What separates the elite from THE ELITE? All the things that go on behind the scenes to make sure they can perform time and time again!
When you think about what makes the top athletes and teams successful, you probably think about skill, strength, power, agility, speed etc., and you’re right. These things are integral to performing at the top level. But I bet you don’t think about their injury prevention programs… you should!
Have you ever noticed, that the athletes and teams at the top are the ones that aren’t injured, and when they are injured, they’re no longer at the top? Seems obvious right, how can you perform at your best if you’re carrying an injury? Being able to prevent injuries, or at the very least limit their severity, has a massive impact on being able to perform time and time again.
And in more recent years this has become a large topic of conversation in elite sport and has sparked a lot of key research. A 2013 UEFA study by Hagglund et al. (2013) found that lower injury burden (p=0.011) were associated with a higher final league ranking. Similarly, lower injury burden (p<0.001) was associated with increased average points per league match. During the 2015/2016 season Leicester City defied odds to win the league, they also had the smallest injury burden, with the least days lost due to injury!
Furthermore, do you remember all those things I mentioned at the start.. strength, speed, agility, power…? A solid injury prevention program can actually improve all of those things! If you’d like to start implementing an injury prevention program into your training regimen, there are already plenty of quality programs out there that you can start using. If you want something tailored to your individual needs or the needs of your team, contact a Bounce Physiotherapy Balcatta Physio, and start reaping the benefits!
