Doctors vs. Strength Coaches: A Difference in Perspective
Several weeks ago one of our hockey kids aggravated a lateral meniscus tear while playing knee hockey.
I can’t blame him, knee hockey is one of the most competitive sports in the world, and he and his teammates were playing after a big on-ice win. I remember one of my coaches telling our team that if we were half as intense about real hockey as we were knee-hockey, we’d never lose!
Anyway, he recently had it repaired, so it’s time for him to start rehabbing. I spoke with one of the doctors that assisted with his surgery and his physical therapist about what activities they thought he was ready for.
The initial response I got from his doctor was something along the lines of “I don’t want him doing anything for 6-8 weeks.”
My eyebrows furrowed a bit when I heard that. As you know, I’m a HUGE proponent of training AROUND (not through) injuries so athletes can continue to make progress and “feel like an athlete”.
Keeping in mind it was a unilateral lower body injury, I politely asked if he could do upper body work. She said, of course-that’d be fine.
I then asked if he could do single-leg exercises on his non-operative leg. Of course he could.
In my experience, many doctors aren’t in tune with the mentality that most athletes share.
A recommendation of “do nothing for 6 weeks” will be ignored by just about every motivated athlete.
Having said that, I don’t think doctors are stupid. I think they have an understanding of the physiological time course of healing and don’t trust many coaches to safely train around injuries.
Honestly, it’s hard to blame them. Go to any fitness facility and you’ll likely see a staff of “personal trainers” that appears to be actively pushing their clients towards injury, let alone knowing enough about functional anatomy to train around an existing injury.
I think that’s what makes people like Michael Boyle, Eric Cressey, Nick Tumminello, Brijesh Patel, and Mike Robertson (just to name a few) so unique. They “get it”. They understand functional anatomy and the “athlete mentality” well enough to continue to train athletes through a wide range of injuries and have gained the trust of doctors and therapists around them.
The hockey player returned to Endeavor this week, and will be training with me twice a week for the foreseeable future.
Keep checking back in the next few weeks and I’ll let you know more about what kind of things we’re doing with him.
-Kevin Neeld
P.S. I’m really excited that my Ultimate Ice Hockey Training Facebook Group has broken the 1,000 fan barrier. Help spread the word to other motivated hockey players and coaches!
Similar Posts:
- Building The Efficient Athlete
- The Importance of Functional Anatomy
- Strength Coach Success Secrets: Exclusive Interview with Mike Robertson Part 2
- Learning from the Pros
- Monday Musings
[...] Doctors vs. Strength Coaches: A Difference in Perspective [...]
01.02.2010, 2:02 pm