WALTSportsMed

W.A.L.T | Wellness • Athletics • Lifestyle • Therapy | MD • Sports Med Fellow | High Performance Specialist | The medical story behind every NHL injury 🏒

[WALTSportsMed @WALTSportsMed]

If exercise were a pill, it would be the most prescribed drug in medicine.

Few interventions cut chronic disease and premature death as consistently as regular physical activity.

The fundamentals still win. #ExerciseIsMedicine

[WALTSportsMed @WALTSportsMed]

Hintz took a knee-on-knee hit from Carlo — direct contact at the thigh-knee junction. Not classic valgus/MCL, though anteromedial contact keeps LCL in the differential. Return argues against a complete tear: likely deep contusion. Tonight @ NSH TBD. #TexasHockey

[David Pagnotta @TheFourthPeriod]

Carlo gets a major and a game for this on Hintz, who was down in a lot of pain

[WALTSportsMed @WALTSportsMed]

Rangers G Joonas Korpisalo to IR, week-to-week with an undisclosed lower-body injury. Practiced briefly Wednesday, skipped Thursday's skate. For a goalie the concern is groin/adductor — the butterfly tax. Garand recalled; earliest return Oct 9. #NHL

[WALTSportsMed @WALTSportsMed]

@Mellor683 Yes! Lots of people can weight bear after an ACL injury.

[WALTSportsMed @WALTSportsMed]

Barkov's left knee buckled on a planted leg — the textbook ACL mechanism. The worry: 2nd game back from right ACL/MCL reconstruction, and a prior ACLR sharply raises the risk of a contralateral ACL tear. No diagnosis yet; update expected today. #NHL

[WALTSportsMed @WALTSportsMed]

Foam rolling won't break up scar tissue. It doesn't need to.

Evidence shows it can temporarily improve range of motion and ease soreness — without hurting performance.

The tool works. The explanation most people give doesn't. #Recovery

[Elliotte Friedman @FriedgeHNIC]

Barkov is not back for the third...not the same leg he injured last year...but you're always concerned when a player reacts so disgutedly.

Hopefully not as bad as it looks 🤞

[WALTSportsMed @WALTSportsMed]

@nylanderthews Great real-world example. The Kevlar/Dyneema fibers don't make you cut-proof — they just distribute the edge load so incidental contact becomes a scrape instead of a laceration. Built for this exactly - incidental contact at the ankle/Achilles gap. #NHL

[WALTSportsMed @WALTSportsMed]

Injury roundup 🏒
• Larkin (DET) out first two games, hopeful for Tuesday
• C. Brown (NJD) out tonight + Saturday
• Savoie (EDM) to LTIR — out ~8 more weeks
• Regula (EDM) to LTIR
#NHL

[WALTSportsMed @WALTSportsMed]

Oilers G Frederik Andersen (knee) out until "maybe" December, per Babcock. Injury traces to the Cup Final — Bussi finished that run. No surgery; managed conservatively. Jarry and Levi hold the crease meanwhile. #NHL

[WALTSportsMed @WALTSportsMed]

Oilers W Zach Hyman (upper body) out ~2 weeks, per Babcock. Hurt in Saturday's preseason finale vs Calgary, played 20:33 in the opener, then shut down — didn't travel to Vancouver. No specific diagnosis disclosed. #NHL

[WALTSportsMed @WALTSportsMed]

Lifting doesn't stunt growth. That myth is older than the science.

Supervised resistance training is safe for youth — and builds strength, bone health, and athleticism.

The 2014 international consensus said it clearly. Time to retire the myth. #YouthAthletes

[WALTSportsMed @WALTSportsMed]

Mathew Barzal (NYI) is out of tonight's opener vs TOR — a flare-up of the knee injury from the shot block that ended his 2024-25 season and required surgery. Shut down Sept. 16, no skating yet; Darche hopes he resumes by next week. #Isles

[WALTSportsMed @WALTSportsMed]

10,000 steps was a marketing slogan, not a medical guideline.

Mortality benefits start well below 10,000/day — and keep accruing as you move more.

Don't let perfection be the enemy of the first 5,000. #Walking

[WALTSportsMed @WALTSportsMed]

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins: out ~2 weeks (lower body, Monday's practice). Missed the opener; Babcock expects him back mid-October.

'Anytime they tell me day-to-day, that usually means two weeks.'

Draisaitl likely back to centering his own line.

[WALTSportsMed @WALTSportsMed]

Still chasing soreness as proof of a good workout?

Soreness reflects novelty — not progress. Thanks to the repeated-bout effect, you get less sore over time while still growing.

Track performance, not pain. #Hypertrophy

[WALTSportsMed @WALTSportsMed]

Cardio doesn't kill gains. Bad programming does.

Meta-analyses show strength + endurance training can coexist with minimal interference — when volume, intensity, and timing are managed.

Start programming smarter.

#StrengthTraining

[WALTSportsMed @WALTSportsMed]

Stretching before exercise won’t prevent injuries.

Static stretching alone isn’t an effective injury-prevention strategy.

A warm-up:
• Raises your temperature
• Mobilizes
• Activates
• Moves through sport-specific patterns
• Builds in intensity

Don’t just stretch.

[WALTSportsMed @WALTSportsMed]

Your MRI isn’t your diagnosis.

Many people without pain have disc bulges, meniscus tears and rotator cuff tears.

Treat the patient.

Not the picture.