With Neil Barry

Imagine yourself on the track, in the pool, on the court, field or on your bike, inches behind your closest rival, ready to make the defining move of your race. Just as you start making that big effort, ‘pop!’ goes the muscle behind your thigh, and suddenly every movement is painful as you struggle to the finish. These experiences are unfortunately major moments in the careers of many athletes, so this edition of ProFormance will explore the typical reasons for these injuries and safe ways to prevent them.
It must first be said that the feeling of ‘pulling up’ occurs with primarily muscular injuries. Your muscles are designed to produce tension and force, controlled by what is called the neuromuscular system–the brain and spinal cord interacting with your muscles. These are typically injured by either external or internal factors such as direct blows or strains.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A MUSCLE ‘PULLS’
Muscle strains occur when your muscles are exposed to excess tensile force, i.e. – shortening/lengthening with tension. When you are competing at high levels, you may try to perform better than you have before, but unfortunately your body might not be ready for these forces. It is important NOT to develop the belief that giving your best effort is always going to result in injury. Instead, think of these injuries as an indication of aspects of your preparation that need to be addressed.

So why is the muscle length-tension relationship important? A good way to visualize your muscles working is to imagine pulling on a loose string, versus pulling on thick rubber band. Loose string does not resist being pulled apart until you reach its full length, but it also doesn’t develop much tension. Alternatively, you can feel increasing tension the moment you start pulling on the thick rubber band, but the maximum tension is not at its full length, so beyond a certain length, it will become weak, and start to burst. Research shows that many strains reoccur at the same location, and early after returning to sport, so how do you prepare your muscles for the work you need them to do?

RATIONALE FOR STRETCHING
Ideally, active muscles are like the thick rubber band, and inactive muscles are like the string. Active muscles can produce more force and are less susceptible to tearing until overstretched, however your muscles adapt to your movement habits by shortening, so they can become overstretched at shorter lengths. Therefore your muscles need to both be strong, and long.

Good coaches can tell you about active isolated stretches, and dynamic stretches for warm ups, while physical therapists and other trained professionals can help with passive stretches that elite athletes will say help with muscle recovery after intense fatigue, and prevention of muscle strains during long seasons of competition. Professionals will tell you that largely used muscles in your respective sport should be prioritized for stretching–often your hamstrings, hip flexors, quadriceps and calves. What many elite training systems now encourage is full range of movement exercise training that incorporates strength, flexibility, and motor control during both acceleration and deceleration.

FUNCTIONAL TRAINING
Research has shown e.g. that the Nordic hamstring curl has been shown to reduce acute hamstring injuries by 50% in footballers, and can be highly beneficial across sports. Other great exercises include the split squat, Romanian deadlift and the single leg hip-hinge, and what’s more, they can all be done as pure bodyweight exercises or with small loads, while still being highly beneficial and loads of fun because of the challenge to do them correctly.
The big take away here is that stretching, when combined with adequate functional range of movement strengthening exercise, should be encouraged in your preparation for high level competition to prevent the injuries before they happen, and also stop them from reoccurring in your career. Ask a qualified exercise professional about stretching techniques and functional range of movement strength exercises such as the Nordic hamstring curl to learn how to safely program them into your training regimen, just like the pros.