Boston Sports Medicine and Performance Group, LLC Blog

When Reading Is NOT Good

Posted by Boston Sports Medicine and Performance Group on Fri, Aug 5, 2011 @ 07:08 AM


by Keke Lyles, DPT, CSCS

I had a conversation with someone the other day who was telling me about how he has started to train with a guy who is currently in school with aspirations to become a strength coach. He was telling me about all the different books, websites, and articles that his guy has been reading. It is always refreshing to hear about any professional who is trying to do all they can to better themselves. He continued on to tell me how his guy started to use Graston tools on him to help with his soft tissue issues, and then shared with  me how he got all “jacked up” from the Graston. He had to seek medical help to deal with the consequences.


My question to all professionals is at what point is it okay to read about different techniques or skills and then decide you are capable of performing such skill? I don’t want to sound like a bitter physical therapist who doesn’t like the idea of strength coaches trying to expand their knowledge, but as a strength coach myself, we MUST operate within our scope of practice. Even as a physical therapist, I would not recommend anyone just picking up Graston tools or any other such tool without proper training and education beforehand. Yes, it is true that given impairments would greatly benefit from such techniques, but our job as strength coaches, physical therapist, or athletic trainers is sometimes to swallow our pride and refer our clients/athletes to the people who are experts and trained properly to use specialized techniques.

Many techniques are certainly beneficial but at the same time can be very destructive to the tissues that we think we are correcting. As a result, serious consequences may arise from practitioners who are trying to do the right thing, but without the proper skill set. I urge us all to continue to read and learn about the advancements we are making both in the strength world as well as in the rehab world. However, just because I read about how great some patients responded to PRP injection in their patella tendon, doesn’t mean I am going to try to perform injections myself to everyone that comes to me complaining of patella tendon pain.  That is not my decision to make and certainly not the person to perform it.

Be responsible with your actions and continue to read to learn about the current evidence-based practices so that when you come across someone who may benefit from such technique, you can do you part of informing them of the options and then refer them to the right person who is suitable to perform such technique.

 

Topics: basketball training programs, athletic training conference, boston hockey summit, boston hockey conference, athletic training books, everything basketball

Battling Knee Pain Means Getting Your Butt In Gear - Literally

Posted by Boston Sports Medicine and Performance Group on Thu, Jun 30, 2011 @ 18:06 PM

sports medicine

 

So often individuals with knee pain miss out on the opportunity to resolve their troublesome and agonizing cases because the answer comes dressed in overalls, a hard hat and carries a lunch box.  Addressing knee pain means so much more than sitting back and relaxing in your local physical therapy or athletic training center with an ice bag and electrical stimulation on your knee.  Addressing knee pain takes hard work and requires that patients become an active participant in their care plan.

In a recent article published in Sports Health, Lake and Wofford reviewed current literature examining therapeutic modalities and their effectiveness for the treatment of patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) or good old fashion knee pain.  Their findings come as no surprise to those that understand that knee pain is a real pain in the butt – meaning, quite literally it's cause is coming from your butt (or a lack thereof).  Conclusions drawn from their examination was that, “none of the therapeutic modalities reviewed has sound scientific justification for the treatment of PFPS when used alone.”

So what’s the answer?

Let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water quite yet.  A comprehensive treatment approach offering therapeutic modalities as needed with a focus on eccentric strength training along with an overall strengthening program for the hips and gluteus musculature in addition to providing mobility above and below the knee (hips and ankle) continues to be the best approach to getting athletes back to competition faster and putting smiles on knee pain sufferers  time and time again.


See additional knee pain articles below: 

Treating Anterior Knee Pain - Part I and Part II

 

Lake D., and Wofford N. Effect of Therapeutic Modalities on Patients With Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome: A Systematic Review. 2011. Sports Health, Vol. 3(2)p.182-189.

