Working in the health and wellness field, I have been exposed to evidence based decision making. This is the concept of basing decisions on well controlled research studies that seek to identify the best practices. Now, there is information that this can be applied to other fields, including management. Pfeiffer and Sutton have written articles and books on Evidence-based management that take the concepts of evidence based medicine and apply them to management.
 
The general concept remains the same, base decisions on research. However, as they note, this is not as easy as it sounds. In order to ascertain how useful the research is, it has be read, understood and examined. Conclusions of a study may not be applicable to all fields. The reader needs to know their field and evaluate how accurately the research represents their field and individual needs. It is a start, and a very good one, for researching prior to making decisions.
 
Decision making has historically been done in flawed manners; using past, outdated information, relying on vendors, placing higher trust in known entities and mimicking high performers. This way of making decisions may be neglecting current concepts and scientifically backed conclusions. So, the question remains, how can we alter this?
 
We can start by being curious and open to new ways of doing things. Instead of adopting a new approach because it was presented, seek to know more. How will it be done? Who has done it before? Will it fit our current structure and culture? If the answer is yes, then pilot it. Evaluate the new strategy against the existing one to see if it is better.  Continue to do this process with new ideas to determine what the best way of doing something is. Try new programs and seek to do things better. Learn from others. There is a plethora of research available, read it. Search online journals (open access does not involve a subscription fee) to learn what researchers have discovered on various topics including human resource management, staffing, compensation structure, evaluations, etc. If the information is out there, try to get a hold of it. Then read it and see if the conclusions match what you are currently doing. If not, is there a way to try it? Will it fit your organization?
 
Research looks to minimize the variables in order to determine a cause and effect relationship. In reality, things work in many more complex ways. Research is a great starting point for learning what is already known then piloting a program to incorporate that information can be done to see how it interacts in your own processes.
 
There is not a one way works best. But, rather than faltering and foundering, constantly seek to know more. Being curious, reading and discussing with others, can improve your ability to make sound decisions. Decisions based on best practices can help you get to the top and stay there.
 
Pfeffer, J & Sutton, R. Evidence-based management. Harvard Business Review. On Point Article. January 2006.

The American Journal of Sports Medicine published a recent article examining overuse injuries in high school at collegiate sports. Overuse injuries account for the vast majority of injuries suffered in these groups (70%). Of those injuries, running was the common cause. The most commonly involved lower extremity joint was the knee and predictably, baseball, softball, swimming and diving had more shoulder involvement.

This study confirmed what practitioners have been observing when working with their athletes and the comparison between groups is helpful in identifying trends. College athletes have higher incidences that result in more time lost, women have more overuse injuries than men, and lower extremity injuries are prevalent in sports that involve running. While the conclusions are not surprising, I think the important point to remember is that repetitive loading results in tissue breakdown that causes injury without adequate time for adaptation.

Coaches and those that work in coach education can use this information to better develop pre-season and off-season training plans that take overuse injuries into consideration. Instituting programs that have athletes gradually start running or throwing in the off season to adjust to forces can decrease the injuries once the season starts. Too often, not enough is done in the off season and too much is done in the pre-season and early season. This jump in activity increases the tissue load beyond what it can absorb and leads to an injury. Utilizing a periodized program can make sure that loads are applied more thoughtfully to reduce the stress while still attaining the goal of greater skill and fitness development.

Understanding that overuse injuries are prevalent can also help strength coaches and athletic trainers come up with preventative programs. For those athletes that do a lot of running, controlling the volume is helpful, but so is making sure that there are no weaknesses in the kinetic chain. Spending time working on improving hip and core strengthening along with running drills can improve the ability to absorb force and decrease tissue overload. Similarly, making sure that the shoulders are strong and stable prior to swimming or throwing can decrease the overload that they sustain once the season begins. Continuing to monitor athletes and noticing deficits or changes can be an early warning sign that the athlete is experiencing too much strain.

Once athletes start to have pain, early intervention and volume control may be undertaken to decrease the load applied and allow the athlete to continue with participation. Knowing what the common injuries are in a sport can assist with ways of modifying the known risk factors.

http://ajs.sagepub.com/content/early/2015/04/30/0363546515580790.full.pdf+html

Anterior knee pain, or knee pain over the front of the knee, is a very common malady with runners. It generally results from too much strain being placed across that joint by the quadriceps taking too much force on impact. While this injury can be very painful and limit the ability to run effectively, it is generally non-surgical and can be treated and prevented.

Strengthening the hips: Increasing the strength of the glute muscles aids in force production and force absorption that decreases the stress on the knees. Perform band walks, bridges, bird dogs and proper squats/lunges to strengthen the hips.

Strengthening your core: Core strength helps with maintaining your hip alignment and posture. When you tire, your body is not maintaining form and other muscles have to work harder. Perform various plank variations and bird dogs to increase your core strength and endurance.

Running mechanics: Having your form assessed can see if there is anything wrong with your gait that is predisposing you to knee pain. There are also numerous books and blogs about how to improve your running gait. There are a few consistencies: run at 90 steps per minute, this means decreasing your stride length and increasing stride frequency. Along with this is landing with your foot under your hips which puts you in a good position to push off again.

