Sports Medicine
Dr. Ken Kinakin
D.C., CSCS
Dr. Ken Kinakin is a sport medicine doctor, chiropractor, certified strength and conditioning specialist and personal trainer! He’s also the author of the book “Optimal Muscle Training” and has competed in bodybuilding and powerlifting for over 20 years. Dr. Kinakin lectures around the world to doctors and personal trainers on the areas of weight-training, rehabilitation and nutrition. He is also the clinic director for the AIM Health & Wellness clinic (see www.aimhealthgroup.com), with a rehabilitation and training centre in Mississauga, Ontario. Dr. Kinakin founded the Society of Weight-Training Injury Specialists (SWIS), an organization that educates and certifies doctors, therapists and personal trainers in the area of exercise muscle testing, rehabilitation and treatment of weight training injuries (see www.swis.ca).
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Common Injuries among bodybuilders and powerlifters
The most common injuries are with the shoulders, then the lower back. The most common shoulder injury is the barbell bench press subscapularis myofasciitis. This is a dysfunction of the largest rotator cuff muscle, the subscapularis, which stabilizes the shoulder as you are lowering the barbell. Myofasciitis is a general term used to describe pain or other dysfunctions in the network of muscles, tendons, and ligaments and other soft connective tissue that holds our bodies together. Myofascial pain may start abruptly or gradually. Abrupt onset is usually the result of trauma to the muscle, such as a sudden overload or overextension, while a gradual onset is due to chronic overload. The most common treatment for this injury is Active Release Therapy (ART).
The most common lower back injury is the deadlift lumbar erector myofasciitis and barbell squat lumbar facet imbrication. The lumbar erector muscles in the deadlift are usually overloaded and will spasm. Massage, ART, interferential current and acupuncture are usually the best treatments. Because the axial load in the barbell squat (the downward pressure on the spine that loads the discs and joints in the lower back) is usually very high, it can cause joint irritation and pain. The best treatment is usually a combination of acupuncture and chiropractic adjustments. Once the pain and spasm has decreased in all of these injuries, an aggressive rehab program is needed to strengthen the muscles back to their normal functional strength.
For more about injury prevention from Dr. Kinakin, click here!
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