Topics: Art Horne, basketball performance, basketball resources, basketball training programs, BSMPG, athletic training conference, everything basketball

BSMPG Announces Ray Eady To Speak At Basketball Specific Conference

Posted by Boston Sports Medicine and Performance Group on Fri, Oct 29, 2010 @ 08:10 AM

BSMPG is proud to announce that Ray Eady, Basketball Strength and Conditioning Coach at the University of Wisconsin will join Brandon Ziegler and Brian McCormick at the BSMPG Basketball Specific Conference featuring Dr. Shirley Sahrmann as a keynote speaker next June 3rd and 4th, 2011.

everything basketball

Ray Eady is currently the strength and conditioning coach for the women’s basketball program at the University of Wisconsin. He has been the strength and conditioning coach for the Wisconsin basketball program since 2008.  Previously, he was the head strength and conditioning coach for men’s and women’s basketball at the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio (2004 - 2008) and Northeastern University in Boston, MA (2003 - 2004).

Originally from Springfield, Massachusetts, Eady holds a Masters degree in Exercise Physiology from the University of Akron and is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (NSCA – CSCS), a Performance Enhancement Specialist (NASM – PES), and a Club Coach with the United States Weightlifting Association.  He is also a member of the Black Coaches Association (BCA).

See articles written by Ray Eady:

Female Basketball Athletes Need To Get Strong

Push-up Progression

 

Topics: Ray Eady, Strength Training, basketball performance, basketball resources, basketball training programs, boston hockey summit, boston hockey conference, basketball videos, Shirley Sahrmann, female strength training, everything basketball

BSMPG Announces Brian McCormick To Speak At 2011 Basketball Specific Conference

Posted by Boston Sports Medicine and Performance Group on Fri, Oct 22, 2010 @ 08:10 AM

BSMPG is proud to announce that Brian McCormick, Founder of Youth Basketball Coaching Association and Performance Director, Train for Hoops will join Brandon Ziegler at the BSMPG Basketball Specific Conference featuring Dr. Shirley Sahrmann as a keynote speaker next June 3rd and 4th, 2011.

everything basketball

McCormick is a basketball coach, trainer and author. He coached the Visby Ladies in the Swedish Damligan (women's pro league) and UCD Marian in Ireland's Men's SuperLeague. He also has coached youth, AAU, and high school teams and assisted at the junior college and college levels in California. As a coach and clinician, he has traveled to Canada, China, Greece, Macedonia, Morocco, South Africa and Trinidad & Tobago to direct camps or speak at clinics.


McCormick is a certified strength coach through National Strength & Conditioning Association (CSCS), National Academy of Sports Medicine (PES) and USA Weightlifting (SPC).


As the Performance Director for Train for Hoops, McCormick wrote a year-round periodized general strength training and off-season skill development program for youth and high school players and maintains a blog that covers all areas of player development.


After publishing Cross Over: The New Model of Youth Basketball Development in 2006, he founded the Youth Basketball Coaching Association to create a certification and coach education curriculum for volunteer youth basketball coaches.

McCormick also transformed another of his nine books, Developing Basketball Intelligence, into a developmental league, Playmakers Basketball Development League, which operates in more than six states in 2010.

McCormick lives in Irvine where he works as a personal train at the U.C. Irvine Recreation Center, trains local high school basketball players and writes the free weekly Hard2Guard Player Development Newsletters. To subscribe, email hard2guardinc@yahoo.com or follow Brian on twitter @brianmccormick.

Articles:

Play Multiple Sports to Build Athleticism

Mindful Learning

Q&A

Core Stability and Basketball Training

ACL Review: Teaching The Jump Stop

 

Topics: Brian McCormick, basketball performance, basketball resources, basketball training programs, boston hockey summit, Strength & Conditioning, Conditioning-Agility-Speed, boston hockey conference, basketball videos, female strength training, everything basketball

Are We There Yet?

Posted by Boston Sports Medicine and Performance Group on Wed, Oct 20, 2010 @ 08:10 AM

ev

I heard a story recently about a basketball coach that will “get lost” on his way back to campus from the airport after picking up a recruit in an effort to intentionally place the recruit in an uncomfortable situation.

Two things happen.

