Author Archives: James Marshall

  1. Planned Performance Training: Bill Knowles

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    “Having nothing enhanced my career”

    bill knowlesBill Knowles doesn’t have any magic answers or quick fix exercises.  His approach to injury rehabilitation based on good coaching and insisting on excellence in every exercise means injured athletes getting back to competition readiness sooner.

    Knowles delivered a quite extensive review of his methods and some research on “Return to competition strategies for the load compromised athlete”. This included video clips of his athletes working and also his ideas on creating the right environment and team for athletes to excel within.

    He started out having to work with big groups of people and not much kit, so he had to innovate and adapt right from the beginning.

    Planned Performance Reconditioning (PPR) not injury rehabilitation

    Knowles started with talking about why he doesn’t use terms like “prehab” or “rehab”. These imply start and end points and a medical based model. The athlete would then walk back on to the pitch, start competition and get reinjured.

    Instead, the PPR should be an opportunity to get the athlete better and to ensure that they are stretched, challenged and engaged throughout the process. “Ultimately injury is an opportunity to become a better soccer playing athlete and potentially a better soccer player”.

    In high performance sports you should STRIVE for a better soccer player.

    In order to evaluate and plan what you are doing you need to combine Evidence Based Medicine (Science) with Experience Based Evidence (Art).

    The coaching of the rehab process was emphasised time and again, the athlete and the exercise must be coached well. “Exercise is something you do, movement is something you feel” get the athlete out of the injury and remember who they are”.

     A Joint Compromised Athlete is a Load Compromised Athlete

    JCA    injury rehabilitation        LCA

    The joint is not to be trained in isolation, it is part of the whole body and the loading has been compromised too.

    Once you are a LCA you are always an LCA. That is why you need an “Athlete Sustainability Programme”. This is something that is included throughout the year to prevent lapses.

    This is a Performance based model, compared to a Physio or Medical based model: they are not experts in planning performance training.

    This was a theme that came up several times over the conference (And Rob Newton mentioned this at the RFU conference too about Australian sport) where teams are now letting physios lead training sessions with “Pilates” or “core” and wondering why they are not performing on the pitch!

     “It’s a brain injury dude”

    Knowles explained something called “Arthrogenic Muscle Inhibition” (AMI) which is the change of the sensory receptors due to injury. This results in an inability to completely contract a muscle.

    This is a bilateral situation: Quadricep activation deficits of 7-26% in the unaffected limb have been measured. After an ACL injury the athlete is more likely to tear the opposite knee, and more likely to get reinjured than the non injured athlete.

    The AMI is severe in the short term, plateaus at about 6 months, and slowly declines over the next 18-33 months! So, training the rest of the body is important to prevent that getting weaker too. This must be continued for nearly 3 years!

    The brain has to be worked and rehabbed too: so lots of new challenges, games and activities must be included to ensure the athlete is ready to play and compete.

    “The knee bone is connected to the head bone”.

    The Central Nervous System has been affected, so this must be trained too: “It is not a race to get them back, it is a process to get them better” Gambetta.

    Envelope of healing

    The upper limit of the envelope is for the elite athlete, but too much work leads to inflammation. Too little work is safer, but it is not causing enough adaptability.

    There are no time frames for the rehab procedures, instead criteria based progressions are needed. Function leads to the next stage. For example, biologically running might be right after 8 weeks, but mechanically the loading ability isn’t ready.

    The LTAD process gets interrupted by an injury, so other areas need to be worked on during the recovery. Contact sports players need to be “toughened up” to prepare for training, others can develop volume, load or skill ability. It can be a time to “increase the player’s bandwidth” of exercise competency.

    There are so many things that can be done to “stop the bleeding of skills and mindset” when injured.  Knowles gave great examples of working with golfers and soccer players on using limited skills, or slower actions with severely injured players very early on in the rehab process.

    Summary

    It was great to see how a World Class expert in rehab works, and how he is passionate about coaching athletes.  The videos we watched and practical demonstrations we saw and did later really opened my eyes. (Physiotherapist Sarah and I discussed this when doing the rebounder exercises).

