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The following article was published in Your Health Magazine. Our mission is to empower people to live healthier.
Carlos J. Berio, PT, DPT, MS, CSCS
Competitor Shelf-Life?
SPARK Physiotherapy, LLC

Competitor Shelf-Life?

There are many ways to quantify health these days and even more ways to quantify high level performance. The tools used to measure health and ability to perform at a high level are valuable and are best used in combination with other tools as well.

If you watch sports, then you've heard of the “aging running back” who's career is over at age 30 or last summer's Olympics where you saw the gymnast who would retire after the games at the ripe old age of 22. These ages, while varied between activities, are commonly used benchmarks when gauging the “sports life ” of a competitor.

Now, think of a world where you could run pain free into your 70's. Or that high level gymnast or swimmer competing on the world stage well into their 30's or 40's. By having a team of professionals who can guide and assist you, these things could be possible.

Who's on your team?

I can use a well-tuned machine, like a race car, to best illustrate this point.
These cars are built with the latest technology; the fastest, lightest and safest of everything. Yet, without the pit crew working diligently before race day and then constantly checking, the car probably wouldn't finish a single race, let alone win.

Without the preparation, training and crew, the car would likely face a catastrophic failure along some portion of the race. That's because the cars are forced to perform as close to maximum power and performance for extended periods of time. When a machine, like a race car, is performing at that level, it is more likely a failure will occur.

The same goes for us. When a person is pushed to perform at the highest level, the chances for breakdown and failure increase. Injuries become more common and serious, making it difficult or impossible to perform at that level.

With a team, like a pit crew, you can keep your body at its highest level and maintain it there to keep you competing at your highest level.

So, who's on your team? The team needs to have the expertise, experience, and knowledge of your musculoskeletal system to keep it running at maximum levels. You need to have an orthopedic surgeon, athletic trainer and physical therapist, working together as a team.

What does it take?

Balance. Symmetry. Control. Strength. Power. Flexibility. All of these need periodic evaluation to help you achieve maximum performance, with minimal risk of injury and failure.

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