Accelerated Conditioning and Learning Prevention & Performance Program

The ACL Injury Prevention program is a research based systematic progressive approach to address the common deficits that lead to injury and decreased performance.  This program improves the pathokinematics (abnormal movement patterns) seen with a large portion of both adolescent female and male athletes.  With completion of this program, the athlete will not only reduce their potential for ankle, knee, hip and low back injuries, but they will also experience a substantial improvement in the overall athletic performance.  The educational material provided here is intended to serve as an educational resource related to the research dealing with female and male athletes and exercise implications.  Both these programs address our major goal: Build athletes who perform better and last longer!

This ACL program comes in two distinct editions, ACL Pro (for the health care professional) and ACL Elite (for athletes, coaches, or parents). 

1. A comprehensive review of the scientific literature on factors that lead to poor kinematics and decreased performance.
2. A comprehensive review of the training literature on training principles that affect these kinematics and hence improve performance.
3. Systematic progressive program designed to:

1. Address all the deficits that lead to pathokinematics in athletes
2. Address all components of core stabilization
3. Push athletic performance to the next level

4. Article references.  Comprehensive collection of research collected over the last 10 years related to the subject manner.

Below, we have included some of our intentions with this program as well as some of the training philosophies you will find throughout both of these programs. This extensive program is offered for $400. Please allow 4-6 weeks for shipping.

Concepts and Philosophy

Our Intention

There are a lot of injury prevention programs currently on the market that claim to prevent injuries.  Scientifically speaking, measurement of prevention with these types of programs is difficult to do secondary to the small sample sizes as well as some inherent hurdles.  Essentially, you are trying to measure something that never happened.  So how do you know you prevented it from happening with your intervention?  This is one reason we are in the infancy stages of developing a research project to study the effects of this program on the specific kinematics associated with Anterior Cruciate Ligament and Lower Extremity injuries in female athletes.  If we can show that we have reduced the kinematics commonly associated with the injuries then we can make some assumptions that the program is beneficial at preventing the injuries.  Anecdotally, what we see in the clinic, is that this program is very effective at improving kinematics shown in the research to be associated with increased risk for injury.

So, how do we change the kinematics?  Let me get slightly technical for a moment.  Abnormal kinematics, or “pathokinematics”, occur for several different reasons in the female athlete.  Two of them that we can have the most effect on with training are neuromuscular and muscular (strength and endurance).  There are many exercises out there that will address these issues, however, from what we see clinically, it is the combination of the ACL Exercises that makes the difference and not just one exercise in particular.  However, there are some key concepts to making these successful.  I will discuss these briefly here, however for more extensive descriptions, please refer to the manual. 

It should be noted, some have cautioned us about laying out what some of the key concepts of our program free on the internet but we feel it is important in order to achieve our goal.  Our goal is to provide sound education that has a positive lasting impact on Anterior Cruciate Ligament and Lower Extremity injuries in female athletes.  To reduce the Anterior Cruciate Ligament and Lower Extremity injuries our female athletes endure year in and year out you must distribute this information to those being effected as well as those who work with these athletes.

Key Concepts

One of the essential components being assessed during the examination we developed as a part of the program is the athlete’s ability to perform some of the activities with lumbar-hip disassociation.  Lumbar-hip disassociation is the athlete’s ability to discern the proprioceptive difference between lumbar spinal flexion/rotation and hip flexion/rotation.  Obtaining lumbar-hip disassociation allows the athlete to perform hip flexion/rotation without lumbar flexion/rotation and/or while maintaining stability of the lumbar spine with the movement patterns.  This is an essential component to be assessed, as it will lead the professional in their instruction of the athlete throughout the course of the training program.  There is also a series of exercises which focus specifically on aiding the female athlete in obtaining this “sense or awareness”.

Strength, endurance and co-contraction of the quadriceps and hamstrings are absolutely essential for maximal performance and injury prevention.  The one exercise that has been “proven” in the research to improve vertical jump and aid in creating co-contraction is: squats.  Performing full squats and jump squats would be considered a more advanced routine and therefore maintaining “healthy” knee/hip alignment is essential and therefore a key component of this program.  It is imperative to follow the repetition to substitution concept (described below).  These exercises are also performed as supersets.

