[News] Ravens Will Evaluate Offseason Training Methods After So Many Injuries

[BR News]

The Ravens have seen 38 players face season-ending injuries over the last two seasons.

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[January J]

Well this is good to hear. It's about time.

[January J]

Have them all do mandatory yoga sessions. Poe can lead the class.

[ravenwildman]

I think all teams are having this problem to some degree, the Ravens more than most, so perhaps things changed for the worst with the CBA? GO RAVENS!

[steelcityraven]

John can rationalize this however he wants but we have had 38 in two seasons... Gilmore could make 39 and we are not through the season yet. 40 out of 106 is nearly 38% of the roster... heck if we just stay at 38... that over 36% Better then one third of the team. We can call it bad luck or whatever else but when bad luck keeps happening more to us then anyone else... we need to ask ourselves why! The two seasons that Suggs came in most out of shape in his career...he blew his Achilles... I do think we have had some bad luck (You know the people like SSS who trained really hard- took care of his body and still got injured) but I also think the vast majority of our issues have not been luck related but preparation related! Nothing changes until we own that much of it!

[balfan23]

Have them all do mandatory yoga sessions. Poe can lead the class.

Good one ... but in all seriousness, I would think that yoga would be a great approach and I can't imagine why we wouldn't be pushing such a program. 

 

I am no spring chicken, yet I still am very involved in basketball. I reached a point where I was very frequently getting strained hamstrings, calf pulls and tendinitis in the Achilles. I started doing yoga and I really feel like it has dramatically reduced those issues. 

 

Nothing is going to save Joe's knee when a 300lb lineman falls on the back of his leg, but these calf strains, Achilles tears and other non-contact injuries I feel would be reduced with either yoga or some other discipline that focuses on promoting flexibility. 

[balfan23]

John can rationalize this however he wants but we have had 38 in two seasons... Gilmore could make 39 and we are not through the season yet. 40 out of 106 is nearly 38% of the roster... heck if we just stay at 38... that over 36% Better then one third of the team. We can call it bad luck or whatever else but when bad luck keeps happening more to us then anyone else... we need to ask ourselves why! The two seasons that Suggs came in most out of shape in his career...he blew his Achilles... I do think we have had some bad luck (You know the people like SSS who trained really hard- took care of his body and still got injured) but I also think the vast majority of our issues have not been luck related but preparation related! Nothing changes until we own that much of it!

As much as SSS trained hard and took care of himself, I think there is something to the type of training and the variety of training that can matter. 

 

If the primary focus is strength training, then I think they need to reassess. Since strength training can really tighten muscles, mixing in work that increases muscular and tendon flexibility is critical. 

[stixfix69]

CBA is to blame, they took away 2 a days, and players are just not battle tested shape, because they are treated like powder puff girls...Your body needs to be physically read, and if you cut down on full contact practices it will only lead to injures in real games...And allow the starters to play more in pre-season games, so they can get their bodies used to the weekly poundings through out the season...JMO....

[ken_j]

Great idea. Conditioning has to be an issue. The Ravens have had the worst injury record over the past two years of any team in the NFL. Why? Just this year, they have paid out almost $12 million to players on IR and that number is rising. The Bengals, Cardinals and Seahawks play a physical brand of football, yet their combined injury list isn't as high as the Ravens. Something is radically wrong!

[ellicottraven]

Have them all do mandatory yoga sessions. Poe can lead the class.

Great point. Yoga, may in fact be the best exercise program (to develop flexibility and strength) and couple that with the traditional strength program. May in fact work great to prevent injuries. Monroe where's your yoga mat?

[BillyD]

See these injuries all the time. I think the playing surfaces have something to do with it, as well as the lack of contact and the focus on strength solely as opposed to strength and flexibility. It has hit our Ravens hard this season, so I'm glad they're going to a natural surface at the Bank next season, as well as glad they're doing a review of their methods.

[January J]

Good one ... but in all seriousness, I would think that yoga would be a great approach and I can't imagine why we wouldn't be pushing such a program. 

 

I am no spring chicken, yet I still am very involved in basketball. I reached a point where I was very frequently getting strained hamstrings, calf pulls and tendinitis in the Achilles. I started doing yoga and I really feel like it has dramatically reduced those issues. 

 

Nothing is going to save Joe's knee when a 300lb lineman falls on the back of his leg, but these calf strains, Achilles tears and other non-contact injuries I feel would be reduced with either yoga or some other discipline that focuses on promoting flexibility.

I was halfway being serious. Minus the Poe.

[thisme007]

This is a Great start to a 2016 Winning Season.. Go Ravens!

[757RavensFan]

Have them all do mandatory yoga sessions. Poe can lead the class.

 

 

Good one ... but in all seriousness, I would think that yoga would be a great approach and I can't imagine why we wouldn't be pushing such a program. 

 

I am no spring chicken, yet I still am very involved in basketball. I reached a point where I was very frequently getting strained hamstrings, calf pulls and tendinitis in the Achilles. I started doing yoga and I really feel like it has dramatically reduced those issues. 

 

Nothing is going to save Joe's knee when a 300lb lineman falls on the back of his leg, but these calf strains, Achilles tears and other non-contact injuries I feel would be reduced with either yoga or some other discipline that focuses on promoting flexibility. 

 

 

Great point. Yoga, may in fact be the best exercise program (to develop flexibility and strength) and couple that with the traditional strength program. May in fact work great to prevent injuries. Monroe where's your yoga mat?