1. The recruit will sit quietly, put their head down and perhaps jump on their cell phone, text message friends, headphones in and wait for the coach to find his/her way back to campus.
or
2. The recruit will ask questions about general directions, look for street signs that may aid in their quest back to campus and even some will use their technology packed phone to locate their whereabouts on GPS and plug in the schools address providing the coach a clear and decisive path back to campus.

With all things being equal, which kid would you rather have on your team?

Are you worth being recruited to a better team or are you quietly sitting at your desk, minding your own business waiting for others to figure things out?

 

Art Horne is the Coordinator of Care and Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Men’s Basketball Team at Northeastern University, Boston MA.  He can be reached at a.horne@neu.edu.


 

Topics: Art Horne, basketball conference, athletic training conference, hockey conference, motivation, Good to Great, everything basketball, development

Permission To Act

Posted by Boston Sports Medicine and Performance Group on Tue, Oct 19, 2010 @ 08:10 AM

Seth Godin does it again...

 

ev

 

Do You Need A Permit?

 

Where, precisely, do you go in order to get permission to make a dent in the universe?

The accepted state is to be a cog. The preferred career is to follow the well-worn path, to read the instructions, to do what we're told. It's safer that way. Less responsibility. More people to blame.

When someone comes along and says, "not me, I'm going down a different path," we flinch. We're not organized to encourage and celebrate the unproven striver. It's safer to tear them down (with their best interests at heart, of course). Better, we think, to let them down easy, to encourage them to take a safer path, to be realistic, to hear it from us rather than the marketplace.
Perhaps, years ago, this was good advice. Today, it's clearly not. In fact, it's disrespectful, ill-advised and short sighted. How dare we cheer when a bold changemaker stumbles? Our obligation today isn't to spare the feelings of our peers from future disappointment. It's to establish an expectation that of course they're going to do something that matters.

If you think there's a chance you can make a dent, GO.

Now.

Hurry.

You have my permission. Not that you needed it.

Topics: basketball performance, basketball resources, boston hockey summit, boston hockey conference, discipline, customer service, everything basketball, development, Seth Godin

The Future Of Sports Medicine Must Mirror Dentistry

Posted by Boston Sports Medicine and Performance Group on Mon, Oct 18, 2010 @ 08:10 AM

everything basketball

There are certain things you just have to do each day – brushing your teeth is one of them.

I first heard the analogy from an old friend of mine when discussing implementing an ACL prevention program with our soccer team and the struggles to keep the coaches on it once the season started,

“You wouldn’t brush your teeth everyday for six months and then stop for six months would you?”

Dentistry has is right.

Not just the brushing every day part, (although clearly important) but their whole approach.

You probably don’t even remember your first visit to the dentist do you?  That’s my point.  Dentists get you right from the get-go. You’re evaluated, x-rayed for a baseline to compare future visits to, you get picked at, poked and prodded and then they finish your visit with a cleaning, rinse and some fresh minty breath.

If you have good insurance you get to go back twice a year – Shoot, sometimes you go in and you don’t have any tooth pain at all. But isn’t this the point?

If the dentist finds tarter build up – BAM that little hook comes in and blasts that gunk right out of there.  No use in letting that sit until it causes a cavity – your dentist wouldn’t be doing their job if they did. 

Yet, many times (I really mean all the time) in sports medicine we see athletes and patients with poor movement patterns, dysfunctional squats, steps and lunges and we do nothing.

We wait.

Their knee doesn’t hurt yet.

No need to take a look.  No baseline assessment. No poking. No prodding.

Once in a while an athlete or patient comes in on the advice from a friend – they have back pain.

“No problem. I’ll help – let’s just get some ice and e-stim on that, there, that should do the trick.  See you tomorrow.”

If you went to a dentist and you had a tooth ache and they rubbed some Novocain on your gum and told you to come back the next day to do it again you’d soon find another dentist to go to. One that addressed the problem and not just the symptom, and one then that gave you some advice on how to avoid future problems.

Dentists do it right – Baseline Evaluation, Regular On-Going Assessment, Treatment/Maintenance  and Education.

