All-Star Interesting Injury Prevention Gear Site

[ShoWStoppeR]

Hey ya'll,

So the nerdy ATC side of me is coming out to share some stuff with ya'll. I had a parent/coach ask me about ACL tubes the other day and my opinion on them. Well, when I am asked about things I have never heard of first I get nervous thinking its some crazy thing they found on the internet (sadly this happens to me alot) and then I get curious and hit the research. It seems to be a newer concept, and I've never heard of the company before. There's not much research out there yet, so I'm interested to see where this goes. It sounds like a good idea in theory though. I also found something else interesting on the site- orthotics specifically designed for... cheerleaders?? someone cares about us! lol My question is where were these when I was cheering? That being said, again, I have no idea the validity behind it, but I thought I would share. Thoughts? Questions? Comments? Concerns? lets get talking ! (never did I ever think I would be this excited about things related to biomechanics)

Cheer-thotic | Topical Gear

ACL Tube | Topical Gear

peace, love, happy cheering


showstopper

 

[CEA_ATC]

The nerdy, ATC side of me has mixed feelings after a few moments of research on these two products. I have REAL issues with the thoughts of anything "topical" (irony of their name kills me), being a legitimate option for biomechanics issues. I did my graduate research in orthotic intervention, so I will start there, with the Cheer-thotic.

We often constructed similar orthotics for our D1 college athletes (men's soccer was the majority of my focus, mixed in with some wrestling). We called them "the cobra" due to the coiled shape. I am a firm believer in orthotics being a TOOL for helping with biomechanical issues, and we used this style to help with athletes who simply did not have much room in their competition footwear (i.e. cleats or in this case: cheer shoes). They were also given with the understanding that our athletes should spend as little time in those shoes as possible, and get back into supportive shoes (along with a full orthotic, many times) as soon as they were done competing. That being said... as long as the fit is good, and the support provided is actually what that athlete needs, I say more power to them for gearing some aids towards cheer.

Now, on to the ACL tubes: Here, I have a much bigger issue. While there has been some limited research supporting the idea of compression increasing activation of the lateral thigh musculature (and POSSIBLY decreasing chances of ACL injury), I don't feel that a thigh sleeve, or "tube" is going to have an appreciable effect. Some girls will be biomechanically prone to more ACL injuries simply due to genetics (shallow femoral groove, poor Q angle, etc...), while others due to poor muscle strength or proper jump/landing training. I think products such as these take away form what our true focus should be with these athletes, which is in training young girls to jump and land with better technique and really focus on muscle strength development in the lateral quadriceps and gluteals. Trying to avoid the 2 main "positions" girls end up in when they tear their ACLs (hyperextension from landing with little to no knee bend AND/OR the IR/Valgus motion "position of death") would be much more effective than strapping on a sleeve and hoping muscle activation follows. Training for better muscle tone and power WITH good landing technique will improve the sport and the health of the athletes.

Wow... that was very "ATC" of me. Now, for the cheer dad/atc part:

Stop forcing skills onto kids who have not perfected technique on building skills previous to the higher level. Do not allow them to advance until they can do it correctly. Just say "NO" to janky form on twisting skills, in particular.... then we will see some decrease in the # of preventable ACL injuries. I have had to tell too many kids that their seasons are over because of this one.

 

[Official OWECheer]

The nerdy, ATC side of me has mixed feelings after a few moments of research on these two products. I have REAL issues with the thoughts of anything "topical" (irony of their name kills me), being a legitimate option for biomechanics issues. I did my graduate research in orthotic intervention, so I will start there, with the Cheer-thotic.

We often constructed similar orthotics for our D1 college athletes (men's soccer was the majority of my focus, mixed in with some wrestling). We called them "the cobra" due to the coiled shape. I am a firm believer in orthotics being a TOOL for helping with biomechanical issues, and we used this style to help with athletes who simply did not have much room in their competition footwear (i.e. cleats or in this case: cheer shoes). They were also given with the understanding that our athletes should spend as little time in those shoes as possible, and get back into supportive shoes (along with a full orthotic, many times) as soon as they were done competing. That being said... as long as the fit is good, and the support provided is actually what that athlete needs, I say more power to them for gearing some aids towards cheer.

