Are old injuries still niggling and hindering your performance?

The soccer, AFL and rugby seasons are now upon us. Many local clubs have begun their preseason training and trial games. As a result, we have started seeing a flurry of lower limb injuries especially in and around the joints of the knee, ankle and hip. Injuries in these areas are related to muscular tears above and below the joints mentioned. One of the best indicators of whether a player will sustain a stain or injury is if they have already had an injury in that same area in the past.

Fulton et al. indicated that 'Re‐injury was suggested to be associated with deficits in neuromuscular factors.2,3,18,21,26 , these factors could be more commonly termed as neural pathways. So, if you had a hamstring strain last year then you will be at a higher risk this year and it could be the way your nervous system is sending information on from your brain to your hamstring that is the problem.

SAFE TRAIN is a sport specific program that can target these past season injuries and improve the way your central nervous system or brain communicates with your muscles. For example, we ask the gluteus muscles to cue on and engage prior to using them in a squat as the hip moves through different ranges. We also ask the speed of contraction to be varied and an example would be speed drills with resistance bands. What we have developed is SAFE way to TRAIN that will develop strength, power and speed that is specific for sport. If you are interested in this type of safe training or if you have old injuries that still niggle and hinder your performance, then make a time with us and we will get it sorted.

Read more: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4196323/