My proposed interview questions to Ronnie Barnes

[MightyGiants]

There is a thread where @DaveBrown74 suggested in light of the Giants injury woes, that Ronnie Barnes should be interviewed along with the position coaches.    I suggested I would like to interview him.  Here are the interview questions I would like to ask him.


1)  The Giants have been consistently among the teams with the most player games lost due to injury for the past decade.  What do you attribute this to?

2)  What changes are the Giants making to try and reduce the number of injuries as well as the time lost due to injuries?

3) Andrew Thomas suffered a hamstring injury that your staff deemed minor enough that he could continue to play in the Dallas game.  Why has that minor injury resulted in Thomas missing a month's worth of games and counting?

4) Ronnie, you are in your 70s.  At that age, many in your profession retire or take on a lesser or less demanding role.  Medicine is an ever-changing and evolving field.  What do you do to stay current and on top of your profession?

5) The medical staff needs to sign off on every draft pick and free agent the team acquires, as well as players whose contracts are extended.   What screening process do you use to ensure the team avoids injury-prone players or players with high injury risk?

[T200]

Glad you added this, Rich. When you mentioned it in the other thread about why he isn't available, the immediate thought that came to mind was what would your questions for him be. 

[MightyGiants]

Glad you added this, Rich. When you mentioned it in the other thread about why he isn't available, the immediate thought that came to mind was what would your questions for him be. 

I will confess, my questions are more 60 Minutes and less the softball type most beat writers ask.  I suspect if I did interview Barnes it would be my last interview the Giants would grant me.

[DaveBrown74]

These are very good, and it's a legitimately fair thing for the media/public to want to hear from the head trainer at this point.

My hope is that some of the beat writers peruse this forum and maybe can get a consensus to do this.

I can't imagine Hanlon/Mara would allow it though. Absolutely zero upside for them to allow it.

[Philosophers]

Here's a question I would ask someone.  Who determines the time allotment between lifting vs stretching and why do you demand 100% effort to lifting and 0% effort to stretching?

I've seen too many practices in which stretching looks like downtime.

I'd also adjust stretching routine and muscles emphasized and intensity routines/intensity to position played.

Want to fix amount of injuries?

Start there.

[zephirus]

Here's a question I would ask someone.  Who determines the time allotment between lifting vs stretching and why do you demand 100% effort to lifting and 0% effort to stretching?

I've seen too many practices in which stretching looks like downtime.

I'd also adjust stretching routine and muscles emphasized and intensity routines/intensity to position played.

Want to fix amount of injuries?

Start there.

There is no empirical evidence that stretching of any kind prevents injuries.  That school of thinking died about 20 years ago. 

[DaveBrown74]

I think the reporters should pool together and push the Giants' press team for a press conference on the state of affairs with injuries over the past decade and ask to speak to the relevant personnel in charge. No need to name Barnes specifically, although he'd be the obvious person to handle that. It's only fair for fans to hear the teams' thoughts on this issue and to update the media on what changes and innovations they're implementing to try to help with this issue.

If the Giants refuse to discuss the subject, reporters should report that they were stonewalled on this issue despite requesting to discuss it.

[DragonSoul]

Been calling him out for a very long time... Loyalty is huge, blind loyalty is another thing.

[Philosophers]

There is no empirical evidence that stretching of any kind prevents injuries.  That school of thinking died about 20 years ago. 

For things like jogging or swimming that is true but not for sports like soccer and football which require Sports Shortening Cycles (SSCs) where pliable, viscous tendons/muscles can absorb more energy than those without. 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15233597/

[MightyGiants]

For things like jogging or swimming that is true but not for sports like soccer and football which require Sports Shortening Cycles (SSCs) where pliable, viscous tendons/muscles can absorb more energy than those without. 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15233597/

Joe,

You inspired my insane intellectual curiosity, and I came up with this


https://newcastlesportsmedicine.com.au/injury-prevention/stretching-prevent-injuries-evidence/

It appears @zephirus is correct

[kartanoman]

Joe,

You inspired my insane intellectual curiosity, and I came up with this


https://newcastlesportsmedicine.com.au/injury-prevention/stretching-prevent-injuries-evidence/

It appears @zephirus is correct

35% reduced risk of injury due to better balance, while 70% experienced reduced risk of injury due to better strength.

