Training the Body and the Brain: Preparing Young Athletes for Sport
Young athletes rarely have the luxury of thinking about only one thing at a time. During a game, they may be running, tracking the ball, watching an opponent and deciding where to move next, all within seconds.
That connection between thinking and moving is one area researchers at Scottish Rite for Children are studying to better understand how young athletes move and how training may help reduce injury risk.
Sophia Ulman, Ph.D., division director of the Movement Science Lab at Scottish Rite, recently returned to the Right Moves podcast with Dr. Debbie Rhea, EdD., M.Ed., for the second part of a conversation about sport readiness. This time, Ulman took listeners inside the research underway in the Movement Science Lab at Scottish Rite’s Frisco campus.
Studying How Young Athletes Move
The Movement Science Lab uses technology, including 3D motion-capture cameras and force plates, to study movement, loading and recovery. Researchers work with patients at different phases of treatment and rehabilitation while also conducting studies focused on injury prevention.
One area of that research looks at what happens when athletes have to think and move at the same time.
In the lab, an athlete may run forward and quickly change directions . Sometimes, they know which direction they are going in advance. Other times, a light signals the direction at the last second, requiring the athlete to process information and react while moving.
Ulman says researchers have found that athletes’ mechanics can change when they must make that split-second decision.
The team has also added cognitive challenges to the testing, asking athletes to process and remember information while responding to a directional cue. The goal is to better reflect what happens during competition, when athletes are simultaneously thinking about the ball, their teammates, their opponents and the next play.
The research raises an important question: If athletes have to think and move simultaneously during competition, should training prepare them to do the same?
Taking Injury Prevention Beyond the Lab
Scottish Rite is translating that research into practical resources for athletes, parents and coaches.
Physical therapists, athletic trainers, physicians, researchers and community outreach specialists collaborated to develop an eight-week injury-prevention program focused on stability, shock absorption, strength and balance. Designed to be completed twice a week, the program uses exercises supported by existing research on injury prevention.
This summer, 20 local high school athletes from a variety of sports participated in a study at the Scottish Rite for Children Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Center to help validate the program. Researchers assessed their movement patterns, strength and balance before and after eight weeks of training.
Instructional videos and resources for the exercises are also freely available, helping bring the work happening in the Movement Science Lab directly to the community.
Helping Young Athletes Prepare for the Game
For Ulman, sport readiness goes beyond strength, speed or maintaining a particular skill. As athletes get older, she encourages them to pay attention to their bodies, recognize when they need rest and recovery and communicate when something does not feel right.
“You have to understand your body,” Ulman says.
She also encourages patients and coaches to seek credible, evidence- based information about training and injury prevention rather than relying on trends they may see on social media.
By studying what happens when the body and brain are challenged together, researchers at Scottish Rite are working to better understand what young athletes need to move, react and compete safely.
To listen to the full podcast, click here.
