As I was perusing the Internet, looking for “stuff’ to blog about I came across an article that appeared in a major market online newspaper written by a self professed “personal trainer and rehabilitation specialist“.

This “rehabilitation specialist wrote about these two exercise to do at home if you do not have equipment;

“Triceps dips: Sit on a bench or chair, placing palms flat with fingertips at the edge of the chair. Slide legs out straight in front of you, heels several feet forward. Lift buttocks off chair and dip toward the ground by bending the elbows, then raise yourself by extending the forearms and pushing yourself up.”-their text

Don’t think Arnold played much tennis….but can you see why he has bursitis in both shoulders now? At the bottom of each of these his poor little bursae sacks are screaming for help!

“Crunches: Do 100 to 250 crunches for five minutes (to increase difficulty, hold position at the top for five seconds on each crunch).”-their text

I like to call these “neck-ups” since most people just lift their neck up 30 times instead of using their abdominals and curling their trunk up. Then they tell me their neck is getting tired…or their low back hurts because they have not conditioned their core stabilizers to protect their spine…

Okay…where to start here…if you have been following my blog you would probably notice that crunches and training the “movement system of the core” is not what most people need to be doing, they need to address their stabilizers!

Reference this post; http://tinyurl.com/cop26y

and this post if you would like for more on core stabilizers; http://tinyurl.com/ch6d5h

What I would like to talk about today though is DIPS…http://tinyurl.com/d23nhc this post actually discusses upright rows, which can be thrown in the same category as dips as far as I am concerned.

Granted…these are probably the dips the author was referring too…

…not too much better for the anterior capsule of the shoulder…kind of looks like a “neck-up” huh?

Imagine people sitting around most of their day like this…

…the getting after some dips and crunches? How do you think this would feel for my tennis players??? I think it would feel like 8-12 weeks of physical therapy and some time on the “shelf” sitting out of crucial tournaments!

Maybe even some arthroscopic shoulder surgery…mm-mm..good!

I have a little write up on dips that I may post for you about dips…for now, most people’s posture and stability of the shoulder complex are so poor, that an exercise like dips brings them through a dangerous range of motion that can cause long term damage to the passive (ligaments and bursae) and active (muscles and tendons) systems of the shoulder complex. Is the short term “pump” and convenience worth it???? Please answer no:) I want to see you before surgery…not after:) It will cost you less money and enhance athletic longevity and performance that way!

I hope the “rehabilitation specialist” tries their hands at corrective exercise instead…

Corrective Exercise now vs. avoidable surgery later. Unavoidable surgery is another topic for another day:)

Thanks for reading!

Eric Beard
Athletic Performance Enhancement Specialist
Corrective Exercise Specialist
theericbeard.blogspot.com
www.ericbeard.com

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Impingement is right up there as well statistically…

Question; can we prevent overuse injuries in elite junior tennis players?

Or do we just rehab or surgically repair it all the time?

maybe we should be doing this BEFORE an injury instead of after…

Tennis elbow is also a common diagnosis for tennis players and also an overuse injury. Where does tennis elbow come from? The elbow? Interesting that one study indicated that 64% of those who were diagnosed with tennis elbow also had a shoulder injury….hmmmm.

According to Wikipedia;

Tennis elbow is a condition where the outer part of the elbow becomes painful and tender. It’s a condition that is commonly associated with playing tennis, though the injury can happen to almost anybody.^[1]

The condition is more formally known as lateral epicondylitis (“inflammation to the outside elbow bone”)^[2], lateral epicondylosis, or simply lateral elbow pain.

You could shoot yourself up with cortisone once every couple of months for a year like this guy did to treat his tennis elbow (obviously don’t do that unless you are a licensed professional)…

…or you could try and prevent it or treat it alternatively. Your choice.

Question; during which aspect of the game of tennis is one most likely to injure their shoulder?

a) backhand strokes
b) forehand strokes
c) serving
d) during dynamic flexibility drills in the warm-up

What is your answer?

Thanks for reading have to get ready for my next client, a fellow massage therapist who has shoulder pain!

Do you think I will perform an integrated assessment and prescribe corrective exercise for him?

Eric Beard
Athletic Performance Enhancement Specialist
Corrective Exercise Specialist
theericbeard.blogspot.com
www.ericbeard.com

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