Sports Injury Prevention Anatomy

The core of sports injury prevention has never been a problem that can be solved by copying the general warm-up process and wearing a full set of protective gear. The essence is Based on individual differences in one's own anatomy, the adaptation process dynamically matches action patterns, load intensity, and recovery rhythm. , there is no universal "injury prevention formula", and all prevention suggestions given without personal anatomical characteristics are invalid on paper.

Let me tell you about two cases of runners I met last year. In order to prepare for the half marathon, they strictly followed the "scientific running tutorial" on the Internet, wore the same popular support running shoes, and warmed up and cooled down without skipping a step. As a result, one suffered from Achilles tendonitis and was so painful that he could not even go downstairs. The other was diagnosed with fatigue periostitis of the tibia and fibula. When they sat across from me with the MRI report, they had the grievance written on their faces: "I am obviously not lazy, why did I still get infected?" Later, I did a plantar pressure test on them and found out that Achilles tendonitis is caused by high arches. The arch itself has strong cushioning ability. Wearing supportive running shoes is equivalent to forcibly resisting the natural arch deformation of the foot, and the impact of landing is all on the Achilles tendon. ； The other one has severely flat feet. The support point of that support shoe is just stuck in the peak stress area of ​​his arch. Every time he lands on the ground during running, it is like someone hitting his arch with something hard, and the force is transmitted to his calf. It's strange that it doesn't hurt.

There are actually two factions in the circle currently arguing about the prevention of sports injuries. One is the "structure-determined faction" who believes that the natural anatomical structure is the ceiling. For example, for people born with type III hooked acromion, the subacromial space is more than 30% narrower than that of ordinary people. No matter how you train the rotator cuff, it is still easy to hit the acromion when pressing the shoulder with heavy weight. It is better to just cross this type of movement out of the training list.； The other school is the "functional compensation school", which believes that structural defects can be compensated for by the strength of the surrounding muscles. I once took care of a little girl with 12 degrees of knee varus. According to the structural school, she couldn't even do squats. However, after practicing hip abduction and hamstring strength for 8 months, she can now squat with a weight of 70kg without any problem, and her knees don't hurt at all. My own feeling is that both sides are not absolute. To put it bluntly, your innate anatomy is the original configuration of the car. Your family scooter is not designed for off-road use. If you insist on changing the suspension and tires to run on non-paved roads, it is not impossible, but the failure rate is definitely higher than others. High, if the chassis itself is particularly low, it is better to drive on urban roads - the innate structural deviation is within 10%, which can be completely compensated for by functional training. If the deviation exceeds 20%, don't insist on comparing the movement standard with others, find a variant that suits you better than anything else.

Oh, by the way, don’t believe the nonsense that “you won’t get hurt if you warm up for 10 minutes.” Last month, I just picked up a young man who has been working out for 3 months. Every time before doing chest training, I would run for 10 minutes, swing my arms and legs to warm up and do a full set. As a result, I developed subacromial bursitis after a month of training, and it hurt even when I raised my arms. Why? His warm-up was all full-body activities, and the teres minor and serratus anterior muscles of the rotator cuff were not activated at all. When pushing the chest, the scapula could not be stabilized, and the humerus pushed upward, just touching the acromion. Even running for 20 minutes was useless. Whatever movement you want to make, you must activate the kinetic chain and corresponding anatomical structure used in this movement. Before practicing the chest press, use an elastic band to do two sets of shoulder external rotation to activate the teres minor, and then do two sets of wall presses to activate the serratus anterior muscle. It is much more effective than running for half an hour.

I had a bigger problem a few years ago. At that time, I was obsessed with CrossFit. I always felt that I could do the weights that others could do. Every time I deadlifted, I had to lock my hips and push forward to look cool. Later, the pain was so painful that I struggled to even walk. After an MRI, it was found that the acetabular labrum was damaged. It took me half a year to recover. Later, when I checked my anatomy measurement report, I discovered that my natural femoral neck anteversion angle is 8 degrees smaller than that of ordinary people, and my hip joint’s internal rotation range is inherently smaller than others. The deadlift locking of the hip is equivalent to forcibly grinding the acetabular labrum. It’s fine for others to do this, but I’m just looking for trouble.

There is another point that many people overlook. Injury prevention is not just about training. The logic of recovery is also hidden in the anatomy. For example, many runners have recurring Achilles tendinitis that cannot be cured, and they always feel that they run too much. In fact, it is most likely that they do not relax their gastrocnemius muscles after every run. The insertion point of the gastrocnemius muscle is connected to the Achilles tendon. Every time you finish running, the muscle becomes tense and the length becomes shorter, which is equivalent to pulling the other end of the Achilles tendon every day. Over time, the insertion point of the Achilles tendon will definitely become inflamed. Even if you spend 5 minutes a day rolling the gastrocnemius muscle, it will be more effective than how much Voltaren you apply. Friends who play badminton always say that they have tennis elbow. In many cases, it’s not because of a wrong swing, but because the eccentric strength of your forearm extensor muscles is too poor. When you swing and close the racket, the muscles cannot pull it, and all the force is applied to the insertion point of the lateral epicondyle of the humerus. It’s strange that it doesn’t hurt.

After all, there are not so many high-level principles in this subject. You don't need to memorize anatomy charts by heart. As long as you feel your body's signals every time you exercise. If others are doing comfortable movements and it hurts, don't force yourself to "correct the movements". First, check whether your own structure is different from others. After all, exercise is to make you feel more comfortable, not to injure yourself by catering to so-called "standard movements," right?