    The “Progression, Variety and Precision” that Ed Thomas talked about were very apparent in Knowles’s work.

    One of the good things about GAIN is the interaction between different professions. Everyone was learning from each other and recognising the transfer across areas.

    Come to our clinic

    If you want your sports injury rehabilitated, then you can come to our physiotherapy clinic based in Willand, Devon. Physiotherapist Sarah Marshall and myself have helped many athletes return to competition from injury.

  2. Goal setting for sport: 4 secrets to success

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    goal setting for sportHow to get better at sport

    Goal setting can be a very effective exercise , or it can be a time wasting procedure. Here are 4 secrets that will help you achieve your goals.

    Lots of the athletes I work with have done a goal setting for sport exercise with their various coaches in the summer. This can quickly become consigned to the dustbin of history once the first three matches of the season have been played.

    “Plans are the beginning of action. But competitive advantage is gained only by effective execution.” Sun Tzu

    Secret 1: Hold yourself accountable and put a review time for each goal you set into your diary.

    Other recreational athletes stumble from one week to another hoping for things to change, but never taking time to plan how. Getting sucked into the “back to school” vortex usually impedes any progress on anything apart from survival.

    “Quality does not just happen. People who believe so, are people who trust in miracles to make their way through life.  Quality excellence is an outcome of preparation and relentless practice. It is surely a given then, that there is time set aside routinely for this.” Frank Dick

    Secret 2: Set time aside for 5 minutes each week to plan on how you are going to reach your goal.

    golf fitness 3Rather than wait until the New Year, I try and get our athletes to think about how to get better now. One unfortunate truth I share with athletes is that to get better at anything takes hard work.

    “Mastery often involves working and working and showing little improvement, perhaps with a few moments of flow pulling you along, then making a little progress, and then working and working on that new, slightly higher plateau again.”  Daniel Pink: Drive

    This can be daunting at first, but setting small achievable goals and working on them until they are finished is the way forward. There is something immensely satisfying about finishing a task, no matter how small.

    “When a task is once begun,

    Never leave it until it’s done.

    If the labour’s great or small,

    Do it well, or not at all.”

    Archie Moore (light heavyweight champion of the world).

    Secret 3: Small achievable goals are the foundation of bigger ones; start and finish small goals each week.

    Olympic lifting devonUnfortunately this thing called life has a habit of throwing unexpected obstacles in our path. Very few people live in an ivory tower of just being able to do their sport with no outside responsibilities.  The rest of us have to juggle work, studying, travel, family, and financial responsibilities.

    “Something’s bound to happen to you in a tough fight, cut eye, broken nose, or broken hand or something like that. So you could make excuses out of anything, you know, but you got to keep on going if you’re a champ or a contender. This is what makes champs, I think the guys that keep fighting when they have things going against them.”

    Jake LaMotta (Middleweight champion of the world)

    Secret 4: Persevere, persevere, persevere. If you really want to get better, then you will have to learn how to keep going.

    Read our 3 part series on how to make effective changes 

  3. Improper Application and Interpretation of Sports Science Statistics

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    Juking the Stats: Why not all “research” is valid

    The latest craze in competitive sport appears to be the use of data to aid understanding of, and improvement in sporting performance. This has resulted in a glut of material, each item claiming to have established some new result which may have useful implications in the development and performance of human athletes.

    There are often studies conducted with non-athletes as well, and the line between what could be considered medical research as opposed to what is known as sports science is not clearly defined.

    I should stress that my knowledge of the field of sports science is limited, the purpose of this article is to question the structure and findings of some typical articles.

    A typical paper in this field might take the following form:

    1) Design a study with some hypothesis of interest
    2) Collect data from subjects (fitness testing)
    3) Analyse the data to check for consistency with the hypothesis
    4) Draw conclusions.

     A good statistician should be able to perform multiple roles.

