Hemophilia and Resistance Training:Implications for the Strength and Conditioning Professional

Abstract

Keywords: endurance; nutrition; recovery.HEMOPHILIA, A HEREDITARYblood-clotting disorder, was oncea condition that limited affectedindividuals from engaging inmany physical activities. The lim-itations were primarily because ofthe possibility of severe complica-tions from internal bleeding intojoints, organs, and soft tissue (1).Current innovations in treatment,safety, and preventative careallow individuals with hemophiliato participate in many physicalactivities and sports that werepreviously contraindicated.Despite the recognized bene-fits of strength training for mus-cular fitness and for preparationto engage in sport, many peoplewith hemophilia do not engage instrength development activities.As the management of hemophil-ia continues to improve, more in-dividuals with this disorder willparticipate in physical activitiesand sports; the need for strengthand conditioning professionals toprovide education, training, andservices to these individuals isbecoming increasingly impor-tant.Although there is abundant lit-erature about training athleteswith special considerations (10),there has been little attention fo-cused on physical training for indi-viduals with hemophilia. Strengthand conditioning' professionalsshould be aware of the special con-siderations associated with devel-oping and implementing physicaltraining programs for individualswith hemophilia. The purpose ofthis article is to briefly discuss he-mophilia, as well as resistancetraining for individuals with hemo-philia, while focusing on the impli-cations for strength and condition-ing professionals.