In my experience, the four biggest areas of concern for a basketball player’s body are:
1. The feet and ankles
2. The knees
3. The hips
4. The core and low back
These are the areas I have seen time and again get sore, tweaked, and injured the most.
These are the areas I hear about time after time from players.
These are the areas that I have seen have the biggest impact on players’ performance and longevity in the sport.
It’s not to say that shoulder issues don’t come up or neck injuries don’t happen. It’s not to say that the wrists, hands, and fingers are important.
But if I were to rank-order the areas that seem to be the most impactful, I would start with the feet, then move to the knees, then the hips, and finally the core and low back.
When the feet and ankles are strong, mobile and functioning well, everything above them is better supported and functions better.
When the knees, quads, and hamstrings are taken care of, hip issues and back issues don’t seem to be as prevalent.
When the muscles of the hips are strong and the hips are moving well, the low back takes on less stress.
And when the core and low back muscles are functioning well, the spine is better supported and the shoulders and neck move more freely.
Each of these areas has a strong relationship to the others, but with as much time as basketball players spend on their feet and with as much force as you put through your body from the ground up, I have seen the greatest impacts on performance and health to follow a similar pattern.
Getting the feet strong and functioning well takes care of a lot; more than what many people will give them credit for.
And then from there, making sure the muscles that control the knees, hips, core, and low back are strong and functioning well has most players operating at a whole new level.
For all players, I would strongly recommend doing a basic diagnostics check for each of these areas before and after your workouts.
Take a few minutes to see how your feet and ankles are feeling; how your knees, hamstrings, and quads are holding up; how engaged your hips are; and how your core and low back are doing.
If anything is coming up in those areas as less than ideal, that is when you know those areas need to start getting some extra love and attention.
When this happens, the first thing to do is Muscle Activation Techniques®, also known as MAT®.
MAT® is a process of identifying underactive or inhibited muscles that are causing other muscles to have to overwork, tighten up, and compensate. Once the inhibited muscles are identified, the MAT® system goes about strengthening them in such a way that your body is immediately able to reintegrate them into your workouts and on the court activities.
If you are in the Chicagoland area, or are willing to travel to the area, you can find a time to get your muscles assessed and strengthened with MAT® by clicking here to see my schedule.
Once the inhibited muscles are addressed and strengthened, you can start to reinforce the MAT® work using the exercises I send out every week in the PRO Hooper Newsletter. You can join this exclusive mailing list by entering your best email address here.
Taking a little bit of time before and after each of your workouts to check in on your body and then apply specific exercises for what it is feeling will have a tremendous impact on your health and performance all season long when you do it consistently.
If something is feeling off, getting it addressed sooner rather than later with MAT® and then keeping it strong and functioning well with specific exercises is of the utmost importance.
If you have any specific areas that need some extra attention, feel free to send me a DM on Instagram and we can figure out a plan for you, whether you are here in the Chicagoland area or anywhere else around the world.
Charlie
Charlie Cates is the leading consultant to high-level professional, college, and high school basketball players in the Chicagoland area for injury prevention, recovery, and muscle performance.
As one of Chicago’s most sought-after Muscle Activation Techniques® practitioners, he is certified in the highest levels of MAT®, including MATRx, MATRx Stim, and MAT® Athlete.
A former college basketball player, he uses his personal experience and understanding of the game and player demands to create customized exercise options for his clients to recover faster and perform their best.
He sees clients in-studio at Muscle Activation Schaumburg as well as in-home.
You can schedule your MAT® assessment with him by clicking here, and be sure to follow him on Instagram at @CharlieCates!