Corrective Exercise: When the Cure Becomes the Cause

In sport today there is an inordinate emphasis on corrective exercise designed to address supposed movement dysfunctions discovered during non-functional assessments that are looking for limitations and dysfunctions. I find it ironic that despite this emphasis on corrective exercises designed to prevent injuries, preventable injuries are off the scale. Why is that? The answer is quite simple. Instead of doing a sound comprehensive training program the athletes are doing corrective exercise that are done in a sterile controlled environment in unusual positions designed to address contrived movement dysfunctions. It does not work, jut look at the results. I am quite pragmatic; the proof is in the pudding. 98% of the supposed dysfunctions can and should be addressed by a sound comprehensive training program that is designed to address individual differences. So-called corrective exercises must be transparent part of the comprehensive training program. I emphasize that a comprehensive training program must address individual differences and prepare for the demands of the sport.

There is rarely any need to have a separate corrective exercise program that supplants normal training. In most cases the athlete is expected to still practice their sport and compete. There is only so much time and energy, so put that time and energy into training that prepares for the rigors of competition not into contrived movements designed to prevent injuries that should never happen.