Millions of youngsters will soon return to playing fields and gymnasiums as fall sports begin. Sport injuries will inevitably follow, some by the very nature of sport, but many injuries occur because participants are unprepared. Many injuries can be prevented by proper preparation. Coaches are pressured to teach technique, tactics, and strategy to prepare for competition, leaving little time for injury prevention. Unfortunately, coaches and personal trainers are often not trained in injury prevention, and many coaches do not want to take their limited practice time to even do so.
It remains true, however, that the athlete who is specifically trained for competition is also better prepared to reduce injury. Early preparation for competition is one key to injury reduction. Athletes intending to participate in high school, junior high, and youth teams should be preparing now for fall participation. This means engaging in activities designed to specifically train one to be fit to play. Specificity is the key to preparation. Athletes need to be conditioned to what they will specifically do on the field or court. Forget running through tires or other barriers; there are no tires on the football field.
I often see fall athletes out jogging as their preseason training. While it may be appropriate to use jogging as a warm-up for more intense activities, jogging is not a fall sport. No fall sport involves continuous slow running. Slow training results in slow athletes. Football, soccer, tennis, volleyball, and field hockey involve quick starts and stops, direction changes, jumping, landing, and brief spurts of intense activity. Preseason should prepare one to do exactly these things.
Injuries to the lower body are more frequent, so most of the focus should be on hips, knees, and ankles. If we take a careful look at these fall sports, they all involve running, and with the exception of cross country, fall sports are interval in nature. Training should be interval. Following a warm-up, activities should gradually involve high speed running and all the activities involved in the specific sport. Field hockey players should train with their stick and soccer players should intersperse kicking with running. The duration of the intervals should replicate the game, longer intervals for soccer, shorter for football.
Several common injuries, such as sprained ankles, knees, and torn hamstrings, need special attention. Tearing the ACL in the knee is the most serious. Since most knee injuries occur during deceleration like landing, stopping, and turning, practice these basic movements repeatedly aiming for balanced landings and controlled stops. Many knee injuries happen when the body is supported by one leg, so practice hopping on one leg — forward and sideways. Train both legs. Create your own little agility course requiring fast turns, sliding side to side, and backward. The FIFA website for their injury prevention warm-up is a good source.
Sprained ankles are the most common sport injury. If needed, support your weak ankles by OTC canvas ankle supports. Wobble boards are great for ankle stability and balance. Be sure to use a 360 degree board. The jumping and landing activities also strengthen ankles. To help prevent hamstring strains, perform the Nordic (or Russian) hamstring exercise. This is an excellent activity to prevent hamstring strains. Running backward is a good hamstring strengthener. Contrary to popular belief, there is little evidence that extensive hamstring stretching prevents hamstring tears.
If athletes are lifting weights, they should only be doing multi-joint activities like dead lifts and squats. Forget bicep curls and triceps extensions. Now is the time to work on power. Plyometric exercises develop power, but many trainers simply have athletes jump onto boxes. Plyometrics involves jumping off a box then quickly onto another. Sprint up a flight of 10-15 stairs landing every second or third step. Stabilize your trunk muscles by performing planks. Push-ups strengthen the chest and arms while serving as a front plank.
Preseason is the good time to prepare for the heat. Training in the heat allows your body to adapt. This means exercising in the heat but not necessarily in the hottest part of the day. Take frequent cold water breaks and don’t deprive water consumption. You don’t need electrolyte drinks or salt tablets, just cold water.
Occasionally, athletes are so motivated that they train too hard, resulting in overtraining syndrome. Good training requires a balance between hard work and rest. Easy training days should follow a day or two of tough workouts. Repeated hard days do not allow for recovery, leading to reduced function and injury.
Jim Johnson is a retired professor of exercise and sport science after teaching 52 years at Smith College and Washington University in St. Louis. He comments about sport, exercise, and sports medicine. He can be reached at jjohnson@smith.edu