Reducing, preventing injuries an ongoing challenge for trainer Chuck Barta

The Twins in 2022 set a team record for most injuries despite extensively resting players and recently expanding their medical staff.

Injuries and ailments in professional sports are inevitable and pivotal. With reasonable health this season, the Twins probably would have made the playoffs. Instead, they finished six games below .500.

You could blame the Twins' medical staff, but they have hired people renowned in their field, including Dr. Christopher Camp, who became their medical director and Director of High Performance in 2020.

Chuck Barta became an athletic trainer for the Minnesota Vikings in 1988, and has been the Minnesota Lynx's head trainer since 2007. I've known and trusted him since we met in 1990.

His career predates MRIs. We both remember when athletes thought drinking beer the night before a game was an effective way to "carb load.''

"I remember when you'd go into a pregame meal and everyone was eating steak and eggs, and lots of fatty stuff,'' Barta said. "Now we realize that you need less fat, some protein, and more carbs. Now we are looking at micronutrients and doing bloodwork to see what an individual really needs. Yes, things have changed quite a bit.''

Barta has faced two different challenges — working with NFL players who played 16 games over four months, and WNBA stars who play year-round.

He found that established players had a lower incidence of serious injury, because they didn't need to strain every day to keep their jobs, and they know how to manage their workload.

With the Lynx, he found that players, especially when overseas, determined their own health with their nutritional and rest habits.

Other points Barta made during a long conversation:

Barta pointed to Sylvia Fowles as an example of a player who extended her career through self-care. "She paid attention to the littlest details,'' Barta said.

I covered Kirby Puckett, who never worked out in the winter and never went on the disabled list until he contracted glaucoma, and I've covered athletes who invested heavily in offseason workout programs and afterward became injury prone.

That may be why Byron Buxton — the Twins' fastest runner and most powerful hitter, and someone who works out extensively in the offseason — has suffered a variety of injuries.