A little over a month ago, UltimateNYG interviewed Fabri Sion of FabriWorld Fitness to talk about Strength, Conditioning and Giants injuries. Fabri contended that flexibility training was critical to the prevention of muscle tears and other injuries. And when confronted with the data that the NY Giants were suffering 45% more lost starts due to injury than the average NFL team, she inferred that “that has to be some kind of training issue.”
A commenter used wise-a** remarks, denigrated Fabri’s credentials and dismissed her conclusions. Nonetheless, I set out to interview a Physiatrist to see whether they could corroborate or challenge her position.
A Physiatrist is an MD. They are Doctors of Rehabilitative Medicine. These are the MDs who prescribe regimens to physical therapists. If you want an opinion about injury prevention, these are the ones to speak to. Contrast this with “If all you have is a hammer (Orthopedist), everything looks like a nail (surgery).” Physiatrists are muscle and bone experts who treat injuries that affect how you move. They offer physical solutions like exercise and stretching regimens before thinking about surgery.
I know of one Physiatrist. I reached out to him about the sports injuries. Unfortunately he did not know enough about this specialized area within his field to comment. But he did know two other Physiatrists who are experts in Sports Medicine. They are also Associate Professors at a major Texas Medical School/Practice.
The question was posited to them: The NY Giants have been suffering an inordinate amount of injuries in recent years. In the past year alone, 3 players (Walter Thurmond, Robert Ayers and Will Beatty) suffered pectoral muscle tears. What do you believe is happening with the team and their players?
Their answer was simple and direct. “These injuries are the result of doing too much, i.e. too much weights and too much repetition. It is much more important to focus on range of motion.”
Too much weights and too much repetition is too much strength.
Focusing more on range of motion means more conditioning and specifically the precise thing that Fabri advocated- Flexibility.
So what the two MD Professors concluded is exactly what Fabri Sion concluded.
Also this is completely consistent with what we have read from the Denver Broncos Strength & Conditioning Program, namely using less weights and more conditioning. To repeat the quote one more time, “It’s not that old mentality of throwing 300 pounds on the bench. We’re still doing some of that stuff, but not nearly to the extent that we used to.”
Interestingly, John Fox left the Broncos this past year, but Luke Richesson, the S&C Coach, was kept on with the new coaching staff. Denver did not want to let him go.
What do you think John Fox did when he went to the Bears? I’ll give you one guess. Let’s go rocket scientists… He hired away and promoted Jason George to head his S&C Program, who previously spent the last 3 seasons working as an assistant under… wait for it… Luke Richesson of the Denver Broncos. Shocking. Not.
Oh wait. Didn’t we say that?!! Yes we did, on June 10, 2015:
I have an answer- get a fresh face in to change what you are doing. Hire away one of Luke Richesson’s assistants in Denver. If the kid has half a clue, he’ll be able to reduce injuries by 20%. If he has been trained well or has a strong grasp of what is being done, he’ll reduce injuries by 40-50% and get the Giants back into the middle of the pack.
On my word, I just researched what Fox did ~2.5 months later. I do not care if you accept that or not. It matters only that some people are bringing in success and others are rooted in failure. Coughlin has not changed. He likes his S&C program and accepts the status quo.
Damn all these Giants injuries! Why is this team so unlucky?! What’s a team to do???!!! Fox’s Bears and the Broncos are two teams making their own “luck.” The Giants keep sticking with that “old mentality” and are frustrated that their luck won’t change. 6 years and counting.
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