    In my opinion, some of the most important are:

    1. To decide on the real questions at the heart of a problem of interest, not to just churn out results for the sake of it.
    2.  To decide if a hypothesis is necessary, and if so to construct one which is of real actual interest. Sometimes it is best to approach a problem with an open mind, in the knowledge that there are likely to be interesting results, but unsure of what they will be.
    3. To employ appropriate methods (typically statistical models) to analyse the collected data (we don’t need to get too technical here).
    4. To explain the underlying reasons behind any results – studies in which results are simply quoted as gospel are of limited interest to me.
    5. To critically review the work, pointing out potential shortcomings and areas for future research.

    The final point is perhaps the most interesting. It is often the role of a statistician to dampen (or in some cases pour cold water) on enthusiasm about some exciting results.

    Sports Science Statistics must be taken in context.

    Conclusions drawn from a study of, say, a weightlifter’s improved performance due to a certain type of training programme should not be used as an automatic basis for a different strength-based sport, such as rowing.

    I work in the field of weather forecasting. A modern-day weather forecast involves running a computer model forward in time to produce a single forecast of the atmosphere. Statistics of this forecast (such as the average forecast error) can be calculated at different locations. It is well-known that such statistics vary by location – it is more difficult to predict the weather in Shetland than in the Sahara Desert. We could not, therefore, use statistics derived from one location to predict the average forecast error in another.

    In short, statistics is about describing what might have happened in a given context, but didn’t. We can use these findings to issue probabilities of what might happen in the future, on the basis that the context is consistent.

    Forget the weather: what about sport science?

    The few articles I have read in the sports science field (in all honesty I couldn’t face reading too many!) seem to fall short on many of the above points.

    For example, Owen et al. (J Strength Cond Res, 2011) conduct a study of heart rate responses of soccer players when playing in three-sided and nine-sided games. They conclude that the HR of players in three-sided games is consistently higher than for nine-sided games. They also note that three-sided games provide more shooting chances, and encourage players to run more with the ball, whilst the nine-sided games produced more tackles, passes and interceptions.

    They draw the conclusions that three-sided games are preferable for fitness training, and suggest that strikers should participate in three-sided games whilst defenders should concentrate on nine-sided games.

    I have two main problems with this work from both a scientific and practical viewpoint.

    1. The statistics quoted in themselves should be treated with caution, given the small sample size of fifteen players who participated in only a few games of each type. Without conducting a formal test I cannot be more precise, but these measurements are undoubtedly subject to substantial variation.
    2. What insight does the study really offer us? Aren’t the findings, on which the entire article is based, merely confirmation of the obvious? It is useful here to consider the so-called `pyramid of outcomes’ .

    This study gives only surrogate measures (the base of the pyramid), but assumes in the conclusion that such surrogates automatically extend in to true performance measures (essentially whether they can be used to increase the probability of winning football matches).

    This assumption seems completely without foundation when one considers the practical implications of the study. For example, suppose that on the basis of the study, strikers train in three-sided games whilst defenders train in nine-sided games, in order to provide more shooting opportunities for strikers and more defending opportunities for defenders. Is there really any point in this? Wouldn’t three-sided games just result in strikers shooting from anywhere, and playing (by definition) against less able defensive opposition? Surely the way to improve as a striker is to learn how to play against good defenders?

    Frankly, this work smacks of conducting a study for the sake of it, and drawing conclusions based on a few surrogate measurements without paying any attention to the sport of interest.

    How to conduct a more informative study.

    1) Collect a larger sample of players from a variety of clubs, preferably from different countries.
    2) Train different groups of players in different environments, as suggested by the study.
    3) Collect surrogate measurements from the different training sessions.
    4) Examine if the surrogates had an effect on actual game results (i.e. construct a proper statistical model rather than merely reporting surrogate values).
    5) Examine whether a return to previous training routines result in a reversion to previous performance.

    A statistical model is essentially the use of surrogate measurements to aid in predicting the value of, and assessing the uncertainty in, measurements at the top of the pyramid. The article mentioned here simply assumes that larger surrogate values immediately imply improved results, an assertion which is without foundation.

    Such a study would admittedly be hard to carry out both practically and from a theoretical statistical viewpoint. However, we are dealing with complicated situations – we are essentially trying to model outcomes from the human body, an immensely complicated organism.

