All athletes, adaptive or not, have their own unique needs. However, having a physical or neurological challenge presents an added layer of complexity. A trainer who works with this type of athlete must understand how the athlete’s specific disability does or does not affect the performance limits of that individual and how to introduce the correct stimuli to safely push beyond those limits. For example, the trainer might choose to train their athlete outside of their wheelchair for balance and core strength or for an amputee, they might remove their prosthesis to train their limb(s) more freely.

Another critical component is the trainer’s ability to recognize signs of “compensation” in adaptive athletes. This is when the unaffected parts of the body will many times take over for the affected areas leading to large imbalances in the antagonist (opposing) muscles and the core/postural musculature. Although some compensation is to be expected, and is many times required, minimizing the unintended effects should be one of the goals. If gone unrecognized or ignored, this can be detrimental to the training process.

Neuro Ex understands the importance of being able to proactively recognize these challenges and we excel at addressing these and any other individual considerations to ensure our clients get optimum results.