Beach Volleyball is a huge passion of Josie’s.  Even to this day she finds time at least 2 days/week to get to the beach and get in a few games, does cross training in her back yard to prepare herself for the demands the sand places on her, and will definitely occasionally sign up for a tournament.

Though the sand takes away the concerns of impact on the joints, beach volleyball doesn’t come without it’s tendencies towards injuries.  The unevenness of the sand challenges our muscles that are in charge of balance, and will create tension and a tightening of our ITB’s (the big muscle and tendon along the side of our leg.)  When this giant tendon is too tight, it causes knee cap tracking issues and knee cap dislocations, and even possibly the whole knee joint to twist out of position and damage our ligaments and meniscus (been there, done that).  When you jump in the sand, your toes sink in lower than your heels, so your achilles tendon and calf muscles don’t get the frequent dynamic stretching that happens like when you jump on a hard flat surface.  Many beach volleyball players at the professional level have torn their achilles when exercising off the sand.  A powerful calf muscle, but one that is tight, is the perfect recipe for an achilles tendon injury.  Serving and spiking happen very often in a game of beach volleyball, and that repetition can cause trouble in your shoulder and the rotator cuff muscles if you’re not careful.    In her program, “Sandy Spikes”, she address these common injuries and provides a very easy preventative solution.  (coming soon!)