With the footy season just around the corner, here are some tips on how to get through this footy season, and hopefully into the final series, uninjured.
The number one cause of a “sniper” injury on the sporting field is poor preparation. The player will be running along with no opponent in sight when they fall to the floor screaming in pain. No matter the injured body part, they all have something in common: fatigue. Although no one enjoys pre-season, it is important to become fit for the level in which you are competing at, and maintain that fitness right through the season.
Being one of the first to arrive at training for strapping duty; I see the keener players geared up and working on their conversion attempts. More often than not, while the remaining team begins a warm up, the first to arrive are first to line up for physiotherapy treatment. Turning on the heater in the car does not count as a warm up. Before any sport, a 10 minute warm up is essential to get the blood pumping around to muscles, improve flexibility and reaction time.
pain that does not resolve is the body’s way of communicating that there is something wrong
In my experience both playing and working around a sporting environment a common phrase I often hear is “no pain, no gain”. I can agree that some soreness is expected when muscles are breaking down, rebuilding and becoming stronger. However pain that does not resolve is the body’s way of communicating that there is something wrong. Too many times have I seen players ignoring “a niggle” for many weeks, which has become a serious injury requiring weeks of rest that could have been avoided if addressed early on.
