In training injuries happen.
There really is not such thing as "injury prevention", as we can never truly prevent injury. However we can mitigate the risk of injury through proper training principles, volume control, moving correctly, performing mobility work, proper nutrition, and proper recovery. In those instances when we do experience injury, I find it important to keep athletes in the gym training! This involves finding movements which they can do without pain, helping them work around the problem they are having, and helping them to make progress towards their goals while they rehab their injury.
A great tool to utilize so you can work around pain is the landmine. The landmine is when you load one side of a barbell, secure the other side of the barbell into a landmine post (or by wedging the barbell into a corner), and lifting the loaded side of the barbell. The landmine works great to change the mechanics of the movement enough to keep the athlete out of positions which provoke their symptoms.
Landmine exercises and situations which you may want to try them.
Landmine Press - Training around Shoulder Pain during the Overhead Press
Many athletes with painful shoulders experience their shoulder pain during the overhead press, push press, or push jerk. If the athletes main position of discomfort is directly overhead, then we can structure training to keep them out of the painful range of motion. With the finishing position of the landmine press slightly short of full shoulder flexion, it helps athletes avoid their painful range of motion while maintaining a productive strength session.
Landmine RDL - Training around Back Pain during Barbell RDL's
If one of your athletes is avoiding RDL's due to back pain, a good substitution for them might be the landmine RDL. The landmine setup decreases stability demands for the athlete (making the
movement easier to perform), decreases demand on the lower back during the lift, and helps the athlete load their hamstrings during the movement. It's an excellent choice to help the athlete work around back pain.
Landmine Squat - Working around knee and hip pain during the squat
Many athletes struggle with positioning in the squat. If their poor ankle and hip mobility has
resulted in painful hips or knees during the squat, then a great way to work around their mobility restrictions is with the landmine squat. Due to how the landmine loads the body, the landmine squat allows the athlete to keep vertical shins and a more upright torso. By doing this, we are able to work around their hip and ankle restrictions which often allows them to perform the squat in training without provoking their pain.
Do you have lingering knee, back, or shoulder pain? Does your pain tend to "flare up" a few times a year? Do you fear hurting your _______ again? Does this fear prevent you from living life fully, and training without limitations? I have good news for you, you don't need to live in fear of pain any longer!
The solution? Bulletproof your body by fixing your foundational movement patterns and building strength within those movement patterns! Build resilience, lift heavy weight, and live your life without pain or worry.
Here at Ground to Overhead Physical Therapy, we help athletes all over the country resolve their chronic pain. We do this with in person appointments for athletes local to our clinic. Remotely, we help athlete through individualized training programs designed to resolve the athletes pain and achieve their goals. We coach the athletes through electronic communication, video analysis, and video calls; guiding them step by step along the process of eliminating their chronic pain.
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