Can GPS Tracking Prevent Injuries....?

So the domestic football season has finally come to an end, and if you are a good premiership club you are looking to address the injuries that your players sustained over the course of the last season, and to try and prevent them from happening again next season... But how exactly do you achieve that? Well Arsenal FC will be GPS tracking all of their players in future to find out.

The theory is that Arsenal will be able to ascertain the fatigue levels of their players by monitoring how far and fast they run during each training session, and the length of time the player has his foot on the floor during the stance phase of their running gate (load data). Essentially if the player is in good shape he will be on his toes and will be moving around quickly, and if the player is tired then their movement will be slower and their load data will increase indicating that the player is potentially at risk of being injured.

The system which is similar to one being used in aussie rules will take some time to get up and running as they will need to establish the players normal level of activity and how this changes during training and matches but if it helps predict or reduce the incidence of injury then it is a great idea. Whilst it may be some time before the benefits of this system are realised it is a bold step, it shows the dedication and investment that top flight clubs are prepared to make to reduce their ever lengthening injury lists. Will this system result in players being rested for matches based on their poor performance in training? Probably yes, and herein lies the crux of the issue with this system – are all players’ consummate professionals who always give 100% in training? No. But they will soon learn that with this system that there is nowhere to hide.

On a similar theme AC Milan have invested in perhaps the most advanced multipurpose medical centre on the planet, which they use to maintain the players’ fitness and to detect any potential injuries. As well as the more normal sports therapy/physiotherapy practitioners they have specialist’s from the fields of neurology, biochemistry, psychology, dentistry and chiropractic that contribute to overall well being of the players. The psychological element is very interesting as there is lot of evidence to suggest that there is a psychological factor involved in injury and it is less common for sports psychologists to work in football than other sports.

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Back in the saddle...

Having realised somewhat belatedly that my sports first aid had run out I am now re-accredited and ready to work again. Having endured a lot of games in terrible weather since the turn of the year it was great to have a glorious day of sunshine yesterday for Glebe FC's 2-1 victory over Welling FC who have one of the best youth set ups in semi pro football. During the time that I wasn't working unfortunately Glebe's title ambitions have come unstuck but it was a good result yesterday and one that will hopefully help us finish second in the league.


Inevitably I am now starting to think about my next steps as a Sports Therapist as I only have another 45 days left as student. Scary thought. Including the foundation year I will have been a student for 5 years and I am more than ready to rejoin the world of work. At least until I find the masters course that I want to do...


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Another Blue Day...

 Another difficult day for Portsmouth FC fans - not only does the loss to Spurs leave them one game away from relegation they have a lost a further three players to injury. It is too early to tell at this stage but it looks like the injury to Hermann Hreidarsson is quite serious. After the game Harry Redknapp told the BBC "that the players heard his Achilles snap like a gunshot". Several structures can cause loud sounds when they are injured so it is difficult to gauge what is injured at this stage - we'll update you in due course. 

Avram Grant praised the  excellent work being done by the medical staff (are they being paid?) in the light of the fact that they have lost seven players to injury this week alone and they currently have 11 first team players out injured. They only managed to name 13 first team players today so unless David James and Danny Webber only have minor knocks that leaves them with only 10 recognised players for the next game. Not a good week to be a Pompey fan.


We wish Herman Hreidarsson a speedy recovery and a better week for Portsmouth fans. 

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Time Flies....

It has only been a couple of months but what a difference it makes. Gone are the days of three matches a week instead it is 0 games (well it should be 1 but as my Sports First Aid Certificate has run out….) statistical analysis and dissertation time. Oh for the happy days of January. A lot has happened in the intervening period; David Beckham has torn his Achilles tendon, the Six Nations has been and gone, Glebe FC are top of the league and I’ve seen some really interesting injuries. Most recently I’ve observed a stress fracture of the pars interarticularis in a young cricket player who presented with classic symptoms: unilateral low back pain, pain aggravated by lumbar extension, pain on extension whilst standing on the affected leg and pain/tenderness on palpation. Doesn't get much more textbook than that. 


What is more interesting with this case and some of the others I have seen recently (hamstring avulsion, grade 3 ACL tear and a meniscus tear) is the issue of referral for diagnostic imaging to confirm the diagnosis. Almost without fail each case has been knocked back by their GP and their local A&E department despite the referral from their physiotherapist. This shows the dichotomy in the treatment of elite performers who are rushed off to see the clubs preferred specialist within days of injury and the weekend warriors who have to wait weeks or months for referrals to be acknowledged and acted upon…By next week we are hoping for some better news.

Good to see some high profile publicity for Sports Therapy of late with London Metropolitan Alumna Jo Denby on show on BBC Three looking after Eddie Izzard on his epic Sport Relief journey around the British Isles and sports therapist Ellie Steele discussing David Beckham's tendon reconstruction on the BBC.  We're taking over!

