Injury prevention is a widely explored topic in the sporting community. However, in reality injuries inevitably happen. What are some things we can do to help reduce your risk of injury?
ScreeningÂ
Athlete screening involves measuring muscle strength, joint range of movement and functional movement quality or capacity.
It can:Â
Identify injury risk factors
Provide baseline data for comparison
Identify past injury historyÂ
It can’t:Â
Predict injury
Stay on top of nigglesÂ
It is not uncommon to have soreness or to play through minor injuries, but these may be a warning sign to a more significant injury.
A study by Whalan et al. (2020) found that 68% of all injuries that caused players to miss game time followed a problem which was not treated or reported beforehand.Â
This included 90% of hamstring injuries and 94% of knee injuries.
Primary Prevention StrategiesÂ
Primary prevention aims to prevent or reduce the risk of injuries before they occur.
We can implement programs such as the ‘Football Australia Perform+’ to address the ‘big ticket items’ or most significant injuries in our sport.
In football (soccer), these include ACL rupture, hamstring strain, ankle sprain and hip/groin injuries (Whalan et al, 2019)
Speak to us at Body Fit Physiotherapy for guidance on what you can do to help reduce the risk of injury and keep you on the playing field.Â
Luke ChetcutiÂ
Sports PhysiotherapistÂ
Body Fit PhysiotherapyÂ