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Issues with Soft Tissues?
Shane O'Sullivan • May 13, 2021
In the heat of battle there is a turnover. Your teammate intercepts the ball.
You stream down the wing for a fast play, working through the gears to get ahead of your opponent.
Wow, its been a while since you got to this speed. It’s exhilarating! The goals are in sight and the ball enters your possession.
💥TWANG! 💥
Sharp pain in the hamstring, must slow down...
Soft tissue injuries are a common part of field sports, where the opportunity exists for athletes to express their high- speed running capabilities. Thigh strains represent 17% of all injuries in in elite male footballers (1).
Given this burden it is reasonable to suggest we need to find ways to reduce soft tissue injury risk.
A recent consensus statement was gathered from 21 experts in the field of elite sport, concluding the
two most effective strategies to reduce the risk of soft tissue injury:
Use sprinting as a vaccine
The human body has a remarkable capacity to build tolerance to external stressors. Subjecting the muscles of the leg to high speed running creates adaptation at a physiological level. Some factors that you might consider when using sprinting as a preventative tool:
- Work out how much sprinting will be needed at ‘competition peak’- eg 4x30m max speed efforts per quarter – You can do this roughly by observation but a GPS system is best practice if available.
- Ensure a progressive block of sprint training in the lead up to competition - What we typically know as a ‘pre-season’ you need at least 4-6 weeks to get to the pinnacle.
- Schedule high speed running - Allow adequate rest days between high speed running bouts , 3-4 days is adequate.
- Don’t be an outlier! - The longer you are not high speed running, the longer it takes to climb the mountain! If you have an injury in season where it is safe to continue high speed running eg hand injury, do it!
Eccentric exercise
This involves working a muscle while its lengthening.
Click here for some exercise ideas.
Factors to consider when designing an eccentric program:
- Dosage - Recent evidence has highlighted that as little as 2 sets of 4 reps can positively effect muscle architecture & strength.
- Frequency - Pending time of season: preseason might involve 2-3 sessions/ wk, in-season would reduce to 1x per week to allow for more recovery from competition.
- Timing - Understanding these exercises are quite demanding on the muscle system, they can create some post exercise soreness (DOMs) – These exercises need to be scheduled away from competition (ie 3 days post game) and preferable to not occur prior to a high intensity training/ sprinting session. (better to do post training).
- Intensity - Find the level of exercise where you can complete 5-6 reps working at around a 7/10 intensity for the final reps.
Get into a rhythm with your training weeks – Map out your high- speed running / training days and scatter the eccentric strength program around these.
Having a consistently scheduled program of high- speed running and eccentric exercises is the secret behind avoiding soft tissue injuries.
If you have had issues with soft tissues, our expert sports Physios can help design a program and keep you out on the track!
Ekstrand J, Hägglund M, Waldén M. Injury incidence and injury patterns in professional football: the UEFA injury study. Br J Sports Med. 2011 Jun;45(7):553-8. doi: 10.1136/bjsm.2009.060582. Epub 2009 Jun 23. PMID: 19553225.
McCall, A., Pruna, R., Van der Horst, N. et al. Exercise-Based Strategies to Prevent Muscle Injury in Male Elite Footballers: An Expert-Led Delphi Survey of 21 Practitioners Belonging to 18 Teams from the Big-5 European Leagues. Sports Med 50, 1667–1681 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-020-01315-7
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