It is also absolutely vital that technique be a focus with these exercises.  You are training for performance, muscle memory and motor planning.  Bad training technique adds to decreased performance.  With squats, common tightness in most athletes lead to heals coming off the floor and knees protruding over the toes.  Training with this form can lead to tightness of the gastroc and excessive shear stresses in the knee (patellofemoral joint).  Therefore, it is essential to keep your heals in contact with the floor throughout the exercise and the knees behind the toes at end range of motion.  Common weaknesses in the female athlete also result in squatting technique which results in the athlete shifting more to one side than the other and the knees coming in toward mid-line at ascent.  Shifting can aid to increased fatigue of the leg taking up the majority of the load and therefore increase the potential for injury, while knees coming into mid-line add to increased stress to the ligamentous structures of the knee.  Finally, some squatters are temped to excessively toe out their feet.  This position, especially in females, places a tremendous stress through the sacrioilliac joint and can be a major source of low back pain.  To determine your natural foot position, march in place for 10 seconds and stop while noting the position of your feet (this should be your natural toe out position).  Finally, with the jump squat, weakness at the lumbopelvic region and ankles can again add to the knees to coming together at the mid-line.  These weaknesses and improper form also add to a “hard” landing rather than a “soft” landing.  Hard landing adds to decreased force attenuation (shock absorbtion) and increased stress to ligamentous structures.  By bending the knees slightly at impact there is more shock attenuation, less force and therefore less fatigue and hence reduced potential for injury.

The final concept has to do with the “core” or midsection.  This has been defined by many different authors to include many different muscles, groups of muscles and body parts.  For our intent/purposes and simplicity, we will define the core as anything from the pecs to the knee.  Strengthening of the core adds to increased force attenuation (reduced potential for injury) and increased transfer of energy across the system (greater power distributed from the legs to the shoulders/elbow/wrist and hand).  Without sufficient strength/endurance of the core, then there is inefficient transfer of the energy across the region.  This adds to altered length tension relationships of the lumbopelvic region as well as muscles attached to this region (quads, hams, gluts).  Knowing this, improvement in strength, endurance and power of this area adds to increased athletic performance, reduced potential for low back pain and LE injuries.

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Increased Intensity = Improved Performance

Many “prevention” programs also claim to improve athletic performance.  With the Accelerated Conditioning and Learning program, we have combined the research from all the sciences (neurology, exercise physiology, and biomechanics) to bring you unique concepts not found with many of the current prevention programs in order to progressively, systematically and safely progress your program to the next level.  Adaptation = the bodies ability to adapt to the imposed demands.  In order to continually progress strength/endurance, you must constantly challenge the body and therefore we have employed several techniques to ensure you are constantly challenging your body.

Concept of repetitions to substitution:  In our exercises we describe the ideal number of sets and repetitions.  Understanding that everyone is different, some will fatigue before others and therefore will start to substitute prior to reaching the prescribed number of sets and reps.  Therefore it is imperative that you employ this concept (repetitions to substitution) to your training regime.  This means - attempt the prescribed number of sets and reps and stop if you start to substitute.  Substitution would be defined as unable to perform without maintaining the “healthy” alignment or not being able to continue with the form described in the exercise.  The goal is to drive towards the set number but you should discontinue that set once substitution starts.

Concept of progression and regression:  First let me describe the later.  If the athlete is unable to maintain stability; healthy alignment of the knee or not able to complete the exercise with the prescribed number of sets and reps, then it may be necessary to regress them to the previous level.  This can occur in one session secondary to fatigue from training regime, competition, lack of sleep or poor nutritional habits.  This should be evaluated with each successive session due to the fact that the athlete may be able to return to the previous or more difficult level.  Pushing the ability of the athlete should be attempted with every session as long as stability, healthy alignment and proper technique is maintained.  Once technique and stability are mastered, move to the next level.  Never skip a level until this has been assessed.

Concept of pre-stretch (Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation):  From anatomy, neuroanatomy and exercise physiology, we know that if we provide a rapid stretch to a muscle and immediately follow this with a forceful contraction that the muscle can produce more force than if just contracted from the rested state.  By producing more force, you are able to work the muscle more than you would if you just contracted from a resting state.  Increased work = improved performance.  This is the same concept used in plyometric strength training (box jumps) and has been applied to exercises throughout this program. 

We feel, by incorporating these key principles throughout the entire program, it is one of the aspects that leads to this programs success.  When provided under the direct supervision of a trained professional, success is only a step away.

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For questions, comments or a copy of Dr. Trent Nessler's CV, please email us at: info@aclprogram.com