    This is my overriding point, studies which simply churn out results for the sake of publishing papers are of little practical use. I would go further and suggest that they are actually dangerous in the wrong hands – a statistical model is no good in the hands of an incapable operator.

    Conclusion

    From my brief consultation of the literature, I have seen many examples of a mis-use of statistics which would not be permitted in a statistics journal.

    The typical methods used are likely to underestimate the complexity of the situation at hand. I suspect therefore, that the true value of statistics such as the p-value are somewhat larger than reported.

    I feel confident in ascerting that the conclusions of the articles I have read are based on extremely shaky ground in a theoretical sense, let alone their practical shortcomings.

    Robin Williams Statistics Phd Student (University of Exeter),  England Blind Footballer, 2012 Olympian

    More on interpretation of data here 

  4. Getting fit for Archery

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    “Whatever’s wrong ain’t the bow and whatever’s right is the archer.”

    archery fitnessFor the last 18 months I have been working alongside the Gloucestershire Archery Society and a number of local clubs as part of the.

    My role has included working directly with the young archers as well as workshops to help educate coaches and parents to apply the key principles for physical development.

    LTAD

    The emphasis of any of these sessions has been the Long term development of the athletes, and developing fundamental movement skills as a foundation on which to build.

    Although Archers rarely have to run fast or lift heavy weights off the floor (despite what a job application for a recent position with high performing archers stated!), there are many physical abilities which are important for successful performance.

    Mandigo et al., 2007 listed a number of fundamental movement skills, many of which can be directly linked to archery including:

    1)      Stability

    • Balancing- maintaining centre of gravity above base of support
    • Stretching-being able to efficiently hold different postures
    • Twisting- rotating parts of upper body/ resisting rotation of torso
    • Pushing- strengthening front shoulder
    • Pulling (drawing)- strengthening rear shoulder during rotation

    2)      Locomotor

    • Walking/Running-important for developing efficient aerobic system
    • Jumping- developing lower body strength and stability
    • Hopping- lower body stability and coordination
    • Skipping- coordination and timing
    • Climbing- increasing upper and lower body strength

    3)      Manipulative

    • Throwing (over and under arm), Catching, Striking
    • All good for improving hand-eye coordination and accuracy

    fit for archeryIt is important to note that fundamental movement skills are the building blocks of sport skills, which is why these movements form the basis of the sessions for all of the archers I have worked with.

    Despite varying broadly in terms of age and training experience, most of the athletes have developed deficiencies in mobility and posture due to the environment they find themselves in either at school hunched over a desk, or by regularly shooting (consistently using uneven posture).

    A lot of emphasis during coach education sessions is on regularly practising exercises which will reinforce good posture, balance, stability and mobility to develop the Structural Integrity of the archers. This could include using exercises during warm ups or encouraging athletes to practice exercises away from training.

    Cooperation in Coaching

    I have been very fortunate to work with some fantastic coaches (Roger Crang, Steph and Dan Gill and Graham Williams to name a few) who have all bought into the need to develop physical skills as well as technical skills.

    The Excelsior athletic development centre was set up to help young athletes by either working with them directly, or by running courses and workshops with the coaches, parents and teachers who are working with them week to week.

    By working together with sports coaches, positive behaviours and habits can be constantly reinforced rather than competing with contradicting messages.

    Click here for the full Archery Guide to Fundamental training

    Matt Durber 

  5. The role of the coach: Insights from Boxing Champions

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    Do you tell athletes what to think or how to think?

    The excellent “In This Corner” by Peter Heller is a collection of World Champion boxers across 7 decades. There is a lot of experience contained in those recollections and it is interesting to hear from people who have been there and done it.

    Tommy Loughran (light heavyweight champion of the world) on boxing:

    Tommy Loughran

    Tommy Loughran

    “It can be a science, but there’s nobody around to teach it, and unfortunately the fellows who are teaching it don’t know enough to come out of the rain.

    They have a certain alphabet: “you move this way, move that way, you do this,”, and they go through certain letters of the alphabet. But insofar as the individual is concerned we all have distinctive powers.

