Preparing the pros for action For most North Americans, the idea of exercising leads to fi tness, which in turn has the benefi t of reducing or maintaining a healthy weight, increasing your overall health and well-being, and providing an opportunity to better enjoy recreational activities with your friends and family. For competitive or elite athletes, the demands they place on their bodies are much higher. In years past, professional hockey players would play a lot of golf over the summer months, and go to their training camps to “play into shape.” However modern-day athletes no longer view the training camps as an opportunity to get into shape, but rather the key as to whether they will make the team or be cut. Nowdays, professional and elite athletes continue to train throughout the off-season, as the athletic world has become very highly competitive. Over the years, fi tness and conditioning for elite and professional athletes have become more specialized and very functional from a sports-specifi c perspective. Typically, athletes now work with a team of professionals, which not only includes a sports chiropractor and other health-care professionals, but also training staff who are very specialized in developing an appropriate training program. Andy O`Brien is one such individual who has developed a very practical protocol with the focus on functional conditioning in professional sports, especially the National Hockey League (NHL) players. ANDY O’BRIEN – ONE COACH’S CORNER Today’s NHL hockey players face a variety of challenges in preparing and maintaining their bodies. On the ice, players need to be fast, powerful, agile, and have great endurance from a variety of energy systems. Developing these qualities, and maintaining them over a gruelling schedule, requires a multifaceted, holistic approach to training. Surprisingly, the biggest challenge in achieving all of this might be overcoming the effects of regular movements associated with the game. Skating requires players to produce forces horizontally through their lower body while maintaining acute hip angles. When handling the puck, players hold their spines in a laterally fl exed and rotated position. Finally, shooting requires players to create rotational forces in one direction for thousands of repetitions each week, with very few in the opposite direction. Not exactly a series of movements the human body was designed for! The end result is a player who has a variety of muscle imbalances and unnatural motor patterns. Eventually, their athleticism becomes limited, and they end up with decreased performance and chronic injuries. That, in a nutshell, sums up the modern-day professional hockey player. When a player comes off the ice to train, it is almost certain they will be moving ineffi ciently. The body will twist and pull itself into compensatory positions to avoid using weak muscles, over-rely on strong ones, and accommodate limitations in range of motion. The more dynamic the movement, the more compensation will occur, and the more Dangerous it becomes for the player. Restoring stability and movement effi ciency is absolutely critical before taking on any substantial training load off-ice. If not, the player’s condition will become exacerbated. Their strong muscles will become stronger, and their weaker ones weaker, worsening the imbalances. Their motor patterns will become reinforced, and instead of inching closer to their performance goals, they will be moving further away. Since so much emphasis is placed on a player’s ability to achieve the appropriate muscle activation, lumbo-pelvic stability, and tri-planar mechanical action within their movements, the “how to do” is almost more important than the “what to do.” That being said, once an athlete has restored optimal neuro-muscular and biomechanical function, they must progress into sport-specifi c exercises that will enhance their abilities on the ice. THE CHIROPRACTIC PERSPECTIVE From a chiropractic perspective, it is important for the Practitioner to know the sport, to be familiar with the typical injuries and conditions associated with that activity, and to talk to the athletes about the physical demands that are placed on their bodies. When examining athletes, it is important to assess the various factors such as posture – especially related to the sport – ranges of movement, joint function, muscle balance – including strength and fl exibility – and other factors related specifi cally to that sport. As an example, there is a strong tendency with hockey players, for the hip fl exor to be tighter on the stick side of forwards and defencemen. This can create an asymmetrical strain on the lumbo-sacral spine, and a tendency towards extension of the lumbar spine, which, in turn, places an additional stress on the lumbar facets. This, of course, can contribute to mechanical type lower back pain – i.e., facet mediated pain. When dealing with athletes, it is important to review their history and be aware of any past or current injuries, to determine an appropriate course of treatment and also communicate when appropriate – and with proper authorization – to the other members of the health-care and fi tness team. This will help ensure that athletes are being afforded the best possible treatment and care, thereby allowing them to excel at their sport.