April/May 2024 Purchasing Guide - 35

REHAB | Functional Training & Knee Injuries
COR-XT®
unconsciously by proprioception
to control the joint in motion.
How do you treat knee injuries
in student-athletes?
Functional training. is vital because
it works our joints in motion,
stressing fine motor control to help
keep the joints in the correct planes
of motion. It works the joints and
muscle systems in harmony. It's
why I invented COR-XT®
: I saw an
increase in sports injuries, and I
felt it was crucial to come up with
a system that could treat injuries
and get athletes back to the field
sooner-and that also would help
prevent injuries in the first place.
What is functional training?
Functional training is a wholebody
approach to physical therapy
and athletic performance that's
designed to improve kinesthetic
awareness and increase the
engagement of an athlete's
proprioceptors during movement.
Basically, when you create a
feeling of instability during an
exercise, the body reacts to that
instability, recruiting secondary
muscles in a way that is hugely
beneficial to injury prevention or
treatment.
What are some of the most
common injuries studentathletes
face?
As a physical therapist and strength
and conditioning specialist; I started
out working with NFL athletes.
Many common injuries that pro
athletes face are the identical
injuries that student-athletes face.
In my practice, I see everything
from ankle sprains to back fractures,
but knee issues are very common:
I see a lot of ACL reconstruction,
patellofemoral syndrome, and
patellar tendinosis.
Are knee injuries more common
in certain sports?
Statistically, ACL ruptures happen
most frequently with football and
soccer, followed by basketball. Any
sport with cutting and pivoting puts
a lot of force on the knee. The foot
plants and the forces are driven up
through the knee joint, placing a
rotational stress on the ligament.
Functional training is important for
treatment or prevention because
it trains the muscles to respond
COR-XT®
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training-conditioning.com | 35
What's an example of a
functional training exercise
that helps with knee injury?
I like step down progressions,
starting with ensuring perfect
form, and then progressing by
adding resistance. When you do
step down progressions using
the COR-XT®
balance platform, it
causes extra stress on the knee
and hip by forcing the knee into
valgus or varus depending on the
rotation. This also causes stress on
the hip internal or external rotators.
The body will unconsciously
auto correct by recruiting the
antagonist muscle groups through
proprioception.
Keith Callanan MPT, CSCS is
Director of Physical Therapy at
Stoughton, MA-based Elite Sports
& Physical Therapy Performance
Centers. He is the inventor of the
COR-XT®
Functional Trainer as well
as other biomechanical therapeutic
devices commonly used in PT
practices across the U.S.
http://www.CORXT.com
April/May 2024 Purchasing Guide

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