    We are maybe 99 per cent alike, but the 1 per cent difference can mean all the difference in the world…. We don’t take time out to judge why we do things. We do things because we like them or we dislike them, but you don’t stop to figure out, “why do I dislike this? Why do I like that?” If you did, your whole life would be changed.”

    Beau Jack (Lightweight champion of the world)

    “When you’re not in shape you can’t show the people anything, and the boxing fans know this. They can tell when something is wrong. The only thing I can do know is to wish every young fellow that’s in boxing today, make sure that they be in shape and good condition… and do not ever go into the ring out of condition because it’s a dangerous thing.

    You not only can get killed, but you can get ruined for the rest of your life. And the number one thing is eating and running, and make sure of your roadwork, because it’s number one. Eat the right foods and get the right rest and ain’t nobody going to beat you, not easy. 

    You got a good trainer, he’s the boss. Listen to him. Pay attention to him, because if you don’t pay attention you not going anyplace. It’s only a few fighters can fight on their own.”

    Jose Torres (light heavyweight champion of the world)

    “One thing I have against boxing training is that they try to teach you what to think, and not how to think. That’s the basic difference of a good trainer and a no good trainer. Cus D’Amato teaches you how to think, not what to think in boxing. Cus, I think, is the greatest man boxing ever produced, or the best man that boxing ever had, because Cus had understanding for his fighters, respect for his fighters.”

    Summary:

    Get fit, eat well, get a good coach and listen to his advice.  That sounds like a good starting place to me.

  6. The Agony and the Ecstasy: Excelsior athletes in Europe.

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    Highlights of a Summer of Sport

    Arthur wins EurosWe have had lots of our athletes and ex athletes competing with a European flavour this summer, so here is a brief round up.

    Ex Excelsior athlete Arthur Lanigan O’Keeffe won the European Modern Pentathlon Championships in Bath.  Jenny McGeever also competed here in the team relay.

    Part of our job as coaches is to “Give them roots to grow and wings to fly” as Frank Dick says.  I coached Arthur (alongside Drew Wilsher) for 2 years until he left school. It is great to see him doing so well. He has now qualified for the Rio Olympics next year.

    pfeiffer georgi (169x292)Dan James and Robin Williams competed in the European B1 football championships. The team needed to make the finals in order to qualify for Rio. Despite Dan keeping a clean sheet for the whole tournament, they lost to Russia in the semi-finals after penalties and a countback system.

    Pfeiffer Georgi competed for Great Britain in the European Youth Olympics in Tiblisi, Georgia  and came 6th in the Time Trial competition.

    Cyclists James Davey and Tom Baylis have both been training and competing in Europe over the last few weeks. Both will be based in Europe for the next season, James in Italy and Tom in Spain. This is a big step up for both of these young men and is really exciting.

    Seb Baylis & James Davey

    Seb Baylis & James Davey

    Tom Baylis

    Tom Baylis

    Tom’s older brother Seb Baylis was the victim of a road rage incident last week whilst on a training ride. He suffered a bad fall and his bike was snapped in half: we wish him a speedy recovery.

    All of our athletes have tried their hardest, some have had good results, others less so. That is part of this rich tapestry of life.

    Autumn Training

    Whilst it is great to see these older athletes competing well, it is just as rewarding seeing our youngest ones start to compete too.

    A lot of our athletes have been training over the summer ready for their Autumn schedules.  New Weightlifting and Gymnastics sessions start next week in Willand. Please contact us if you wish to join this great group of people.

    Jack's 1st gymnastic competition

    Jack’s 1st gymnastic competition

     

     

  7. Are girls more flexible than boys?

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    Are girls naturally more flexible, or is it training?

    flexible boys girls

    Gorilla stretch

    We often get asked this question when training our athletes. At Excelsior mobility is one of the four pillars that form your structural integrity (posture, balance, control being the others).

    Duncan writes below about some of his thoughts on mobility training and how it works with the boys and girls he trains.

    What affects mobility?

    As the leading question implies gender can have an effect, but there are other influences too. Gummerson (1) splits these into internal and external influences:

    Internal influences include: type of joint, elasticity of muscle tissue, tendons, ligaments and skin, ability of the muscle to relax.