Now, on to the ACL tubes: Here, I have a much bigger issue. While there has been some limited research supporting the idea of compression increasing activation of the lateral thigh musculature (and POSSIBLY decreasing chances of ACL injury), I don't feel that a thigh sleeve, or "tube" is going to have an appreciable effect. Some girls will be biomechanically prone to more ACL injuries simply due to genetics (shallow femoral groove, poor Q angle, etc...), while others due to poor muscle strength or proper jump/landing training. I think products such as these take away form what our true focus should be with these athletes, which is in training young girls to jump and land with better technique and really focus on muscle strength development in the lateral quadriceps and gluteals. Trying to avoid the 2 main "positions" girls end up in when they tear their ACLs (hyperextension from landing with little to no knee bend AND/OR the IR/Valgus motion "position of death") would be much more effective than strapping on a sleeve and hoping muscle activation follows. Training for better muscle tone and power WITH good landing technique will improve the sport and the health of the athletes.

Wow... that was very "ATC" of me. Now, for the cheer dad/atc part:

Stop forcing skills onto kids who have not perfected technique on building skills previous to the higher level. Do not allow them to advance until they can do it correctly. Just say "NO" to janky form on twisting skills, in particular.... then we will see some decrease in the # of preventable ACL injuries. I have had to tell too many kids that their seasons are over because of this one.

I couldn't have said it any better.

 

[katstat1]

What is IR/Valgus motion or position of death? Cp had a teammate just tear her acl so I think she is a little freaked out. Cp is a good tumbler, but guess I want to make sure she isn't landing wrong.

 

[CheerBank]

Cp and non-cp both wear non-prescription sports orthotics in their cheer sneakers/cleats all the time to give their feet proper positioning and weight displacement as most of the cheer shoes and cleats do not provide that at all. Non-cp actually wears them in all his shoes.

The ACL Tube...I defer to @CEA_ATC 's explanation above. I could see someone wearing it during recovery from injury but not as being preventative.

 

[luv2cheer92]

What is IR/Valgus motion or position of death? Cp had a teammate just tear her acl so I think she is a little freaked out. Cp is a good tumbler, but guess I want to make sure she isn't landing wrong.

It's like being "knock-kneed", where the knees come in together and the hips are internally rotated.

 

[CEA_ATC]

What is IR/Valgus motion or position of death? Cp had a teammate just tear her acl so I think she is a little freaked out. Cp is a good tumbler, but guess I want to make sure she isn't landing wrong.

i cant post pics here... but what Rays said is basically it... landing "knock kneed".

 

[CEA_ATC]

Look up "ACL position of no return" in a image search.. you'll see several examples.

 

[cheermuse]

Ironic, CP ongoing hip issues was finally given the right diagnosis today (2nd opinion). Her pain is bio mechanical. I had never even heard of this, yet when 2nd doctor thoroughly explained everything, it all made sense with her history of injuries & pain.

 

[luv2cheer92]

Ironic, CP ongoing hip issues was finally given the right diagnosis today (2nd opinion). Her pain is bio mechanical. I had never even heard of this, yet when 2nd doctor thoroughly explained everything, it all made sense with her history of injuries & pain.

You would be surprised at how many people's pain (back, hip, knee, ankle, etc) is due to their body mechanics and posture. This kind of stuff is super interesting to me, I guess I picked the right field of PT haha.

 

[cheermuse]

@luv2cheer92 She starts PT next week, Im online researching it and it is eye-opening & fascinating. I can see why you chose this field. I hope this round of PT proves to be helpful and not make her pain worse as did the earlier PT this summer.

 

[katstat1]

It's like being "knock-kneed", where the knees come in together and the hips are internally rotated.

