User Manual

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The Scientific and Clinical Application of Elastic Resistance
Chapter 8 - Speed and Agility Training with Elastic Resistance
By Phillip Page, MS, PT, ATC, CSCS, Todd S. Ellenbecker, MS, PT, SCS, OCS, CSC,
James W Matheson, MS, PT, CSCS, and George J. Davies, MEd, SCS, ATC, CSCS, 2003
Agility Drills with Elastic Resistance
Programmable agility drills allow the athlete
to know beforehand what movement
coordinations will be required. Examples
of these types of agility drills include lateral
shuffles, carioca, and figure-eight running.
Elastic resistance can be used with these drills
as a dynamic form of resistance to increase
lower extremity strength and power. Balance
is a very important part of agility training
(Costello and Kreis 1993).
Without adequate balance skills, athletes
may not be able to maintain control of their
bodies when quick directional changes are
performed.
The Fitter, which uses four elastic
cords for resistance, is an excellent device
for sport-specific balance drills
. Athletes using
the Fitter should keep their knees bent and
use an elastic tension that allows a controlled
side-to-side motion to be performed. Ski poles
can serve as balance aids when athletes are
learning to use this agility training device.
Education and Rehabilitation of the
High-Performance Knee Arthroplasty Patient
By Arnold D. Scheller, MD, Heather Hayden, PT, DPT, MS,
Edward Lacerte, MEd, PT, SCS, L/ATC, CSCS, and James Gaydos, MSPT on June 1, 2006
Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is indicated when
functional impairment results from disabling
knee pain, degenerative changes, or trauma.
Conservative measures to maintain knee function
in patients with knee pain have failed, and total
knee replacements are being performed in
younger, more active, more demanding patients.
Rehabilitation is critical to the success of these
active patients. Advances in component design,
fixation method, and operative techniques all
affect the rehabilitative program.
Phase III, Weeks 7 to 14: Power Phase
[...] Increasing balance, coordination, and
proprioception is accomplished through
exercises and activities that enhance sensory
feedback with changes in joint and limb
position. This is initiated with even-plane
activities, advancing to tri-plane activities,
and leading eventually to elevated and
uneven surfaces. There are plenty of
commercially available products, with
limitations based on patient tolerance
and therapist imagination. [...]
A Pro Fitter can be introduced to emphasize
lateral weight shifts, thereby developing
improved balance and agility with side to side
motion. The Pro Fitter can also be used in a
forward-to-backward motion, thus, recruiting
quadriceps, hamstring, and hip extensors
cocontractions to maintain balance in the
sagittal plane.
Adjustments in the stimulus
versus the recovery period can be made
to maximize the benefits of these and other
proprioception exercises.