    External influences include: temperature, time of day, age, commitment to achieving greater mobility.

    How gender affects mobility

    When I look at the players I work with, in general the girls are more flexible than the boys when stretching. I think there are three reasons for this:

    • Genetic
    • Sports played
    • Psychological

    Genetics: The female body shape has specific influences on mobility.

    • The width of the pelvis is wider and more circular giving a greater range of motion.
    • This creates a greater angle between the femur and tibia, known as the Q angle, this can cause many problems if not strengthened correctly.
    • Females shoulders are narrower than males making them weaker in push and pull activities.
    • A female’s weight distribution is also different to males, their weight is distributed lower around hips/thighs which gives them a lower centre of gravity giving a stability advantage. I believe this has a psychological affect as females will have less problems balancing during stretching.
    • Hormones can have a large influence too. Females have greater oestrogen levels and lower testosterone levels.
    • Oestrogen is involved in the menstrual cycle which causes females to have a greater laxity especially in their hips during this time.
    • Testosterone increases muscle and bone size, which is why males are larger than females. Increased mass can cause mobility restrictions.

     Sports played

    Sports have been separated by gender, an example shown below. 30 years ago this would not affect young athletes as much due to the nature of physical education in school, however with current time restraints and syllabuses young athletes spend more time in classrooms looking at the theoretical rather than applied.

    Gender

    Sport

    Male

    Rugby, football, athletics, hockey, cricket

    Female

    Netball, hockey, athletics

    Above is an example of the sports children compete in at independent schools.

    There are some differences and it is slowly becoming more acceptable for girls to play football. The Olympics has possibly helped this with Team GB winning medals in sports previously classed as gender specific; boxing, judo and gymnastics for example.

    flexible boys girls

    Scorpion stretch

    Multi sport athletes seem to be more mobile than their single sport sport peers.

    For example, tennis players can become one side dominant and have limited hip mobility due to movements on court, compare this to a tennis player who also does karate, you will see a more symmetrical body shape.

    It is important to understand that a young tennis player who only plays tennis is likely to suffer mobility issues whether they are male or female due to the asymmetrical nature of the sport (see picture above of limited hip and back mobility).

    Psychological

    tennis flexibilityI believe their has been a stigma connected with stretching which has meant boys have not stretched. Pilates and Yoga were first thought of as female dominated classes, now with elite athletes talking about using them it has become more acceptable for males to try them.

    Working with mixed groups I can see that girls enjoy stretching more than boys which means they work on it more and so become more flexible than their peers.

    Personally and from experience boys tend to have a shorter attention span, struggling to concentrate long enough to improve stretching, they would prefer to be playing games. Their is a greater impatience too, boys can find it harder to balance and therefore stretch effectively, this can mean minimal improvements but is where programme design comes in.

    How can I improve my flexibility? 

    I have noticed more children becoming injured younger due to overuse and poor movement patterns compared to when I was younger, by concentrating on a single sport our bodies make compensations for weak movements which leads to the overuse injuries.

    By adjusting programmes we can develop better athletes, we need to:

    • Include regular strength work, that works on movement efficiency. If you train through a short range with poor technique, stretching afterwards will be ineffective.
    • Include appropriate warm ups & cool downs, mobility can be developed and retained here.
    • Give athletes the knowledge to stretch at home, they need to be coached on technique so they know how a stretch should feel rather than go through the motions (see video below)

    Duncan Buckmaster

    If you are interested in learning more, then either train at our Athletic Development Club in Devon or

    Watch our You Tube channel for more ideas.

    1 Mobility training for martial arts, Tony Gummerson

  8. Are you fat or obese?

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    McDonalds obesity

    it all starts with 1 big mac

    Is fat a bad word?

    Comments from then Health Minister  Anne Milton in 2010 about Doctors telling people they are fat  generated much comment.

    I don’t have a problem with honest feedback– there is too little of it– as long as you then give some solutions to help the person concerned.

    An example in Netball is that one player was described to me as “not agile enough.” I then asked the coach what she had done to help the player concerned to improve. “We give them all a folder“.  Great.

