Athletico Health Resources

It’s 2023, and you’re another year older, and multiple sources have emphasized over your lifetime that your muscle strength and size will decline with age and take a noticeable sharp decline after 30, right? Well, that trend is largely context dependent. Age-related changes will indeed occur, but the magnitude will be largely based on an individual’s activity status and resistance-training status. Individuals who are sedentary are the most at risk for this aging phenomenon. If you implement resistance training and keep your nutrition in check, you can effectively slow or hold off age-related changes in muscle mass and strength. (more…)

“Go get your arm warmed up!” This is a phrase I hear all the time for overhead athlete sports, whether it’s the relief pitcher in baseball, the center fielder in softball, the ACE server in volleyball, or the star QB. This is solid advice; it’s never a good idea to go into aggressive overhead activity without a proper warm-up, but what makes a good warm-up? That can be a very loaded question! Fortunately, by understanding the anatomy of the shoulder and the requirement by its muscles to work optimally overhead, it can be simple to get an athlete ready for action and, more importantly, lower their risk for injury. (more…)

Have you set some fitness goals as your new year’s resolutions and don’t know how to follow through? Nervous about entering the gym and looking like a beginner? Unsure how to lose that unwanted weight? Look no further; here are five short and sweet tips to help get you on the right track. (more…)

Something didn't feel quite right. You were shoveling snow or helping a friend move a heavy couch, and there it went. Your lower back tightens up or seizes up on you. It was hard to move normally, and your back just felt "off." You "pulled" your back; now what? Let's first take a brief look at the anatomy of the lower back, then a couple of lower back injuries, followed by what to do next. (more…)

With winter in full effect, it is time to shift the focus of training for our throwers toward preparation for the spring. As the demand for increased pitch speed increases, it is important that throwing athletes make the most of the winter to reduce their risk of injury before ramping up their throwing in preseason training. Although most throwing injuries occur in the arm, athletes can minimize injury risk and increase pitch count by focusing on leg strength and core stability in addition to mechanics. (more…)

Need some inspiration to keep up with your new year’s health and wellness goals? We’ve put together monthly challenges to help you improve your physical and mental well-being. (more…)

Even though pickleball was invented in 1965, it has been gaining popularity very quickly since the early 2000s. Pickleball was the fastest-growing sport from 2019-2022. Pickleball is played both indoors and outdoors and has both singles and doubles. Though it resembles tennis, pickleball is played on a much smaller court and using solid-faced paddles and the rules differ from tennis as well. As with any sport, as the popularity grows, so do the injuries. Here are some of the injuries that can occur in pickleball and ways to prevent injury: (more…)

When starting or changing up your exercise routine, there can be an overwhelming amount of information and voices coming at you. It can be hard to decide which path to choose. What will work best for me? Am I doing the right thing? Can I do this? While there is no perfect exercise prescription for everyone, there are a few simple things to consider when compiling your ideal exercise routine! (more…)