Right now, there is a very concerning trend in sports. Injury rates almost across the board are increasing at unprecedented levels. Knee injuries, in particular, are taking thousands of athletes out of play and jeopardizing their careers.

According to the British journal of sports medicine and UCLA Health, knee injuries account for 41 % of all sports injuries. Anterior cruciate ligament injuries, specifically, have been increasing at endemic levels. From 2007 to 2022, the average ACL injury rate grew 25.9%.

Tiger, Roger Federer, and Kobe, the three athletes we’ve studied thus far on the podcast have all had knee surgeries at some point in their career. Today, I brought in Zak Woodward to talk all about knee health. Zak is a performance coach who has built a career out of helping athletes recover from knee surgery as quickly as possible. His athletes have seen unprecedentedly low re injury rates.

In today’s episode, I talk with Zak about why knee injuries are increasing, how athletes can lower risk of knee injury, and his philosophy on how athletes can come back stronger after surgery.

Links Mentioned :

Training With Zak - https://zwoodwardafc.typeform.com/to/AQ7Z2aE6

Zak's Podcast - https://open.spotify.com/show/3MwrEHBJSS5K8vqSy1M3Al?si=b24ddd68970c45bb

Zak's IG - https://www.instagram.com/zakwoodwardatp/

Floss Bands - https://amzn.to/3XoFNbA

Athlete Stack - https://designsforsport.com/collections/retail/products/athlete-stack?_pos=1&_fid=34df57d86&_ss=c&selling_plan=3393683700

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Timestamps:

00:00:00 - Intro

00:02:00 - Why are Knee Injuries Increasing?

00:04:54 - Are there Common Deficiencies?

00:06:08 - Flexibility vs Strength

00:08:51 - Diagnostics For Knee Risk

00:12:13 - Relationship between knee and other injuries

00:14:39 - Muscle Balance

00:17:03 - Injury mitigation best practices

00:22:55 - What can coaches do?

00:27:08 - Skill acquisition and physical readiness

00:29:25 - Skill acquisition & Strength Coaching

00:34:39 - Zak Origin Story

00:38:55 - Conventional Wisdom vs ATG

00:43:49 - Time Vs Progress Criteria

00:46:28 - Variance in Healing Ability

00:51:16 - What Mindset Should Athletes Have After Injury

00:53:35 - What is the role of pain in recovery?

00:59:27 - What is the role of the athlete in recovery?

01:02:41 - How do you get past the mental block of competing?

01:09:44 - ACL Tear Scenario

01:16:25 - Are there phases of recovery?

01:21:08 - Extra help for recovery

01:25:40 - Bonus Content:: Deep Squat

Research Cited:

https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/44/Suppl_1/i1.1

https://projectplay.org/news/2023/11/22/analysis-serious-knee-injury-among-teen-athletes-grows-26

https://www.uclahealth.org/news/article/acl-tears-in-young-athletes-at-epidemic-levels#:~:text=Tears%20and%20injuries%20of%20the,will%20sustain%20an%20ACL%20tear.

https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/home-and-community/safety-topics/sports-and-recreational-injuries/#:~:text=Sports%20and%20recreational%20injuries%20increase,increased%20another%2012%%20in%202022.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/21/us/sports-injuries-rise-trnd/index.html