I know what I am about to say will be somewhat controversial, but I am going to say it anyways. You cannot prevent injuries from happening if you are going to play in competitive sports or even participate in recreation for just the fun of it. The speed of the game, the forces applied and sustained during games and training, the time between games and training episodes and a multitude of other factors influence the possibility of sustaining an injury.
Injury prevention programs have been developed as a method of reducing injuries; not preventing them from ever happening. The influx of injury prevention programs has garnered a lot of attention and rightly so. However, a deeper dive into these programs and what the actually do is incredibly important. Are they truly designed to "prevent injury" or are they focused on limiting the incidences of injury, decreasing the level of injury and promoting the prospect of faster recovery from an injury?
First and foremost, I present the idea that these programs are important and should in some form or another be a part of a more global and thoughtful program for all our athletes regardless of the sport. However, we need to redefine them as programs that center around limiting the occurance of severe injury and limiting the possibility of our athletes sustaining a consequential injury such as an ACL tear. Programs that are focused on flexibility, strength, balance and more specifically neurological training, and fitness/conditioning can be paramount in how are athletes can stay healthy and be contributing members of their respective teams.
The speed of most sports have increased. That is, the speed of our athletes, the speed at which events occur on the field or court and the speed that is required to be sustained over time within a game have all increased. This includes the speed at which objects are coming at the athlete (i.e. baseballs, opponents, soccer balls). This increased speed during game situations means that the forces needed to be competitive and the forces that our athletes are producing and experiencing have also increased.
Athletes are expected to be able to sustain their activity over a longer period of time. The pressing that is asked for during a soccer match over a 90 minute period is a good example of this. Teams are often asked to press their opponent consistently and upon certain triggers throughout a 90 minute period of normal play. This requires the increased ability to produce force and sustain activity on and off for multiple times during a game.
Multiple games in a weekend, multiple training episodes of intense activity and tournament play have increased. This requires our athletes to be able to recover multiple times within smaller and smaller windows. This increased request of activity within these small windows is dependent upon the ability of the athlete to properly recover and the coach's ability to foster this recovery.
There are some main takeaways that we can do to limit the possibility of injury and potentially limit the severity of that injury.
1. Establish a baseline of physical ability. Testing an athlete prior to the onset of a season will give the necessary information to discover the strengths and weaknesses of the athlete.
2. Establish a strength program that not only highlights the strengths of your athletes, but improves upon physical weakness that puts an athlete vulnerable to potential injury events. These strength programs should be continued throughout the season and adapted to a training and game schedule and all athletes should be engaged in a strength program in the off-season.
3. Establish a flexibility program that addresses soft tissue limitations that may contribute to the inability to absorb or produce the forces needed during sport.
4. Develop a program to properly correct for technical faults during sprinting and change of direction acts.
5. Instruct and promote a warm up program that is applicable for the sport and invites movements that prepares the athlete for the impending training session or game. This is not a workout. It should be designed to prepare the athlete and capitalize on what is done in the strength, fitness and flexibility programs.
6. Develop age/competition appropriate fitness programs that follows the "ramp up" concept. Athletes are expected to be physically fit enough to not only train properly, but compete at higher and higher levels over longer periods of time. This program should be coordinated with the game schedule and all athletes should be engaged in a program during the off-season that implements such a program.
7. A nutritional program, or at the very least, nutritional guidelines should be established to provide our athletes with the proper energy sources to be able to compete and train. Each athlete should be considered individually and adjustments should be made depending upon availability, financial concerns and game/training schedules as well as accommodating for food sensitivities. Proper nutrution is energy/fuel for sport.
8. Establish a rest and recovery program or guidelines for your athletes. On average, athletes need 8-9 hours of sleep for proper recover between matches. Recovery can be active and can be incorporated into a training session.
9. Establish a relationship with a local physical therapist with specialization or emphasis in sport rehab. This will allow you to address any injuries quickly.
10. Do not shy away from addressing the topic of injury with your athletes. Competitive or driven athletes are drawn to not want to let any know they are injured. Tough guy/girl syndrome. However, the faster you can discuss, assess and treat an injury the faster they can recover and return the athlete to their sport.
Injuries are part of sport. They can not be eliminated but they can be minimized and you can set your athletes up for greater success if you have a plan or if you reach out to someone who can help navigate the situation and help guide you and your athlete(s) through it. Be ELITE in your processes and ELITE in the care of your athletes.
Questions? Do not hesitate to contact us directly on how we can help you reach your ELITE LEVEL!
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