Take those two points, measure the Giants' injured offensive linemen capabilities versus their opponents and what conclusion do you draw? Is it as simple as that?

Maybe we already have the answer and don't have to interview Ronnie at all!

Schoen, draft stronger, well balanced players!!!

Peace!

[Philosophers]

Joe,

You inspired my insane intellectual curiosity, and I came up with this


https://newcastlesportsmedicine.com.au/injury-prevention/stretching-prevent-injuries-evidence/

It appears @zephirus is correct

Rich - Interesting.  I definitely agree balance and body alignment are critical.

What seems completely illogical to me is how a muscle with less range of motion will not be more susceptible to injury.  For example, I have very tight hamstrings so I cannot come close to touching my hands to my feet standing up with knees straight.  One day in a boxing class, I bent over to stretch with my limited hamstring range.  My sparring instructor pushed my back down to extend the stretch and I tore a hamstring.  Had I been more hamstring flexible, that would not have happened, right?

[T200]

Rich - Interesting.  I definitely agree balance and body alignment are critical.

What seems completely illogical to me is how a muscle with less range of motion will not be more susceptible to injury.  For example, I have very tight hamstrings so I cannot come close to touching my hands to my feet standing up with knees straight.  One day in a boxing class, I bent over to stretch with my limited hamstring range.  My sparring instructor pushed my back down to extend the stretch and I tore a hamstring.  Had I been more hamstring flexible, that would not have happened, right?

I was actually leaning towards your line of thinking.

I think your specific injury and how it occurred is much different than how NFL players end up with hamstring injuries. Of all the ones that I've seen, they've generally been while they were actively running and pulled it or were trying to stop running, and pulled it. In your case, you were simply doing a static stretch and overextended it. That same range of motion isn't required for players, at least in the NFL. Kickers/punters may be the exception.

[MightyGiants]

@Philosophers and @T200

I suspect there are situations where stretching can prevent injury.  However, I think the bigger issue is that the link I posted pretty much tore down what has been considered a fundamental truism in sports training: that stretching is the key to preventing injury. 

It's these sorts of drastic changes that occur when a "truth" is properly scientifically studied that are difficult to keep up with and change the way you think the older you get.  In my 30+ years as an EMT, I dealt with similar drastic changes and shifts.   The older I got, the more challenging it was for me to keep up.  I had the advantage of having sworn never to fall into the "this is how we always did it trap", and I still find it a struggle to relearn basics and change the way I think and do things.   For me, it was around 50 when things got more difficult and I am in excellent physical condition and I constantly challenge my mind to try and keep it sharp.  I can't image myself staying on top when I am in my 70s

[T200]

@Philosophers and @T200

I suspect there are situations where stretching can prevent injury.  However, I think the bigger issue is that the link I posted pretty much tore down what has been considered a fundamental truism in sports training: that stretching is the key to preventing injury. 

It's these sorts of drastic changes that occur when a "truth" is properly scientifically studied that are difficult to keep up with and change the way you think the older you get.  In my 30+ years as an EMT I dealt with similar drastic changes and shifts.   The older I got, the more challenging it was for me to keep up.  I had the advantage of having sworn never to fall into the "this is how we always did it trap", and I still find it a struggle to relearn basics and change the way I think and do things.   For me, it was around 50 when things got more difficult, and I am in excellent physical condition and I constantly challenge my mind to try and keep it sharp.  I can't image me staying on top when I was in my 70s

    

HOW OLD ARE YOU?!?!?!?