GAA Players – Reducing Injury & Increasing Performance
As the game has evolved, players are finding a greater need to perform with increased flexibility and physical fitness to keep them competing to the highest standards. But with this pressure to increase performance there is a higher risk of overtraining and injury, as well as the stress this can put on the players minds.
Reducing injury
We see our fair share of young players suffering from musculoskeletal injuries caused by sprains and strain most of which resulted from not stretching properly or from overtraining. Sports injury in a young person is as problematic as with adults and every injury should be given the proper care. Some of the most common injuries we see from GAA players include:
Hamstring injuries
Ankle sprains
Groin strains
Shin splints
Overtraining
Overtraining is when athletes are required to do too much. This can be both mental and physical. To avoid this, there must be a balance between encouraging the players to compete and not pushing them beyond their limits, especially for young players. Pushing too hard will lead to sports injuries and exhaustion that can cause a burn-out.
GAA players also know that sports injuries are often the result of poor training practices and lack of warm-up, cool down and stretching, and they must adopt techniques to overcome serious injury.
Increasing performance
As our joints are tightly held together, the room in which they can range in motion (ROM) is defined by how much 'extra give' is created during stretching. Increasing your ROM will help improve and build physical performance. The practice of Pilates exercises helps increase muscle strength and joint flexibility and is adopted by many successful clubs and sports individuals in Ireland.
One of the many measures adopted by sports physio is to increase muscle flexibility in GAA training sessions. This means that, during warm up and cool down exercises (as preparation with all physical activity), there is a dedicated time allowed to perform a full range of body stretching. Because individual players will have different needs to accommodate previous injuries or muscle complaints, they will require custom warm-ups to suit them.
At Ballsbridge Physiotherapy Clinic we believe that greater flexibility through the adoption of dedicated stretching exercises can increase performance and also prevent injuries. Many leading clubs have adopted stretching and pilates into training and exercises, employing professional sports physiotherapists to help with player performance.
Sports Clinic
Our sports clinic is lead by David Richards and Elizabeth Bovich. Together they have an extensive sports background with high level athletes in Ireland and the USA.