Sports Rehabilitation Basics

Sports rehabilitation is a vital component to recovering from any type of sports injury. As an athletic trainer, I am constantly amazed at how the body responds to rehab, and the benefits that come with regular, focused exercise. In this section of the site, you can learn about rehabilitation basics, the science and why behind exercises for prevention, recovery, and performance. I'll also share some of my own rehab philosophies, developed over the last 12 years working as an athletic trainer.

Whether you want to know all of the nitty gritty details of how the body works and responds to rehab, or are just looking for tips and pointers to maximize your efforts, you'll find that information here.

Everything is Connected

One of the most important concepts that you need to understand when talking about any type of exercise or sports rehabilitation is that everything in the body is connected. From your big toe up to your hips, through your shoulder blade and top of your head, everything works together, and is intimately connected. That means that an ankle sprain can have an effect on how well you can squat, and even how much power you have when you throw. Sounds crazy, I know, but it is true.

Because of these interconnections, movement, performance, and ultimately sports rehabilitation comes down to two main areas - Mobility and Neuromuscular Control. Each is described briefly below.

Mobility

Mobility is the amount of motion available within specific joints of the body. Mobility is different from flexibility, as it takes both joint motion and muscle flexibility into consideration. Tight muscles and stiff joints will reduce the amount of motion that is available when performing tasks.

Sometimes these limitations are very subtle and may not be noticed, and other times they are very apparent, such as after a sports injury. Regardless of whether they are small or large, mobility restrictions play a huge role in normal function.

Neuromuscular Control

Neuromuscular control is a term that encompasses several different functions within the body. Simply put, it is the interaction between the central and peripheral nervous system, the muscles and joints. These interactions fall into two primary categories. Information coming into the system, and responses being sent out to the muscles.

Also known as afferent information collected by the peripheral nervous system and transmitted to the central nervous system for processing and efferent signals sent from the central nervous system to the muscles and joints signals, this information is how your body knows which muscles to contract and relax - for simple things like tying your shoes, or complex sports skills like throwing a fastball.

Hardware and Software

Think of neuromuscular control like the operating system or software for your computer. It runs everything behind the scenes, and when it works correctly, you hardly even know its there. Muscles and joints (and mobility) are like the hardware that is controlled by the sensorimotor system. Unfortunately, when it doesn't work just right, problems arise.

Keys to Sports Rehabilitation

Mobility and neuromuscular control are the primary focus for most sports rehabilitation activities, whether prevention, recovery, or performance. Restoration of mobility, and correcting mobility restrictions should be a number one priority with any exercise program. Without normal mobility, the muscles cannot function efficiently, and so neuromuscular control problems cannot be corrected.

Once mobility deficits are addressed, neuromuscular control takes center stage, and should focus on improving muscle stabilization, muscle activation patterns, and ultimately strength, balance, and coordination.

Remember, everything is connected. For this reason, you must have proximal stability in order to have distal mobility. What does that mean? Think of your body like a house. If it is built on a strong, stable foundation, then it can support two, three, even four floors without worry of collapse. The coremuscles comprising the center of the body - abdominals, hips, lower and upper back of your body comprise the foundation, and it must be strong and stable in order to produce movements and power in the extremities. Core stability, and good core activation are stressed throughout the exercises on this site.

Understanding some of the key concepts of sports rehabilitation will allow you to focus on your goals - whether for prevention, recovery, or performance. And the information on this site will help guide you to a stronger, more efficient, balanced body.

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