Reducing the Risk of Injury Through Athlete Management

Many athletes work hard in the off-season preparing for their sport, honing their skills, and strengthening their bodies. The mantra “Bigger, Stronger, Faster” is common in the world of athletics. While proper training can help improve athletic performance, athletes and coaches often cite injury prevention as one of the biggest reasons for off-season conditioning. There are many misconceptions surrounding injury prevention and unfortunately there is no training program that will prevent all sports injuries.

Injury prevention programs have become popular and while these programs offer a great opportunity to strengthen muscles and teach the athlete body control, their ability to prevent acute sports injuries is weak at best. These programs may help reduce the overall risk of injuries in large groups of athletes but their effect on an individual athlete’s risk is small. For example: A team of 20 female soccer players would have to perform injury prevention programs for 10 seasons to prevent 1 anterior cruciate ligament injury. This does not mean there is no value to injury prevention programs, however, the main goal should be to improve performance during play with a secondary goal of reducing the risk of overuse injuries.

Many injuries athletes sustain do not come from one instant, but rather they occur over time. Chronic overuse injuries occur when there is too much stress on the body without proper rest to allow the body to repair. This can happen because the athlete is not properly conditioned for the sport they are participating in, but it can also happen if an athlete is participating in too many activities at the same time. Nowadays it is not uncommon for athletes to play an in-season sport, an out-of-season sport, and do additional physical activities on top of that. It is important that athletes understand that they need time to rest and allow their bodies to heal.

Coaches also play a role in injury risk reduction. While every coach wants their team to be in the best shape possible, they must realize that cannot “whip” their team into shape. While conditioning is important for athletes, extra conditioning can negatively impact athletes’ health and performance. As the season advances, it is important for coaches to understand the importance of rest. A well-timed day off or a light skill oriented practice could be more beneficial to team success than the old “grind it out” mentality.

For coaches and athletes preparation begins when the past season has ended. Adequate rest, appropriate strength training, and proper cardiovascular conditioning are all aspects needed to prepare for a sports season. Athlete management is a year round plan and will vary depending on the athlete. Athletes need an appropriate balance of fitness, strength and recovery. When done appropriately this is the best way to prevent injuries.

Matt Howland, ATC, and Tyler White, ATC, are Athletic Trainer’s at iSPORT and the Vermont Orthopaedic Clinic, departments of Rutland Regional Medical Center. Matt is the head Athletic Trainer at Mill River Union High School and Tyler is the Head Athletic Trainer at Rutland High School.