Sports clubs and players are being urged to ensure they are match fit before they hit the court or field as coronavirus restrictions ease and Australians return to normal life.
While many Australians have been walking, running and cycling to maintain their fitness during quarantine, this doesn’t mean you’re ready to go straight back into a local footy, basketball, netball or soccer game. A carefully planned return to competitive sport will help avoid common sports injuries to hamstrings, knees, ankles and hips/groins.
Maintaining general fitness from running and walking is great while competitive sport hasn’t been possible, but we need to remind all teams and players that they need to return to sport gradually when restrictions ease.
Participating in injury reduction programs that involve a combination of targeted strength, agility and balance exercises can decrease hamstring injuries as well as reduce knee, ankle and hip/groin injuries. Research shows ACL injuries can be reduced by 50% and overall injuries by 30%, in both male and female sportspeople.
Sports clubs and individuals are recommended to consult with their local physio or exercise physiologist to help put together a graded return to sport training plan, or to work with coaches to implement adequate injury prevention training.
Most people are itching to get back out onto the field or court and be with teammates, but we can’t just jump straight back into high speed running, agility and contact activities and expect we’ll be fine. We need to return gradually. With proper training, we can avoid injuries that may sideline us for the rest of the season or have more serious long term consequences.
If you would like more information, please contact one of the friendly staff at Whittlesea Physiotherapy on 03 9716 2250 or [email protected]