What stretch should you do when you get injured?
One of the most common questions I get from goalies goes like this, “I pulled my groin yesterday – what stretch should I do to make it better?” or “I have a pain in my back what stretch should I do to fix it?”
Maybe there is a stretch that will fix it, but maybe not! Maybe it does not need a stretch at all, maybe it needs more strength and stability. Maybe the pain in your back is actually coming from your tight hip or your old shoulder injury. Maybe your hamstring strain is a function of poor core stability. You need to get help from an experienced sport physiotherapist to establish the underlying cause of the injury, then you can follow a targeted step-by-step path to loosen the tight structures if necessary and strengthen the weak structures if necessary.
This one strategy will reduce back strain in hockey players.
Back in 2009 we went over some ways that muscle imbalances can contribute to back pain, including some stretches hockey players can use to reduce the imbalance. Today, I am…
Christmas gift for skaters, MCL injuries in Goalies and more WINNERS!
I think this is the most jammed post I have ever written for the Hockey Training Blog – wow! There is something in here for everyone and I will start by letting you know that I have been working on a special Christmas gift for the forwards and d-men who are loyal readers of the Hockey Training Blog and I think I have come up with a doozie! I have had a few emails from some of the skaters out there asking why the goalies get so much content on the site lately. The answer is simple…it is the goalies who are posting comments on at www.hockeytrainingpro.com or emailing me every week asking questions about their training, or telling me what they would like to see posted to the site. I would rather give someone the exact information they need rather than guess at what you want to know.
How hockey players can reduce the risk of groin strains. Contest Winners!
When I worked as the exercise specialist at the sport medicine clinic at the University of Western Ontario, I learned that a key to preventing injury (or the reoccurrence of an injury) was to gain a full understanding of why that injury occurred in the first place. Once we identified the cause, we could rehab the injury and then train the athlete in a way that reduced their risk of re-injury.
If we look at groin strains in hockey players they often went hand in hand with a lack of core stabilization. If the muscles of the torso did not work with the muscles of the hips to maintain a stable platform at the pelvis, where the adductors or groin muscles attach, this instability could put undue strain on the tissue and result in a tear or strain.
Wonder if Luongo ever tries this?
I find the pre-season fascinating for a few reasons 1) I have to anxiously wait to see how the athletes I train over the summer are doing at their pro camps and 2) there are always lots of tweaks and strains that pop up and this always gets me thinking about the ‘why’. The one that sticks in my head most recently is Luongo’s groin ‘tweak’. I immediately thought back to an article about how Luongo became passionate about road biking this off-season and how he logged 1800km on the bike to help him drop 8lbs of weight. I can’t help but think…hmmmmmmm!
The 7 Deadly Sins of Off-Ice Training
Today I want to share with you the 7 Deadly Sins of Off-Ice Training, well maybe they aren’t deadly, but don’t do them anyway. So without further delay, here they are:
A simple way for goalies to build strong, flexible hips.
Here is one of the simplest exercises I can think of to help goalies build strong and flexible hips. All you need is a resistance band tied in a small loop. Don’t have a resistance band – fine, then place one hand on the outside of each knee to create resistance as you push your knees outward.
3 Ways to Improve Hip Function (and reduce back pain) in Hockey Players
Check out this video showing you a 3-step approach to improving hip function in hockey goalies and skaters. Do you ever get an achy back when you play hockey? We often think automatically that our back must be weak, but it could be that your hip is not functioning properly and this is causing back to work harder than it should. I am pretty sure there are a couple of exercises in this video that you have never seen before – and at least one that you will not want to do at the gym!
Off Ice Groin Exercise for Hockey Goalies.
This post is for those of you who are terrified to train your groin muscles in the gym – first of all you know you are going to have to ‘work in’ with some lady who looks like she is right out of “Real Housewives of Hoboken” while all the muscle head’s stare at you like a freak when you plunk your butt on that stupid ‘groin machine’. Here is the great news – when you are playing goal in hockey, your adductors (groins) do not really work this way – with your feet off the ground. Your adductors work in a closed chain when you are playing goal so you are in contact with the ground through either your feet or knees.
Hip Impingement in Hockey Goalies: Try this simple self evaluation.
I have been interested in learning more and more about femoroacetabular hip impingement (FAIS) in hockey goalies and the more I talk about it the more I am amazed at how many goalies play with pain in the front of their hip and think it is normal. Check out the video to learn more about what causes hip impingement in hockey goalies and then take the self evaluation.