There is nothing more frustrating for a player, parent or coach when someone succumbs to injury and has to miss games and training sessions. The financial cost to the injured player and the impact on lifestyle and the team can been enormous and can take a significant time to resolve. However, if we can predict the chances of developing a specific injury, and then develop an exercise program aiming at preventing injuries, wouldn’t that be great! Well, the good news is that we can!
This is where a physical screening test comes in. The screening test uses sports specific physical testing to ascertain the player’s preparedness for that sport. We can examine research data to identify any limitations in that player that could predispose them to injury. Furthermore, the assessment can obtain base data for a player that can be used to:
- Uncover previous and current injuries which can be managed with a tailored exercise program and preventing further injury.
- Develop a more complete physical profile of the players in the team so that individualised programs can be developed for different fitness levels.
- Reassess over time to monitor differences that are important in growing athletes and those that have a period of high or low training load (for instance at the start of a pre-season, and then to reassess at the end of pre-season).
- Assess the effectiveness of current training programs on the physical attributes that have been found through research to correlate to injury development.
If you have any questions about the above, feel free to call the clinic and ask a Physio for advice or for a FREE Initial assessment.