So Another New York Athlete Bites The Dust - My Approach if I were on the Medical Team for the Knicks or Yankees

With the permanent and temporary loss of four professional athletes due to knee injuries in the past week, it is very clear that many teams need to seriously reevaluate their existing sports prevention program.

Elmsford, NY (prHWY.com) May 7, 2012 - Last night, as his pre-game ritual always involved, Mariano Rivera was chasing down fly balls. Except on this particular night while doing so, he like Rose and Shumpert, tore his ACL. Am I beating a dead horse with the same point before I go on, or should this forum allow us to seriously reevaluate our existing sports prevention paradigm?

There's a wealth of information that has been purported about ACL prevention programs and their effectiveness. You would think all organizations, especially professional ones with jam-packed budgets, would adapt a means to minimize these season ending ailments. If most baseball and basketball teams are using prevention programs, have pre-season screening and training, then why are so many preventable injuries occurring? So again I ask, is this recent ACL tear a coincidence - simply an accident - or are we perhaps missing a key link? While it may make sense to use ACL prevention programs at a glance, the fact of the matter is that everyone's movement patterns are highly individualized. A PROGRAM in essence is a one-size-fits-all approach, whereas a SYSTEM takes into consideration the uniqueness of every individual, and the predispositions that lead to injury susceptibility.

Thus, a cookie cut approach is not applicable to every athlete on the field or court when try to prevent or bounce back from an injury - not everyone needs customized orthotics or needs to develop immeasurable hip strength. Specifically, I like and encourage the medical compliment of the Functional Movement Screen (FMS). The medical variation of FMS is Selective Functional Movement Assessment (SFMA), which is similar in nature as it uses a multi-tiered system. This is the approach I would use before I cleared Shumpert, Rose or Rivera back to playing court or field.

The SFMA is used when a patient is in current disrepair as opposed to the FMS, which is used for the pain-free client as a prediction tool. The SFMA analyzes movement patterns that have been altered as a result of injury - like a reconstructed ACL. These are the same movements that predispose us to injury and\or perpetuate the existing one. Remember, the number one reason for injury is a previous one.

In short, if you are pain free and want to uncover the unforeseeable, a Functional Movement Screen is ideal - for all athletes from Zumba moms to your NFL running backs. The SFMA model is designed for the patient with an active orthopedic pathology who must relearn the fundamental and efficient movement patterns that steer us clear from aggravating out existing injury - what I'd use for Rose, Shumpert, Rivera, and Baron Davis. If you want to predict injury call us for an FMS, but if you are injured and want to prevent further injury, either local or in a remote area, call us for an SFMA.

For more information about our Functional Movement Screen, and how it can be customized to fit your current physical condition, please visit us on the web at http://www.executiveparkpt.com.

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Tag Words: sports therapy ny, sports injury screen ny, physical therapy ny

Categories: Health

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