Newcastle Jets physiotherapist Rob Dingle looks at the importance of player screening when it comes to injury prevention.
Moving forward with the first phase of our pre-season one of the main areas we look at with the players are the screenings.
On top of standard medical and musculoskeletal screenings that the players perform, we also perform a specific functional screening.
The functional screening is a ‘global analysis- aimed at highlighting problem areas in the players. The main areas that we are looking at are:
-Movement restrictions
-Muscle asymmetries
-Lumbo-pelvic stability
Once the players have been screened we can then look at developing specific strengthening and mobility programs aimed at addressing highlighted problem areas.
The individualised approach is very important when it comes to injury prevention.
Moving forward in the pre-season the intensity of training will be increasing.
With the team looking to play an up-tempo energetic style of play it will be imperative that the players- bodies are in the best physical condition that they can be.
This will enable them to cope with the training loads and be effective with their performance on the pitch.
The players are reassessed throughout the pre-season to make sure they are progressing in the right direction and to also make sure they are not becoming overloaded and regressing in certain areas.
This is one piece of the puzzle to help ensure we are able to allow the players to train and compete at peak performance week-in, week-out.
Rob Dingle
(Newcastle Jets Head Physiotherapist)
