmly press your calves and hams against a foam roller, 40 seconds per spot.
2. With your hands against a wall, feet flat on the ground and one foot 18 inches behind the other, bend your front knee. Stretch calf for 30 seconds. Do 2 per leg.
3. Stand on one foot turned in 45 degrees with the heel hanging off a step. Hold onto a wall; go up on tiptoe. Do 2 sets of 15 per leg.
4. From a standing position, lift one leg away from and in back of your body and slowly return. Do 2 sets of 15 per leg.

By: Steve Steinberg
Photographs by: Monte Isom
(March 2006)