Video Series: Rehab & Prehab Exercises
Rehabilitation exercises are used in sports to address functional muscular deficits or imbalances, resulting from contact or non-contact injury, where surgery has been ruled out on a temporary basis – pending the outcome of the rehabilitation protocol – or on a long-term basis, when surgery is not the appropriate option. Many of these exercises using eccentric loading (the muscle elongates during contraction) – which mimics how the body functions mechanically.
Pre-habilitation (Prehab) exercises are used to prevent useless injury, resulting from participation in sports or recreational activities, and the physical, environmental, and terrain constraints imposed by each sport, such as a grass or synthetic turf in college and pro football.
In this series:
Wall Walk Up and Crunch Down
Loop a light, circular band around your wrists. Stand close to a wall with your elbows on the wall straight out from your shoulders – with palms facing each other. Keep your elbows in, while you create tension in the band with your shoulders. While keeping one arm stable, move the other arm slightly in, up, and then out holding tension on the wall, as you move the arm out. Repeat on the other side going up and down.
Supine Leg Press
Attached a light resistance circle tube several feet off the ground. Lie on your back with your head below the anchored circle band – arms extended by the sides of the upper torso with palms facing down to support the lumbar spine. Bend the legs to 90-degrees and rotate back to 90-degrees at the hips. With the band around both feet at the mid-point, contract the abdominals, push the low back toward the ground, while extending both legs out against the resistance of the band. Adjust the distance from the anchor to increase or decrease the resistance accordingly. Exhale when you extend the legs out. Try 10 reps.
Nordic Push Up
Kneel on a soft surface. Have a partner squat behind you – keeping your ankles to the ground. Keep your body straight in alignment from the shoulders to the knees throughout the exercise. Cross your arms across your chest or simply keep your hands ready to catch your body in a push-up position. Lean forward, while contracting the abdominals and controlling the downward movement toward the ground with your hamstrings and your gluteal muscles. When you can no longer hold the position, gently absorb your weight using your hands – falling into a push-up position. Complete three to five repetitions.
