Athletic injuries and exercise

George Guerin/Fitness Blogger By George Guerin/Fitness Blogger
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on December 11, 2009 at 10:40 AM, updated December 11, 2009 at 2:06 PM
injury.jpgAthletic injuries can be devastating
Over the past few decades, strength and conditioning professionals have worked to improve their players' performances while decreasing their rates of injury. It's simple math: by improving an athlete's strength, power and agility (in any given sport), athletes (and their trainers) have been limiting the frequency of the common injuries they incur.

Which means that athletes, by default, are effectively performing better as a direct and immediate result. Don't believe me? Ask any fan of any sport.

Athletes have been breaking records in almost every sport on an annual basis. Players and participants are bigger, faster, better and stronger than their counterparts from 40 years ago, who seemed to consistently perform their strength training at the local pub and eatery.

By training ankle stability and mobility, basketball players are injuring their ankles less. By improving and increasing muscle strength in those muscles associated with the rotator cuff, pitchers are able to throw injury free. However, there are events that even a strength and conditioning professional could never prepare those in their care to be able to endure. And no, I'm not talking about the rumors surrounding Tiger Woods many mistresses.

What I'm talking about are unforeseeable injuries. Anyone remember what happened to (Jersey native and) football legend, Joe Theismann? Well, in last Sunday's Vikings/Cardinals game there a similar injury occurred as a result of a collision between E.J. Henderson and his teammate Jamarca Sanford.

This kind of impact creates such a force between the two athletes that there's actually nothing that can be done to prepare for this type of trauma. Jamarca Sanford happens to be built like a Mack truck. Although he's a short 5'10 and a measly 214 pounds, he is extremely powerful and lightning fast. His 40 meter dash is 4.56 seconds. E.J. Henderson ain't no wimp neither. He's 6'1, 245.

I can't do the physics behind the impact of the collision, but I do remember Newton's Third Law of Motion stating something about every action having an equal or opposite reaction. So, for our purposes, imagine that the force of impact behind Mr. Henderson's collision with Mr. Sanford's as being similar to that of a collision between two small cars.

Unfortunately, Henderson's leg plays the part of the equal or opposite reaction mentioned by Sir Isaac, meaning his leg paid the price (which the above video obviously shows).

You can be sure that strength and conditioning professionals are preparing athletes for the challenges of their sport. However, when a skier goes down at 80 mph or two NFL football players collide at top speed, something's got to give. Hopefully it's not a life or a career but a body part that can heal.