Being Smart about Concussions
Concussion continues to be a very hot topic in sport these days. In fact, the Governor General spent a full day in December 2016 hosting a conference with former professional athletes, Olympic and Paralympic athletes, the medical community, and the sport community at large, discussing concussions in sport and how we can do better for…
Need to Know Facts about Concussions
A concussion is a common head injury, also known as a Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (MTBI). It is an injury that is caused by the brain being shaken around inside the skull after a direct blow to the head, or a sudden jerking of the head or neck when the body is hit. There is…
A Strong Knowledge Base: The Difference Maker in Athletic Success
How do experts differ from novices? In sport, success in both low-strategy sports and high-strategy sports relies on having a solid knowledge base: knowledge may be what determines who is a true expert when athletes have similar skills and experience. As coaches and parents, the importance of knowledge bases give us a clue of how…
HIITing the Gym: The Science of High Intensity Interval Training
Key Points: For sedentary populations, HIIT is the most time efficient – not necessarily the best – training type to increase aerobic and anaerobic capacity Elite athletes can include HIIT training to improve their lactate response and improve performance even after hitting a VO2max plateau There remain many questions about how HIIT works, best practices,…
Static vs Dynamic Stretching
Warming up is essential for athletic performance, not only does it get the body ready to train or compete, it can improve performance and help prevent injury as well. And one of the essential parts of the warmup is stretching those muscles out. However, there has been a long time debate going on over the…
Healing an Injured Athlete’s Mind
Most athletes, competitive through recreational, experience injury in their sport at some time. There are many practitioners out there who can help heal the physical symptoms of the injury from the family doctor to the physical therapist. But dealing with the physical side of injury is only half the battle. What we cannot forget to address…
Attention Training
The goal of many young athletes is to pursue elite sport at the senior level; to achieve that dream of excellence in sport. There are demands from outside environment like school, family, peers and other elements of life that place stress on the young athlete. All these different factors play on the mind of the…
Time to do a gut check on probiotics and sport
Participation in sport and physical activity has always been associated with health and wellness. And athletes are commonly looked upon as examples of good health and fitness. However, athletes that train and compete at high intensity levels are often at greater risk for succumbing to illness due to a vulnerable immune system. Making sure to…
Injury Patterns
Recent research published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine recommends that “young athletes should not specialize in sports before age 12, train more hours per week then their age, and should limit training to less than 16 hours per week to avoid injury”. The study analysed training patterns in over 1,200 athletes over 3…
Shouldering the burden of Injury
The shoulder is one of the most mobile joints in the human body. As such it is very vulnerable to injury especially in sport. Most injuries to the shoulder involve muscles, ligaments and tendons rather than bones. Since the shoulder connects the arm and hand to the rest of the body, injuries to the shoulder…