Local physical therapist Dustan Lang has published a book to help coaches and athletes practice in a safer manner. -- NEWS PHOTO MO CRANKER
mcranker@medicinehatnews.com@mocranker
A local physical therapist has published a book with the goal of helping others design practices in a safe and efficient way.
Dustan Lang has been a practising physical therapist for more than 20 years and has worked with athletes in multiple professional leagues including the NHL and PGA Tour.
The book is called “The Champion’s Triangle: Revolutionizing Practice Design in Sport” and is aimed at keeping athletes healthier and performing at a high level.
“I decided to put together a book because in my practice I see so many young teenagers get hurt and developing overuse injuries,” he said. “When I started my career I thought I’d see less of this as I got better at my job, as I got known as a sports person I actually started seeing more and more of these injuries. I realized treating these injuries after they happened wasn’t getting to the root of the issue… I have kids in sports now and I realized we need to change how we practice, so our athletes can reach their full potential in a healthy and safe way.”
Lang wrote the book within the last year and had it published in July. There are chapters for different sports, helping coaches, athletes, strength trainers and medical professionals design a healthy practice.
“I see injuries in all sports,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s school sports or club sports.
“Sports used to be seasonal, but now most sports are requiring training year round.”
Lang says overuse injuries can be crippling for athletes, young and old.
“A lot of times athletes can lose their sense of purpose after a serious injury,” he said. “I’ve seen athletes develop eating disorders or begin cutting. I’ve also seen people in their 50s and 60s who can’t be active because of a sport-related injury from high school.
“The effects can last a lifetime and it is a big part of why I wrote this book.”
Lang added the book can help coaches at all levels design practices.
“I don’t care if it’s self practice, rehab, dryland training or team practice – I just hope this can help people design things in a safer way,” he said. “I just don’t want to see these injuries anymore.”
The book is available digitally and physically through a number of online retailers.
