NECK PROTECTION

STRENGTH TRAINING FOR FOOTBALL PLAYERS, THE MOST IMPORTANT CONSIDERATION

By Dr. Ken Leistner

The Rae Crowther Co. has invested seventy-seven years in providing the best equipment possible to allow their many coaches to train players as safely and efficiently as possible. Their expansive line of sleds and on-field equipment has been augmented by strength training and weight room innovations that allow each coach to prepare their football players so that they are physically ready to play when camp opens. However, like others involved in the sport, there is a desire to insure that each athlete, from the youth league neophyte to the NFL pro is playing so that they are most resistant to injury. A combination of physical preparedness through weight training, a high level of conditioning, and the development of technique through proper coaching will fulfill this requirement. However I want to encourage all football coaches at all levels to insure that the football player gives adequate attention to their most important body area, the musculature of the cervical spine.

Coaches, we are teachers who are responsible for the well-being of our athletes. We wish to avoid any type of injury but to give perspective, if an athlete suffers a serious career-ending knee injury, at worst he will undergo a replacement surgery and be forced perhaps to walk with an altered gait or limp. If a player suffers a catastrophic non-fatal cervical spine/neck injury, the resultant effects could range from the loss of vital bodily function, the need for a lifetime of assisted care, and limitation to a wheelchair or bed. In order to best prevent this tragedy, each coach is encouraged to insure that their players pay special and consistent attention to the development of the musculature of the cervical spine and upper back area. When contact is made involving the head, neck, or shoulder, force is produced and that force must be dissipated through the body to avoid the alternative of having it absorbed by the elements of the cervical spine. The development of the neck muscles in conjunction with the large trapezius, levator scapulae, rhomboids, and spinae erector muscles will provide a “chain” that will allow for the absorption and dissipation of force, allowing it to travel to and through the lower extremities. This, in conjunction with proper contact techniques and the avoidance of making contact while the cervical spine is in flexion or a forward-flexed position, must be stressed and pursued. While every football and strength coach provides exercise for the upper and lower back areas, little emphasis is provided to the cervical spine and often, if part of the comprehensive program, it is done as an afterthought or is poorly taught and supervised. As manufacturers of equipment designed to insure maximum performance in practice and in game situations, Rae Crowther Co. understands the importance of having each member of the team prepared to play and to do so uninjured. Avoiding the most serious of injuries is not only common sense but a responsibility. Please allow me to suggest the use of a neck machine that provides specific, direct exercise for the neck muscles. The L722 NECK MACHINE allows proper exercise for these vital muscles but if the coach prefers a different manufacturer’s product or the use of other modalities of his choosing, I support that decision as long as adequate attention is paid to insuring that each athlete is consistent in training the neck area. I would also encourage the use of the SHRUG exercise to provide work to the very large TRAPEZIUS MUSCLE. It is often forgotten that this muscle has three major parts to it with five points of origin and four specific points of insertion. Its full development is extremely important to protect against neck injury. The upper back “complex” of muscle that includes the LEVATOR SCAPULAE, RHOMBOID MAJOR, AND RHOMBOID MINOR provides movement to the neck and shoulder area as well as giving specific movement to the scapulae or shoulder blades. Their full development using exercises that elevate and retract or pull the scapulae together should not be ignored.

No matter what the favored training philosophy, type of equipment, or set and repetition scheme the staff utilizes, I am recommending as strongly as possible that increases in the muscular strength and muscular size of the neck and upper back musculature become a priority in your program.

Cable Face-Pulls Movie


Band Face-Pulls Movie


Shrugs


Neck Machine