Ankle sprain is one of the most common injuries in basketball. More serious injuries can keep you off the field for months. How do professional players prevent these sprains? What techniques are used by physical trainers and physiotherapists? Is it effective?
On what principles is proprioception based?
Even without looking, we can tell the location of our limbs in space. We can also see if it is moving and how fast. This is made possible thanks to Profound Sense! By definition, proprioception corresponds to the perception we have of our bodies in space. There are many sensors in the muscles, tendons, joints, skin and inner ear that provide information about posture (state anaesthesia) and movement (kinesthetics).
For the movement to take place correctly, the neural information sent from the brain must be accurate. During movement, the brain adapts its motor drive according to information perceived from sensitive sensors to make this gesture more accurate. The slower the gesture, the more accurate it was. In sports and especially in basketball, gestures must be quick and accurate. Thus, improving proprioception makes it possible to gain accuracy. But not only ! Proprioception also helps reduce injuries
. If the movement does not go as planned (eg: the player goes under the basket to shoot and the opponent pushes him), the muscles around the ankle should be coordinated and alert enough to stabilize the joint if the ankle turns suddenly.
Therefore, training your ankle in this type of position helps reduce the risk of injury. The goal is to have a toned and stable joint!
What exercises?
- Balance at an unstable level
- dynamic packaging
- dynamic jumps
- Dynamic jumps with imbalances
- Variation of movement speeds
- Closed Eyes / Open Eyes Exercises
- Jogging and specific exercises on uneven ground
Feel free to perform these exercises on your pre-exhaustion muscles. Your body must be able to maintain joint stability even when you are very tired. Example: Do 15 squats and jumps followed by a specific exercise to receive the knee.
Effectiveness of regular proprioception training
For many years, scientists have been studying proprioception and its value in preventing injuries.
Athletic trainers, physical trainers, and physical therapists incorporate this type of self-stimulation exercise into the training of professional athletes. Regular autogenic training combined with classic sports training can reduce the risk of injury. In the case of a sprain, for example, if a player undergoes appropriate specific training, the ankle can twist in case of contact or poor reception, but the muscles around it will adequately protect it to avoid excessive injury and swelling. We can never say it enough: prevention is better than cure!
A common misconception is that pure bodybuilding (analytical bodybuilding on a machine in the gym) strengthens the body and prevents injuries. In fact, our bodies are more complex than that. Muscles and the nervous system (the brain and nerve connections) are closely related and must communicate effectively in one direction or the other! The processing, quality, and speed of information must be improved to improve the quality of the gesture. Our body behaves like a fairly well-functioning computer. Training allows you to turn an ancient wizard into a high-end wizard!