Oh and good luck to everyone at uni in their last semester - almost there!

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Zamora Dislocates Clavicle

 

Zamora being helped from the pitch.

Fulham FC striker Bobby Zamora has reportedly dislocated his right clavicle (AC Dislocation) in Fulham's midweek game against Stoke.

 

Zamora following the challenge by Stoke's Abdoulaye Faye

Having personally had the misfortune of having this injury I can vouch for the pain he is feeling. Although I can say I enjoyed the laughing gas they gave me! The AC joint is a common site of injury amongst athletes however I have not seen it reported so often in football. Having said that Zamora is the second Fulham FC striker to dislocate his clavicle in 6 months.

 I was disappointed to see that Zamora walked off the pitch with his arm unsupported, compare that to Nani's shoulder dislocation last year and you see a different approach. They have not mentioned the severity of the injury and from the photo's you cannot see if he has the marked step deformity that typifies this injury. 

If Zamora is lucky enough to have a grade I or II injury he should be fit to return in 6-8 weeks, however if he has a grade III-VI he will need  surgery to reduce the joint and enable the ligaments to heal. 

 A typical AC surgical fixation.

I had a grade IV dislocation and surgery was required however I don't imagine Zamora will need to wait 18 months for both his operations like I did. We wish Zamora all the best for his rehabilitation.


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End of the Line

You don’t hear about career ending injuries so much anymore thanks to the medical advances that have been made over the years and the ready availability of horse placenta… Well perhaps not the horse placenta – or maybe there’s something I’m missing here? More about horse placenta another time.

West Ham and England striker Dean Ashton has recently announced his retirement from football at just 26 having failed to recover from a chronic ankle injury. Ashton originally broke his left ankle in 2006 during an England training session (following a heavy challenge from Shaun Wright-Phillips) and subsequently missed the entire 2006/7 season.

He returned to play 35 games in 2007/8 and made his England debut under Fabio Capello, however in training for the new season in September 2008 he sustained a further ankle injury that has led to his recent retirement. Ashton underwent 5 operations in a bid to prolong his career and is still unable to walk properly despite extensive rehabilitation and independent medical advice. We wish Ashton all the best for the future.

Rumors in the press over recent days have suggested that Ashton may be looking to take legal action against Wright-Phillips for ending his career. Unfortunately the precedent for legal action of this type is already there. Most recently it was seen in the case of the Manchester United player Ben Colett who was awarded £4.3 million following a career ending challenge from Middlesbrough's Gary Smith despite not being a first team player.

What I found unsettling about all this is that it has filtered down to the ambulance chasers (did someone say no win no fee?) who actively advertise on their sites about how dangerous sport is and how you can claim for an injury you have received. Not good.

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The Life of an Injured Football Player

An interesting account of Jamie Redknapp's time on and off the treatment table... Some good experiences and some bad ones as well - it all makes interesting reading.

Also in a similar vein Michael Gray writes a blog for the BBC and there are some interesting injury related stories - the recent story about his hamstring rehab is interesting.

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Round Up

Cambridge had a great result this week taking us back to the top of the table after an injury time winner gave us victory over derby rivals Dulwich Hamlet. We lost two them twice last season so revenge is sweet!  

We still have several players with long term injuries though and this week in the clinic this week I had the opportunity to watch an assessment of one player who is awaiting surgery on a medial meniscus tear and another who has has just finished his rehabilitation for a dislocated patella and now has a prepatellar bursitis. The bursitis has responded well to treatment and the player should be back in training next week looking for his first start of the season.

Prepatellar Bursitis

Two more rugby matches today but both of them were very quiet so basically I just got paid to watch rugby in the sunshine - it doesn't get much better than that! Only downside was the south London traffic - absolute nightmare today. League Cup quarter final tomorrow with Glebe - a win there would round of a good week. 

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Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit flying first class

Some interesting stories in the press over recent days none more so than Frank Lampard’s apparent plane injury, but I have to reserve special mention for Rangers striker Kris Boyd who apparently fractured his skull by sneezing. I kid you not. It couldn’t possibly have been the clash of heads in his last game - it was definitely the sneeze! I’m always interested in seeing what injuries players have but it is often difficult to establish what is really going on when you have stories like this printed.

Much quieter week for me this week which is good as I get to catch up on my uni work and relax a little more. Only the one game (Glebe FC vs VCD Athletic) as Cambridge’s game was postponed and I’m not on rugby duty this weekend. Glebe have started the season well and although they are only a small club they have big ambitions and this is shown in the professionalism of the players and coaching staff alike. Gillingham FC midfielder Luke Rooney (no relation to Wayne) is on the coaching staff and it is really positive for the players to have a young professional involved. It is a different challenge for me working with such a young age group (u15) but it is one that I enjoy and have had to adapt to, and as ever having to learn twenty odd new names presents its own challenge! 


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