I remember when I was a child brushing my teeth three times a day and then if on the rare occasion I was allowed to have some ice cream or candy my mother would make me do it again!

33 years later not a single cavity.

I wish I could say the same for my back pain.

 

Art Horne is the Coordinator of Care and Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Men’s Basketball Team at Northeastern University, Boston MA.  He can be reached at a.horne@neu.edu.

Topics: Art Horne, Health & Wellness, basketball performance, basketball training programs, boston hockey summit, Strength & Conditioning, basketball videos, orthopedic assessment, everything basketball

BSMPG announces Brandon Ziegler to speak at 2011 Basketball Conference

Posted by Boston Sports Medicine and Performance Group on Fri, Oct 15, 2010 @ 08:10 AM

BSMPG is proud to announce that Brandon Ziegler of Oregon State will be part of the Basketball Specific Conference speaker set featuring Dr. Shirley Sahrmann as a keynote speaker next June 3rd and 4th, 2011.

everything basketball

Brendon Ziegler is in his fifth season at Oregon State where he serves as the strength and conditioning coach for the men’s basketball team. In his duties, Ziegler handles all strength and conditioning duties for the men’s basketball squad, including lifting and strength work, core training, speed and agility drills, flexibility drills as well as conditioning. He also coordinates all off-season conditioning programs. Prior to Oregon State, Ziegler served in similar positions with Hawai’i, Wisconsin and the Chicago Bulls of the NBA.


Ziegler is certified through NSCA-CSCS and USA Weightlifting. A native of Edgerton, Wisc., Ziegler was a four-year starter in football at Hamline University and is also a competitive weightlifter.

Topics: Strength Training, basketball resources, basketball conference, basketball training programs, athletic training conference, boston hockey summit, Vertical Jump Training, Strength & Conditioning, boston hockey conference, Brendon Ziegler, basketball videos, everything basketball

A Week with Riley - Discipline

Posted by Boston Sports Medicine and Performance Group on Wed, Oct 6, 2010 @ 07:10 AM

You have said that dscipline is not a dirty word. Some coaches are wary of disciplinary action fearing it may have an adverse effect. What is your approach? How can a coach use discipline to his or her advantage?

everything basketball

RILEY: Whenever somebody goes outside the covenants and does something that can break the spirit of the team it cannot be allowed.  As a coach, I liked to take some of my most experienced players and converse with them about what they think should be done.  It isn’t just a my way or the highway thing.  Even though at times someone can do something so egregious that yes, he’s out of here.   And I think we understand what those things are.  When that happens, there is no team consultation.

(Interview questions and answers taken directly from the February 2007 edition of Scholastic Coach & Athletic Director)

Topics: basketball performance, basketball training programs, Pat Riley, discipline, everything basketball, development

Join my network

Posted by Boston Sports Medicine and Performance Group on Fri, Sep 24, 2010 @ 06:09 AM

everything basketball

They say it’s not what you know, but who you know.

They’re right. But take it a step further; it’s not WHO you know, but HOW you know someone.

It’s easy to meet someone at a conference, send them a LinkedIN connection and, voila, that person is permanently in your network. But I recently went through my LinkedIN “network” and realized I don’t even know who some of those people really are. What kind of network is that??? The same holds true for Facebook: How many of your “friends” do you consider your friends in real life?

Social networks like LinkedIN and Facebook are simple and often fake. Real networks take time to cultivate and develop. Shoot an email to someone when their team or school is in the news. Pick up the phone to ask for advice.  Send a note if a somebody loses a loved one. A real network is about people looking out for one another.

So when that dream job finally opens up at that company you’ve always wanted to work for, a good networker will pick up the phone and feel comfortable calling to ask for that recommendation. A great networker, meanwhile, doesn’t need to call because that person on the other end already knows who you are and what you’re capable of.

 


Mark Harris
Associate Director, Athletics Annual Giving

Loyola University Maryland

Topics: basketball resources, Good to Great, customer service, everything basketball, development, networking