Summer 2022 Games Ready?
Understanding the youth athlete and factors associated with risk of injury and illness
Traditional approaches to training youth athletes were based on beliefs that doing too much was detrimental to their development and that, during growth spurts, activity levels should be reduced. Recent research has shown that the risk for injury in adolescence is multifactorial. Developing a thorough understanding of the athlete and the stressors upon them is essential to successful management. This article explores how clinicians can use the known risk factors for injury to create comprehensive assessments and educate the athlete about known risks to prevent recurrence.
Angela Jackson
Acromioclavicular joint injuries in sport
While many people recognise that shoulder injury is part and parcel of participating in sport, there is often a natural focus to consider the glenohumeral joint as the shoulder when discussing such an injury. The acromioclavicular joint is an essential part of the shoulder and in some circumstances is more at risk of injury and more impactful when regarding management and return to play in some sports. This article highlights the anatomy of the acromioclavicular joint and then explores three injuries it may sustain and might be seen in sport-playing individuals. Each may present to varying members of the multidisciplinary team, therefore recognition of the injury and an understanding of the treatment options is essential to all of us who work within sport. Given that physiotherapists tend to have more contact time with patients in their rehabilitation than do surgeons, it is useful to highlight these possible injuries to the physiotherapy audience, especially as not all surgeons currently recognise these injuries and may miss the diagnosis, which can affect the athlete’s return to play. Recognition by a physiotherapist during assessment or rehabilitation of when surgery is indicated should prompt a surgical referral and ultimately aid the athlete in terms of their time away from sport.
Solomon Abrahams
Beth Sheehan
Running well and how to treat running injuries
The key to treating the patient with running injuries is in understanding their training and what they are trying to achieve. By working with the patient to identify the cause, and internal and / or external factors of their injury, the physiotherapist can help them to take control of their rehabilitation. We can also teach our patients how to release and unload tight areas and advise on functional rehabilitation programmes that are appropriate and attainable. Every patient must be looked at as a whole and not just as an injury, as this is crucial to understanding the mechanics and load involved in the activity they undertake.
Sarah Connors
Stretching effects on elite athlete performance
Stretching practices have been around for hundreds of years. The aim of stretching is to increase the range of motion (ROM) of a muscle, muscle group and / or joint. Although it is a contentious subject within sports performance and medicine, athletes and coaches still include them in warm-ups and injury management, with anecdotal evidence pertaining to the benefits of including stretching and mobility training into an athlete’s weekly training plan. With hundreds of athletes building towards the 2022 Commonwealth Games this year in Birmingham, this article will discuss the types and benefits of stretching through the lens of peer-reviewed research and real-life examples.
Michael Carolan
Allan Munro
Acromioclavicular joint injuries in sport
While many people recognise that shoulder injury is part and parcel of participating in sport, there is often a natural focus to consider the glenohumeral joint as the shoulder when discussing such an injury. The acromioclavicular joint is an essential part of the shoulder and in some circumstances is more at risk of injury and more impactful when regarding management and return to play in some sports. This article highlights the anatomy of the acromioclavicular joint and then explores three injuries it may sustain and might be seen in sport-playing individuals. Each may present to varying members of the multidisciplinary team, therefore recognition of the injury and an understanding of the treatment options is essential to all of us who work within sport. Given that physiotherapists tend to have more contact time with patients in their rehabilitation than do surgeons, it is useful to highlight these possible injuries to the physiotherapy audience, especially as not all surgeons currently recognise these injuries and may miss the diagnosis, which can affect the athlete’s return to play. Recognition by a physiotherapist during assessment or rehabilitation of when surgery is indicated should prompt a surgical referral and ultimately aid the athlete in terms of their time away from sport.
Neil Jain
The elite athlete and coach perspective on physiotherapy
In order to compete in the elite sporting arena, an athlete requires a trusted support team whose focus is to ensure that they are in peak preparedness and fitness to perform at the highest level. In this interview, world champion and Olympic finalist gymnast Joe Fraser discusses his recovery journey from a recent shoulder injury, and he and coach Lee Woolls highlight the role of physiotherapy in his return to fitness to train and compete in the forthcoming Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
Supporting the athlete from the physiotherapist perspective
Follow-up on the interview with Joe and Lee from elite athlete physiotherapist, Jonathan Bucke
Joe Fraser
Lee Woolls
Jonathan Bucke
Attending major multi-sport games events: a physiotherapist perspective
Way back at the start of my university study, I came across an editorial in the Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Sports Medicine (now the ACPSEM) publication proposing that, as attending the Olympic Games is the paramount aspiration of an athlete, it ought to be an ambition of physiotherapists working in sport. So that is what I did.