Your Playbook for Peak Performance

At Orthopedic ONE, we proudly support all athletes in their journey toward peak performance. Our Sports Medicine team knows that success isn’t defined by game day alone, but is built through the habits you practice every day. Fueling your body, prioritizing quality sleep, and making time for recovery are simple but powerful ways to prevent injuries and elevate your performance, regardless of your sport or level.

Fueling Your Body

Food is fuel! Your body uses carbohydrates as fuel during training and competition. Carbs also play a key role in helping your body efficiently use protein and fats for energy, growth, and muscle repair, ultimately strengthening and supporting your body. Because food is your primary source of energy, eating breakfast every day is extremely important. Skipping this first meal can not only lead to poor meal and snack choices later in the day, but can also leave you feeling tired and weak.

Another key component for performance and recovery is staying hydrated. Drink plenty of water throughout the day, even if you don’t feel thirsty. Water and electrolytes, commonly found in sports drinks, are also crucial after competing, as athletes need to rehydrate to replace the energy expended (and sweat lost) during play.

Athletes not only need to be aware of what they’re eating, though, but also when they’re eating it. For example, protein can take four to six hours to digest, so it’s best to avoid large amounts right before game time. Instead, prioritize carbohydrates about an hour before competition and continue hydrating throughout play to maintain energy and endurance.

Dreaming Big

Here at Orthopedic ONE, our team often refers to sleep as the ultimate performance enhancer. Sleep deprivation doesn’t just leave you feeling tired; it can also significantly reduce explosive power, strength, and speed, while also increasing your Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE), meaning workouts feel harder than they should. Additionally, young athletes who sleep less than eight hours per night are 1.7 times more likely to sustain an injury.

That’s why adolescent athletes should aim for nine to 12 hours of sleep per night. Maintaining a regular sleep schedule, by going to bed and waking up at the same time each day, limiting screen time 30 to 60 minutes before bed, establishing a relaxing bedtime routine, avoiding meals two to three hours before sleep, and creating a dark, cool environment can all help you get the quality rest needed to perform at your best.

Injury Prevention

Many sports injuries develop gradually due to repeated stress on the body without adequate recovery. Because of this, prevention should start long before you actually feel any pain. Proper warm-ups, like the FIFA 11+ or PEP programs, strength training (1-2x per week), and rest days are essential parts of any athlete’s routine.

Overuse injuries are also more common in athletes who specialize in a single sport at a young age. Without variation in movement and training practices, the same muscles and joints are placed under continuous strain. To combat this, athletes and their parents should build in recovery periods weekly and between leagues to limit repeated muscle exertion and give the body a much-deserved break.

Unfortunately, female athletes are at an even higher risk of injury. In fact, ACL injuries, in particular, are eight times more common in females than in their male counterparts. This makes participating in both strength training and warm-up/stretching programs especially critical for both injury prevention and long-term performance.

Common Injuries

There are several types of injuries among young athletes, but the most common fall into two main categories: overuse and acute injuries.

Overuse injuries, mentioned above, are caused by growth spurts, playing for multiple teams at once, and a heavy tournament load. These injuries include Osgood-Schlatter Disease with pain just below the knee, Sever’s Disease with heel pain, patellar tendonitis (also known as “jumper’s knee”), and stress fractures, which present as persistent, unrelenting pain.

In contrast, acute injuries, which are more common in contact sports, are caused by collisions, falls, and other sudden traumas. These injuries include meniscus and ACL tears, patella dislocations, muscle sprains, and ankle sprains.

Not only do the causes of overuse and acute injuries differ, but so does the recovery process. Injuries like ACL and meniscus tears are much more serious, sometimes requiring surgery and nine to 12+ months of rehabilitation, while Osgood-Schlatter Disease can often be played through with the proper playtime management.

When facing an injury, it’s important to act quickly. If something doesn’t feel right, talk to your athletic trainer or schedule an appointment at Orthopedic ONE as soon as possible. Whether it’s a minor discomfort or a more complex injury, our goal is to help every athlete stay healthy, recover safely, and return to the sport they love.

Sports Medicine at Orthopedic ONE

At Orthopedic ONE, we’re dedicated to keeping athletes on the field, court, or track performing at their best. Our experienced team of physicians, physical therapists, and certified athletic trainers provides comprehensive orthopedic care, injury prevention, and rehabilitation services. In doing so, we are proud to support athletes of all levels, from youth and high school teams to collegiate and professional programs.