Injury Prevention For Cheerleaders

This blog will discuss, "how much is too much?" when it comes to a training schedule for an athlete. We will also address "technique" and discuss whether or not it really plays a role in injury prevention. The answer might surprise you...

There are many different factors we need to consider when asking the question, "how much is too much?"

Is the athlete doing only one sport with no cross training? (no other sports, no strength training, etc.)

How old is the athlete?

Does the athlete enjoy being at practice?

What kind of stressors does the athlete have in other aspects of their life?

Are they able to eat enough to keep up with the energy demands of their sport?

Are they able to sleep enough to recover?

Unfortunately, many of these questions are uncontrollable as a gym owner as you can't regulate the external stressors of each athlete outside of practice.

What many people don't understand is that "technique" at practice is not the biggest factor when it comes to reducing injury risk (and some research indicates that it actually has not been proven to reduce injuries AT ALL)

Sleep, nutrition, cross training, stress, and other external factors are MUCH more predictive on reducing injury risk than having "good technique" is.

After all, the opinion of "good technique" changes throughout the years and decades.

AND you have to be bad at something before you can be good at it, so inevitably EVERYONE practices with sub-optimal technique at some point.

Although many of these things are outside of your control as a gym owner, you can help your athletes reduce their injury risk by bringing in sports psychologists, dietitians, and strength and conditioning specialists.

Perhaps good news or bad news to some, some research has indicated that there is no such thing as "too much" when it comes to training but there IS such thing as "too much, too soon."

Some of the best athletes with the lowest injury rates train the most hours. BUT they have conditioned themselves to this level of training over many many years and have become extremely disciplined and consistent with their training schedule.

Notice that I am specifically using the word "training" and not "practicing" because your training needs to be well-rounded.

Research has shown that specializing in one sport at an early age with no cross-training can increase overuse injuries.

However, if you add in strength training, you can greatly reduce this injury risk by supplementing the repetetive nature of one's sport, even if that means you're training for more hours.

If you are just now starting to add in strength training or cross-training into your schedule, start with just 2-3 days per week at a relatively lower intensity and gradually build over time to your desired training schedule.

AND don't neglect the importance of sleep, nutrition, and mindset when it comes to injury reduction.

I hope this was helpful. If you need help with your training schedule or current injury, please fill out this form for a FREE consultation: Book a FREE consultation