Mobility and Injury Prevention (Part 2)
Part 2 of this week's mobility and injury prevention topic!
Here’s some more information about the science/background behind why these mobility exercises are important. This is especially important over the next few weeks as we're all increasing our training during the volume challenge and heading into boat season.
Why is mobility important?
Engaging the correct muscle groups required for the movement (and working those correct muscles to properly build strength)
Preventing injury (eg. poor mobility can lead to bad technique and/or overcompensation of accessory muscles → excessive loading → injury)
What kind of mobility is required for dragon boat?
Hip
Hip flexors are often tight/shortened muscles
Rowing erg + paddling both put us in positions where we remain in constant hip flexion (ie. legs bent)
Tight hip flexors can be a source of hip + back pain
Thoracic (T) spine
Require ability to rotate and generate power through this area → strong connection between the movement driver (hip drive and core rotation) and movement executer (chest, back, arms carrying out the stroke)
Core stability → Important to activate core muscles and maintain neutral spinal alignment throughout stroke
Do: consciously think about keeping chest up and squeezing core during each stroke
Don’t: round your back
Also important for maintaining form and posture
Shoulder
Most common point of injury in dragon boat
Serratus anterior + lower fibers of traps → both of these muscles contribute to shoulder stability and mobility through proper positioning of our scapula bone (shoulder blades)
Joint must be properly aligned in order to properly engage its associated muscles
Keep an eye out for mobility videos coming soon!
How to prevent muscles imbalances with dragon boat
Inadequate mobility and strength training can lead to muscle imbalances due to repetitive pressing on one side and pulling on the other side
Tight/overused muscles can lead to injuries
Keys to prevent imbalances:
Unilateral exercises (eg. dumbbell bench press, single arm lat pulldown)
Consistent workouts (maintaining training 3+ times per week, especially during off-season)
Consistent stretching of muscles to ensure equal loading and activation
How to treat a strain/impingement
Strains and impingements are caused by overuse/overload of a muscle and poor biomechanics
Rest (ice for first few days after)
Pain-free range of motion
Progressive loading → slowly increase weight you use until back to normal
Focus on strengthening weaker muscles
Supplement with stretching
A good analogy:
Poor mobility will eventually lead to injury, just like how a poor diet eventually leads to illness.
Just because you are not in pain does not mean you are training efficiently.