Physiotherapy is a relatively familiar service to most people, however the work carried out by the sports physiotherapists at Sports Institute Northern Ireland (SINI) entails more than you might normally think.
The physiotherapy team at SINI have each spent considerable time specialising in sports medicine and have a wealth of experience working with a range of sports at all levels.
Rather than someone you see when things go wrong, a sports physiotherapist works with the athlete, coach and other members of the service team to help improve the quality and efficiency of movement and in doing so help to minimise the risk of injury.
Preventing injury is a complex process that involves a detailed understanding of the sport and its relative risk factors. Sometimes this can be quite obvious, for example there are injuries known as “jumper’s knee”, “tennis elbow”, and “swimmer’s shoulder”. Certain injuries are definitely more common in certain sports – groin injuries in football are a good example. The difficult part however is identifying why these injuries are occurring in the first place and what, if anything, can be done to reduce the likelihood of sustaining such injuries.
Using groin injuries in football as an example, the process of reducing injury might include the following. Firstly, football is a sport that is characterised by twisting and turning movements; there is a lot of stopping and starting and, of course, kicking. All these types of movement place a lot of strain on the groin - add to this the unpredictable nature of the sport and the fact that there is an opponent to deal with and injury risk starts to increase.
Beyond this, many footballers have a high training volume which can cause overload and fatigue; add a reduction in fitness, lack of strength or restriction of movement around the lower back of hip joints and you have an individual who is at high risk of groin injuries. These problems could be further compounded by poor technique.
Working to reduce the risk of groin injuries in football, the physiotherapists at SINI will initiate a programme that aimed at increasing the mobility of the lower back and hips, improving strength and enhancing overall fitness. In order to do this, it is necessary for the physiotherapist to liaise closely with the strength and conditioning coaches to ensure that the training programme being carried out is tailored to the specific requirements of that individual. Similarly, the physiotherapist will spend time with the sports scientists testing the footballer to determine their level of fitness; this might take the form of a laboratory test or a field test where various aspects of fitness such as heart rate and speed are monitored. From this, a specific programme to address the particular needs of the athlete is developed.
Work to achieve technical improvement is also carried out in close conjunction with the coach who provides the necessary expertise relating to the best possible technique. Often the physiotherapists will tie-in with the performance analyst who will capture video footage of the athlete. This footage is then analysed and the performance of the athlete compared with the best in the world. From this the physiotherapist will devise a series of specific exercises and treatments to help the athlete carry out the movement in a more technically perfect way. These exercises often involve very precise movements designed to train the body to control movement more effectively.
As the process continues the physiotherapist will work with the footballer on the pitch and incorporate the exercises into sport-specific drills and movements; at all times the coach’s input is invaluable and helps ensure the athlete not only reduces the risk of injury but actually enhances performance.
Other aspects involved in reducing injuries involve ensuring that the surfaces and equipment used for training are appropriate (e.g. surface is not too hard or too soft) and that there is sufficient time built into the programme for recovery between sessions. Often aspects outside of sport can have an influence on the incidence of injury. For example, if an athlete is working, various stresses such as prolonged seated posture, time management and working stresses can have a huge influence on injury. Psychological stresses are also a key factor and as such the physiotherapist will also liaise closely with lifestyle management and sports psychology in the management and prevention of injury.
As you can see the prevention of injury is a central part of the sports physiotherapists’ work here at SINI. It is a complex process that involves input from every part of the service team in order to ensure that our athletes spend less time injured and more time competing.