 

 

I recall a few years back when they brought this guy in who was a "stretching specialist". I know it's not yoga but a good stretching program needs to be revisited.   Here's the article. 

http://prod.www.ravens.clubs.nfl.com/news/article-1/Ravens-Recover-With-Stretching-Guru/34b40486-d69f-4646-a6fe-fbe3a40b8ac0 

[EliteRavens]

Thank you! Finally this is a topic of discussion

[Winchester]

Bring in some modern trainers with forward thinking and training methods. Nutrition is a very under valued tool for players. Not just in preventing injuries. But every player playing at optimal muscle mass and bodyfat for more power and explosion. And Advanced Flexibility training like martial arts and core training.

Edited December 16, 2015 by Winchester

[Crusader]

After the all the secondary injuries last year and now another year of injuries. "Hey we might have a problem" BRILLIANT!

[RavensReck27]

This is such a growth season for us. Last season showed us what we can do. This season has showed us what we need to do.

[RavensReck27]

I truly believe everything happens for a reason. I think all of the bad luck we have had this year is the only possible way we could finish with this bad of a record. The same record that is going to give us a top 5 pick for the first time since the 20th century, and the same record, that I believe, is going to get us our next cornerstone player.

[RaRaRavens]

First smart move by the FO this season.

[RavensBaltimore]

Torn ligaments and tendons absolutely can be "training injuries". In fact, many ACL tears are non contact injuries. Muscle imbalances and lack of stabilization can cause uneven pull/torque on the joints, or too much force without stability, which can cause a ligament to tear.

[RavensReck27]

Injuries are ruining this game. No matter how good of a team you may have, injuries can take away all of your stars and leave you with scrubs. I feel like half of the league is on IR. I don't remember this many injuries occurring ever since I started watching football.

[JoeyFlex5]

applause

[steelcityraven]

I am hearing a lot of people offer opinions and suggestions in this area... and while I am not a doctor or even a PT... and bc I am not fully privy to the workouts going on and training being done... I will not speculate but I don't need to know the mechanisms at play as much as I do know that injuries have been happening to us at a much higher rate then the other 31 teams in the NFL. Not for a season but for 2-3 seasons. I don't have to speculate to say that something is wrong and that if bad luck is happening to us that much more then everyone else.... there is a reason for that! IDK if this is skirting the issue and simply trying to appease the fans or if it is real but when we have a sample this large we don't need much of an investigation. The #s of a large sample is all the indictment that we need. Lets find a S&C coach with a proven track record and productive programs... and see if our luck doesn't change. We don't have to play doctor to recognize sunshine!

[steelcityraven]

We have influenced defenders to go low and made picks legal... we have decreased recovery time by adding games in London, on Thursday nights and Monday nights. We have promoted the spectacular over the technically sound and we wonder why there are more serious injuries in the NFL. Goddell and company are not in this for players safety no matter how much they suggest the changes are for that reason. Soon we will expand the season beyond 16 games and expand the preseason. (bc the objective is to make money not to protect the players) the players have become expendable and injuries just a more normal occurrence... but the league is making more money then ever! In the mean time the game has been watered down as a result.... SMH ... it will be a good day in the NFL when Goddell retires!

[Ravensfolyfe]

I like what im hearing.

[FloridalovesRavens]

No matter how much you want to blame the injuries on the NFL or our training it is what it is. Injuries happen to every team at one time or another. We just got bitten three fold. After all the successes we have had this was due to happen. One bad season hurts so much more when you are used to winning almost every year. We will bounce back and again be successful. After all we have one of the best organizations in the league. Go Ravens.

[Grapple Raven]

Torn ligaments and tendons absolutely can be "training injuries". In fact, many ACL tears are non contact injuries. Muscle imbalances and lack of stabilization can cause uneven pull/torque on the joints, or too much force without stability, which can cause a ligament to tear.

 

Agreed, that is one of the major causes of hamstring pulls, that imbalance of upper leg and glutes to lower leg strength which causes stabilization issues from strain.

I would venture that forcing "bulking up" for strength can be the root of a lot of muscle issues. Muscle strength comes from increasing the thickness of muscle fibers you have, not the increase of the number of fibers themselves.

The 3 components of strength training are overload, specificity and progression.  When you try to progress the load that a muscle can handle too quickly is when muscle injuries occur especially if their is an imbalance relating to specific muscle groups.

 

I would think that more attention needs to be paid to what the players are doing in the offseason when they aren't around the Ravens facilities and trainers. Perhaps a more specifically outlined plan for workouts throughout the offseason like they have in regular season.  You can't pull your body into playing shape in the few weeks mandated by the CBA, especially if you haven't done the proper things throughout the offseason.

 

I agree with the comments earlier about flexibility too, I think it was Matt Birk that brought the flexibility specialists in, and it seemed to work well for him, especially in helping in recovery from game play.

[RavenzOz]

I think we are in an age where the science around nutrition and excercise has led our athletes to the place where their ability to develop muscle far surpasses the human body's ability to develop the supporting structures around that muscle: ligaments, tendons and bones. This is why we are seeing large numbers of injuries even in a league that has put in place so many rules to protect the health of these athletes.

 

A perfect example of this comes from my neck of the woods where in this video, two Australian NRL players have an arm wrestle on national TV, the result, one of them gets multiple fractures in his arm.

 

Warning, this video is not for the feint of heart:

Edited December 17, 2015 by RavenzOz

[MadStorkSociety]

Finally! Don't forget to look into nutrition as well.