Ice: Ice after a run can help calm down any discomfort.

Monitor your volume and intensity. Training too hard too quickly is a sure fire way to end up in pain, so make sure that you increase gradually.

Working on strengthening up the chain helps to increase strength and decrease impact across the knees. Add these in to your routine and your pain should decrease.

There is some buzz in the athletic performance and strength and conditioning industry regarding 'long term athletic development', but what exactly is that?

The main process behind LTAD is the realization that youth athletes have a lot of years to play sports, grow physically, socially, and emotionally and develop skills at each stage in their athletic career. A lot of current programs, for all ages, promise quick results, fast gains and reaching your peak in a short period of time. LTAD involves taking a step back, looking at the athlete as a whole and developing a process to make them a better athlete globally.

In order to achieve ongoing results, you first have to know the athlete. What their goals are, what their strengths are, what their weaknesses are, how they move, how they perform exercises and what is the process in which to create global improvement. This global improvement is not geared toward one sport. Playing a single sport does develop motor skills, coordination and specific movements for that sport, but it can also limit total development of the athlete and stunt their potential. An athlete that only plays soccer can be predisposed to hip injuries and never develop any throwing skills or quick start and stop skills that could improve their game and make them better athletes.

LTAD is the foundation used to make athletes better athletes. It involves a systematic program to introduce exercises, progress those exercises and tie those exercises into a sport. Many programs focus on only one facet of a program and neglect the other pieces. There are speed schools, agility classes, core classes and strength programs for athletes of all ages, but few places take all of those components and put them together in a larger framework to create well rounded athletes: that is LTAD. It is understanding that athletes need a combination of strength, power, speed, reaction, acceleration, deceleration, agility, endurance and recovery and then creating a program that systematically addresses each component in an organized manner to deliver consistent results over time. Does this mean that a youth player will experience significant growth in 6 weeks? No. It means that the youth player will develop a foundation for ongoing engagement and learning that will lead to improvement and growth this year, next year, the year after that and so on.

The best way to have healthy, happy athletes is to expose them to different sports and challenge their ability to improve in a consistent manner over time.

Complaints of low back pain continue to be prevalent and a major source of time off of work. While it might seem that taking time to rest and stay in bed will improve your pain, the truth is that continuing to be active is the best treatment.

The use of Tylenol for the treatment of low back has recently been called into question, which means that the standby is exercise. Exercise has been shown to be the most effective treatment in modulating low back pain and dysfunction. Physical therapy, functional therapy and strength training actively recruit the core muscles that stabilize the back. Working to improve the strength of the supporting muscles and relearning proper movement mechanics can help with carrying loads. These exercise techniques will help you decrease your pain and maintain your activity.

The next time your low back is acting up remember to stay active.

http://www.sportsmedres.org/2015/04/low-back-pain-work-it-out.html

If you continue to participate in a single sport thinking it will increase your chances of getting a college scholarship, think again.

Not only are college coaches recruiting athletes that play multiple sports, but professional coaches are, too.

There is no doubt that in order to improve you need dedicated practice time to improve skills and understanding. But, that can come from many forms: hitting the gym increases strength, power, speed, agility, posture and neuromuscular control that can be directly transferred to sports. Playing other sports also creates new neural pathways that your body can use to create more efficient pathways for your main sport.

There are plenty of benefits to playing more than one sport that will not decrease your chances of playing at the next level. Put the effort into becoming a better athlete, this will make you better at your main sport.

http://www.coachad.com/news/88-percent-of-nfl-draft-picks-played-multiple-sports/

This article provides more evidence that exercise is medicine! For individuals suffering from Osteoarthritis, Tylenol may be able to decrease pain, but for those suffering from low back pain it will probably not help.

For either condition, exercise is the mainstay of treatment. Exercise helps improve the stability of joints by contracting the muscles that surround it. It can help act as a pump to move joint fluid around and it can decrease the pain response.

Whenever possible, move more. Movement is not only the key to staying young and feeling healthy, but it is also great for pain control.

http://www.today.com/health/safe-inadequate-tylenol-flunks-back-pain-test-2D80580642

One way to improve your posture and increase the range of motion in your shoulders is to open up your thoracic spine. While there is not a lot of movement available in that region, doing some simple exercises can stretch out your pectorals and latissimus musculature in order to make performing overhead activities easier. These are especially helpful for throwers and those that perform Olympic lifts.
 Perform 1-2 sets of the following for 10 reps.

Dowel overhead press
Place a dowel across your shoulders and pull your shoulder blades down and back. While holding that posture press the dowel straight up overhead continuing to squeeze your shoulder blades then return to the start position.
Dowel twists 
Place a dowel across your shoulders and pull your shoulder blades down and back. While holding that position try and rotate your mid spine to the right. Then try and move it to the left. This is not a large motion so if you are moving a lot it is probably from your lower back. Reset and try it again. 
If you feel cramping in the muscles around your shoulder blades you are doing it correctly. 
Immediately after completing these you should notice an increase in available motion at your shoulders.