    Living in Devon I see a lot of fat people, maybe it is an economics issue, it is a poor county, maybe it is a lifestyle issue- large distances to travel by car.

    Luckily most of the athletes I train are very lean and have trouble putting on weight- a different problem altogether.

    Whose fault is obesity?

    This report makes some interesting points, but I still believe it is an individual’s choice as to whether they eat that extra biscuit or not.

    Lifestyle has changed, working with young athletes, it is surprising how few of them walk or cycle anywhere to get around. Part of that is a cultural aspect of safety issues and ease of access to facilities, but part of it is they are not in a habit of using their feet.

    As a coach or parent- how much of a good example do you set? Young people tend to respond to practical examples and role models rather than being told what to do.

    Start your exercise programme today with this Free Guide

  9. PRICE Guidelines for injury treatment

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    Current recommendations on treating injuries

    After witnessing the aftermath of the parents’ races at my daughters’ school sports day last week, I decided to review  the current Executive Summary of the Management of Acute Soft Tissue Protection, Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation (PRICE) by the Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Sports and Exercise medicine (ACPSM).

    PRICE guidelinesThe previous recommendations by the ACPSM were made based on evidence published up to 1996. These current clinical guidelines, which I have summarised below, were produced by a team of volunteers using evidence up to 2010. Each PRICE intervention has been graded as STRONG, WEAK or UNCERTAIN.

    PROTECTION AND REST (STRONG)

    “Definitely unload soft tissue in acute phases after injury”. WHY?

    • Minimise internal bleeding
    • Prevent excessive swelling
    • Prevent re –injury

    The type and duration of the protection /resting phase is not clear and will depend on the specific injury and its severity.

    Progressive and mechanical loading plays a vital role in tissue healing. The transition from this protective stage needs to be supervised by a Physiotherapist.

    ICE (STRONG)

    “Definitely apply ice after an acute soft tissue injury.” WHY?

    Cooling the tissues…..

    • Can limit the extent of the soft tissue injury
    • Provides pain relief
    • Can facilitate rehabilitation

    The guidelines suggest that crushed ice in a bag which is wrapped with a ‘damp barrier’ i.e. damp cloth or tea towel is applied to the area for 5 – 15 minutes every 2 hours.

    During sporting events, application of ice for > 10 minutes can have an adverse effect on athletic performance and increase injury risk.

    COMPRESSION AND ELEVATION (WEAK)

    sports injury treatment“Probably use compression/elevation after an acute soft tissue injury”. WHY?

    • to limit tissue swelling
    • can reduce pain due to increased tissue pressures

    Evidence is poor to support the use of elevation and most of the research is conflicting regarding the use of compression.

    The guidelines conclude, “Probably don’t use high levels of compression with simultaneous elevation.”

    If compression bandages or external supports are used they must fit well. They can offer some support and give confidence to the injured when returning to normal function.

    Always consult with a Physiotherapist or an appropriate medical professional after a significant soft tissue injury.

    Sarah Marshall 

     

  10. How to Get Fit for Handball pt1

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    Handball is the second most popular team sport in Europe

    handball fitnessSince London 2012, the number of clubs in England has nearly doubled. It is one of the country’s fastest growing sports, with total participation increasing by 400% in the last three years. Handball fitness is unique.

    Several years ago I trained one of the GB team: Emma Solomon, (before they went with “Talented and Tall” and look how that worked out!) when Handball was very much a minority sport.

    Here Matt goes through the basic requirements of Handball and then how to train for it.

    Basic Rules of Handball

    Handball is a fast paced, high scoring game played by two teams of 7 players (6 court players + 1 goalkeeper) over two 30 minute halves. The match is won by the team who can score the most goals by throwing the ball past the opposition goalkeeper into the net.

