Blog post produced and written by Sports Injury Specialist and Strength and Conditioning Coach Monika Smiechowska.
Strength and conditioning/resistance training is becoming a very important part of training regime for athletes of all different ages and levels.
This may be a result of the increasing number of youths who are involved in physical activity as well as the now well-known health complications associated with inactivity – those two factors collectively have definitely had a positive effect on the increase in numbers.
As with any type of training, there have been and continue to be many theories regarding its benefits, effectiveness and risks associated with it.
Research went from describing strength training at a young age as dangerous, detrimental and damaging to injury preventing, building and enhancing.
Current research (Stricker.P et al., 2020) shows resistance training to have positive effects on:
Performance – strength gains in youth have been closely linked to improvements in motor skill performance, developing physical literacy, reducing injury risk and enhancing injury rehabilitation.
Health – in addition to increase in muscular strength, resistance training has also shown to improve cardiovascular fitness, body composition, bone mineral density, blood lipid profiles, insulin sensitivity and mental health.
It’s important to point out that resistance training is NOT limited to lifting weights – it includes a wide variety of body weight movements that can be implemented at any ages, with research showing the earlier the better.
Where does my work as a therapist come in to play…
One of my recent patients, a 15-year-old female football player, has come to see me with thigh/knee pain. After taking her through various tests, I have diagnosed her with inflammation to the rectus femoris muscle within the thigh complex.
During our initial session I wanted to gain her athletic history and current program/training routine. It quickly became evident that aside from full contact training and matches, she had no strength or conditioning based training included in her weekly routine. The level she plays at is by no means “amateur”, therefore the lack of additional training was a complete shock to me.
Aside from initial hands on treatment to release tension within the problematic area, we focused on restoring full range of motion through mobilisation and stretching. We then went onto strengthening the area in order to re-teach the tendon to take load pain-free, this was done through various exercises and sports-related drills.
To summarise…
Young athletes need to be taken through regular strength and conditioning/resistance training in order to be able to keep up with the high demand of their activity and growth spurt.
Current research is in favour of incorporating resistance training into young athletes’ training regimes.
If this is something you require assistance with, Bodylogics is equipped with fully qualified Strength and Conditioning coaches who have worked in various different sporting environments. Get in touch to discuss the best option!
References:
Stricker PR., Faigenbaum AD., McCambridge TM., “Resistance Training for Children and Adolescents.”, PEDIATRICS, (2020), 145, 6, 1-13