Thanks, that is kind of what I thought. Cp has bad knees as it is, chronic dislocations. She does exercises to help strenghthen, but still happens sometimes. We got custom orthotics for her cheer shoes because she does pronate inward. I find this all very interesting. I will have to watch and see how she lands her tumbling, hopefully she isn't doing this.

 

[ShoWStoppeR]

The nerdy, ATC side of me has mixed feelings after a few moments of research on these two products. I have REAL issues with the thoughts of anything "topical" (irony of their name kills me), being a legitimate option for biomechanics issues. I did my graduate research in orthotic intervention, so I will start there, with the Cheer-thotic.

We often constructed similar orthotics for our D1 college athletes (men's soccer was the majority of my focus, mixed in with some wrestling). We called them "the cobra" due to the coiled shape. I am a firm believer in orthotics being a TOOL for helping with biomechanical issues, and we used this style to help with athletes who simply did not have much room in their competition footwear (i.e. cleats or in this case: cheer shoes). They were also given with the understanding that our athletes should spend as little time in those shoes as possible, and get back into supportive shoes (along with a full orthotic, many times) as soon as they were done competing. That being said... as long as the fit is good, and the support provided is actually what that athlete needs, I say more power to them for gearing some aids towards cheer.

Now, on to the ACL tubes: Here, I have a much bigger issue. While there has been some limited research supporting the idea of compression increasing activation of the lateral thigh musculature (and POSSIBLY decreasing chances of ACL injury), I don't feel that a thigh sleeve, or "tube" is going to have an appreciable effect. Some girls will be biomechanically prone to more ACL injuries simply due to genetics (shallow femoral groove, poor Q angle, etc...), while others due to poor muscle strength or proper jump/landing training. I think products such as these take away form what our true focus should be with these athletes, which is in training young girls to jump and land with better technique and really focus on muscle strength development in the lateral quadriceps and gluteals. Trying to avoid the 2 main "positions" girls end up in when they tear their ACLs (hyperextension from landing with little to no knee bend AND/OR the IR/Valgus motion "position of death") would be much more effective than strapping on a sleeve and hoping muscle activation follows. Training for better muscle tone and power WITH good landing technique will improve the sport and the health of the athletes.

Wow... that was very "ATC" of me. Now, for the cheer dad/atc part:

Stop forcing skills onto kids who have not perfected technique on building skills previous to the higher level. Do not allow them to advance until they can do it correctly. Just say "NO" to janky form on twisting skills, in particular.... then we will see some decrease in the # of preventable ACL injuries. I have had to tell too many kids that their seasons are over because of this one.

finally someone who speaks my language!!! cheer+ athletic training, that's hard to come by (insert heart eye emoji here)

and might I add, this, this is why I advocate for ATCs in cheer gyms... or at least coaches that know how to say NO to athletes trying to progress themselves without proper technique

 

[yooolizzi]

I have to wear my custom orthodics in my shoes or else I can not do anything. Even running is scary to me without them. I'm just curious as to how to orthodics they have will work for everyone, as there are different levels to flat footedness. My feet are so flat that my entire foot is on the ground when I stand, 0 arch at all. Would these orthodics help me? (Not that I would ever switch, just hypothetical)

 

[rrhhiannon]

Thanks, that is kind of what I thought. Cp has bad knees as it is, chronic dislocations. She does exercises to help strenghthen, but still happens sometimes. We got custom orthotics for her cheer shoes because she does pronate inward. I find this all very interesting. I will have to watch and see how she lands her tumbling, hopefully she isn't doing this.

My knee always dislocates too! Since I was like 4 my doctors told me to keep active and keep my legs strong but it still happens. I wear a big prescription knee brace with metal pieces in it but it's really hard to cheer in, it doesn't allow me to crouch down to stunt or do much in the dance. I've started to only wear it for practices and just hope for the best at competitions. So I'm just wondering what your cp does to help her knees?