    1.  Handball is played on a court measuring 40m x 20m with a goal (3m x2m) at each end.
    2.  The ball is moved about the court by dribbling (similar to basketball) or passing to a team mate.
    3. Once in possession of the ball, a player has 3 seconds and/or 3 steps before they must pass, shoot or dribble the ball.
    4.  As in basketball, once a player has stopped dribbling they must either pass or shoot.
    5. Only the goalkeeper is allowed within the 6 metre goal area* (free throw if attacker enters, penalty throw if defender enters.* Player can jump into area whilst shooting as long as ball is released before ground contact)
    6.  Players can use the torso to block an opposing player, but obstructing, tripping, hitting or pushing using outstretched arms or legs will result in free throw (or penalty throw if a clear goalscoring chance is denied)

    Handball Fitness Requirements

    fitness for handballSimilar to most team sports, there are different positions within a Handball team including:

    • Goalkeeper
    • Backcourt players (left, right and centre)
    • Wingers (left and right)
    • Pivot. 

    Although players in different positions will have slightly different characteristics, most players (goalkeepers aside) will do a similar amount of work, both defensive and offensive, within a game.

    Indeed, a study by Chaouachi et al., (2009) found that there was no significant difference in performance abilities (speed, bilateral and unilateral jump distance, VO2 max) between positions.

    Due to consecutive end- to-end attacks, speed is a vital asset for all handball players. The ability to attack the opposition goal before the defence has time to organise itself greatly increases the chances of scoring.

    As well as straight line speed, changing direction at speed is also an important skill. Players with agility can create and find space to produce a shooting opportunity, and also ensure opposition players cannot outmanoeuvre them when defending.

    Upper and lower body strength and power also come in useful when shooting, especially jump shots which are a common technique for avoiding defenders trying to block.

    Although a handball game last for an hour, each team has 7 substitutes, with an unlimited amount of changes allowed. This means that work capacity is less important than in other team sports, as players can be rested regularly.

    Players still need to be well conditioned to allow for repeated work of high quality in training. More time should be spent  on developing the quality of movement to produce fast, strong and agile players.

    How to get fit for Handball

    strength and conditioning for handballStrength training is important for all handball players for both injury prevention and improving performance.

    The one sided nature of handball can lead to muscle imbalances, so shoulder, back and hip mobility and unilateral strength need to be included regular in training plan to maintain structural integrity.

    Lower body strength and stability are also vital to reduce injuries due to the high impact and regular changes in direction. The risk of injury is especially high for female players.

    Strength training will also benefit performance by providing more power for shots and helping to jump higher to compete for the ball. Having a strong upper body also comes in very useful when defending.

    A common tactic of defending is to pull the throwing arm of the attacker down (although resulting in a free throw, attacking team often gets no little advantage from this).

    This requires good shoulder strength and stability, potentially through a great range of movement as attackers often take shots from high, low and wide positions. Click here for tips on Strength Training.

    Speed and Agility for Handball

    emma solomon handball

    Emma Solomon captained her GB team,.

    Speed and Agility training should build on a foundation of:

    • posture
    • balance
    • mobility
    • control

    Practising exercises such as single leg squats and single leg hop and holds will increase lower body strength and improve the body’s ability to reduce force. This will make movements more efficient and reduce likelihood of injury.

    Working on force production (acceleration, propulsion on different directions) should follow once a strong and stable base has been set.

    This should include varying movements such as pushing off 2 feet and one foot in forward, sideways and backward directions to simulate to demands of a handball game.

    These skills can then be progressed to become more complex and reactive, see here.

    Although handball is characterised by repeated sprints over a short distance, improving maximal running speed will also help acceleration and speed over short distances.

    Once the quality of these movements has been established, then the quantity of work can be increased to improve work capacity and ensure that a high level of performance can be maintained for the duration of a match.

    Summary

    Handball is one of the country’s fastest growing sports. Playing requires speed and agility, which should be developed through a progressive programme starting with strength, stability and balance.

    Once a strong foundation has been built, acceleration, speed and reactive drills will enable the player to develop key skills to perform successfully.

    Putting this into practice is difficult for a coach, so here are my tips on Handball training in practice.

    Matt Durber

    Further reading:

    How to make pre season training interesting, relevant and more fun.

    References

    • Chaouachi A, Brughelli M, Levin G, Boudhina N,B, Cronin J & Chamari K (2009). Anthropometric, physiological and performance characteristics of elite team-handball players, Journal of Sports Sciences, 27 (2), 151-157.