Sports Injury Prevention and Corrective Training Certification

For fitness coaches, sports rehabilitation practitioners, and senior sports enthusiasts, it is a set of industry-proven practical tools that can systematically solve the problems of "daily movement compensation - mild injury intervention - movement pattern optimization". The value of the certificate itself depends on The authority of the certification agency, and the actual value it can produce, is 100% linked to the user's practical experience and sense of boundaries. Don't expect to become a "rehabilitation master" just by taking a certificate, and don't think it is a useless IQ tax. If used correctly, it can help you avoid at least 3 years of detours.

I once coached a female coach who had been doing group exercises at Les Mills for three years. Her knees hurt from jumping every day. She spent half a month reading the "Quiet Squats to Care for Knees" tutorial on the Internet, and it was difficult for her to squat up and down the stairs. Later, she signed up for a corrective training certification course and figured out: her own The knee pain is not at all due to lack of muscle strength. It is due to the natural arch collapse + internal rotation of the femur when jumping for a long time. All the stress is piled on the inside of the patella. When squatting quietly, she is used to buckling her knees inwards, which is equivalent to adding another load to the already stressed parts. It is strange that it does not hurt. Later, she spent three weeks adjusting her arch support, changing her movement patterns, and doing targeted hip abduction training. Her knee pain was reduced by 80%, and she now leads classes without even wearing knee pads.

There are various corrective training certifications on the market now. There are roughly three types of mainstream systems I have come into contact with, each with its own applicable scenarios and shortcomings. NASM's CES is considered the most recognized in the commercial fitness circle. Its advantage is that it is particularly adapted to the needs of ordinary fitness members. The evaluation process is not complicated and the effects can be seen on the spot after adjustments. The conversion rate of private training is very high. The disadvantage is that the definition of pathological-level injuries is relatively vague. After learning, it is easy for novices to cross the line and treat problems that require medical treatment as ordinary compensation. The corrective training system related to FMS is more oriented to professional sports scenarios. The underlying logic is to find the root cause of the action pattern. Many physical coaches of professional teams learn it, but the threshold is a bit high. I have seen many coaches who have just entered the industry spend half an hour just filling out the form to evaluate ordinary members. Members are impatient before they understand what is going on. There are also many certifications issued by sports rehabilitation associations in China. The advantage is that they are particularly in line with the living habits of Chinese people. They will specifically include many shoulder, neck, and lumbar spine adjustment programs for people who sit for a long time. However, the assessment standards of various institutions are not uniform. Some small institutions offer 7-day crash courses, and you can get the certificate after paying the money. Basically no one in the industry recognizes them.

There has always been controversy in the fitness circle about this certification. More than once, I have heard complaints from friends who are into powerlifting, saying that corrective training is just a show. If you squat, push and pull well to stabilize your core, all posture problems will disappear. This is actually not wrong. For people who have no movement compensation at all and have no problems with their innate bone alignment, basic strength training can indeed solve most minor problems. But you have to know that 80% of ordinary sports enthusiasts have more or less compensation - people with high and low shoulders will always exert more force on one side when they practice bench press. The higher the shoulder, the more serious it will be. ； People with forward pelvic tilt always use their waist to exert force in deadlifts, and after practicing for a long time, they will definitely develop lumbar protrusion. The two views are inherently suitable for different groups of people, and there is no need to convince anyone.

When I took the CES certification exam, what impressed me most was not the various complex evaluation formulas, but the boundary issue that the teacher repeatedly emphasized in the first class: as long as pathological pain has occurred and lasted for more than 72 hours, it is recommended to go to the hospital to see a doctor in the orthopedics or sports medicine department for investigation. Coaches or rehabilitation therapists do not have medical qualifications, so do not cross the boundary. I still regard this sentence as the bottom line in my career. A while ago, a friend who often plays badminton came to me and said that he had shoulder pain when swinging backhand. I first asked how long the pain had been. He said that it had been almost two months and that it hurt sometimes when sleeping at night. I didn't dare to do any relaxation or training for him, so I just asked him to go for an MRI. The result was that he had a partial tear of the rotator cuff. The doctor said that if he continued to do random stretching or shoulder strength training, he might need surgery.

Oh, yes, there are also many ordinary sports enthusiasts who ask me if I should take this certificate. In fact, it is really unnecessary. If you always feel pain here and there after exercising all year round, spending a few hundred dollars to get an evaluation from a reliable coach and learn a few targeted corrective movements will be enough to avoid 90% of sports injury pitfalls. You don’t want to spend thousands to get a certificate and leave it to gather dust at home.

In fact, after all is said and done, no matter what kind of certification, it is essentially just a tool. If you are a fitness instructor and want to provide members with more comprehensive services and increase class fees, then choose an authoritative certification recognized by the industry and study hard. It will definitely be more reliable than watching scattered rehabilitation videos online. The most taboo thing is the kind of person who dares to claim to be a "rehabilitation expert" after getting a quick pass, and dares to deal with any kind of lumbar protrusion or meniscus injury. He doesn't make much money, and he can't afford to pay compensation if he is really damaged by training. When choosing a certification, don’t just look at the hype. Check the background of the certification agency first. If there is no offline practical assessment and you can get the certification after paying money, I advise you not to waste your time. If you don’t learn something, no one in the industry will recognize it.