Injury prevention in Soccer/football Cisc

© Copyright Willem Timmermans, St-Kat-Waver 3/4/2012

Willem Timmermanswww.Act2Prevent.com

Soccer Education :Injury prevention by ‘functional

stretching’

Willem Timmermans

Act2Prevent

CISC, Nicosia, May 26th 2012



Willem Timmermans

• Physical Therapist, Personal & Lifestyle Trainer

• Fellow of ‘Applied Functional Science’

• Soccer Coach

• Creator of the soccer DVD: ‘Injury Prevention and Strength training’.

• Author and Educator



Injury Prevention

• What do we need to know about injuries?

• Differences between acute or chronic?• Causes of injuries?• Principles : Understanding of the body and

biological sciences ?• Strategy : So what can we do about it?• Techniques : How?



Your advantage?

• More insights in the physical part

• Personal growth

• Teach your players !

• Your players and you deserve ‘the very best’



Most common injuries in soccer

• Muscles : hamstrings, calf, Q-ceps, abdominals, adductors, groin, …

• Tendon : Achilles, Patellar, …

• Ligaments : ankle, ACL, knee, shoulder, …

• Joints : cartilage, luxation, …

• Head : nose, concussion, …



Diff. : Chronic < > acute injuries

Most chronic injuries?

• Muscle attachments : Abdominals, groin, …

• Joints : cartilage knee, ankle, hip, …

• Tendon inflammation : knee, heel, …



Cause of chronic injury?

• Too much?• Not enough recovery?• Nutrition?• Repetitive?• Other?

Or is some part of the body not doing its job?



Chronic < > Acute injuries

Most acute injuries?

• Muscle injuries : strain, tear

• Tendon : partial or full tear

• Ligaments : sprain, tear, …



Cause of acute injuries?

• Contact < > non contact?• Tiredness / fatigue?• Bad luck / coincidence?• Circumstances? Environment?• Not prepared : Warming-Up?

How can we help the body achieve a safer performance?



Understanding the body and the biological sciences!

• Chain Reaction : The body as a whole !

• Dynamic

• 3D muscles

• 3D joints

• Gravity and GRF

• Unconscious

• Task Driven !



Chain Reaction

• Top down drivers• Example• Bottom up drivers• Example

Which body parts influence the knee in playing soccer?



Dynamic

• The body is made to move, not to hold still• Body stabilizes by movement • Load to unload : example• Should we prepare a dynamic sport static or dynamic?

When do we hold ‘still’ in soccer?



Understanding 3D muscles

• Muscles function in 3 planes of motion• Sagittal : forward – back• Frontal : left –right lateral• Transverse : left –right rotational• Example :

When do we have a 1 dimensional movement in soccer?



Understanding 3D joints

• Joints function in 3 planes of motion

• S – F – T

• Example

• In which directions does the knee go… in soccer?



Gravity and Ground Reaction Force

• Muscles function differently depending on their position

• Example

• The body use those forces to react : load to unload

• The nervous system gets a different input

In what position(s) do we play soccer?



Conscious - Unconscious

• ‘The body is a reactor’• ‘The body recognizes movement – not

muscles’• Will conscious training/exercises help us in unconscious movement?• Example

Which muscles and joints are activated in a KICK?



Task Driven : soccer

• The nervous system regulates our muscles and joints by ‘proprioceptors’

• Muscles and joints react differently depending on position

• The body recognizes movements like ‘kicking’, ‘heading’, ‘jumping’, ‘running’

How will this influence our strategy and exercises?



Make it functional !

• There is often a GAP between our exercise and the task : soccer

• What is the task of our soccer player?• What do we want to improve?• Making it ‘functional’ : Do the exercises

look like soccer?

How will exercises in a supine position help us in ( upright ) soccer?



Stretching

• Useful or not? Depends on …

• Static or dynamic?

• Position?

• Does it look like a soccer movement?

Which stretches are dynamic and look like

soccer?



Functional stretching in soccer

• Bridging the gap between the exercise and the task

• Preparing the nervous system

• Tweaking in 3D

• Not a matter of correcting and avoiding ‘bad movements’ but “preparing the body for its tasks : soccer !”



Advantages

• More logic for muscles and joints• More logic for the nervous system• More holistic movement : ‘FLEXIBILITY’• Building more resistance for elongation

For which activities can static, one-dimensional stretches be useful?



Stretching or … Flexibility?

• Flexibility as injury prevention• Working the whole ‘chain’• Basis for strength training• Basis for performance : loading the bow !• = saving ENERGY ?

Does more elasticity increase or decrease performance?



Practical part

• Starting with the feet !

• 3D dynamic stretches : lower limbs

• 3D dynamic stretches : trunk & upper limbs

Which way takes more time : dynamic stretching or holding for 20-30 seconds?



From Flexibility to Strength

• Same Principles

• Strategy : think ‘functional’!

• Techniques : 3D movement with ‘extra load’

• Examples

What do we want to strengthen in soccer?

Muscles? Or movements?



From Stability to Mostability

• Stabilizing by using movement• Reality : ‘controlling movement’• Example

• Should we teach the knee to only move forward? Or controlling 3D movements during soccer?



Interesting or necessary?

• We are used differently

• Our athletes are used differently

• Avoiding resistance : try, feel and teach



Conclusion

• Mobility and flexibility

• 3D and dynamic

• Think Functional : task = soccer

>>> Functional Flexibility and Strength !



Feedback



‘Transform yourself into an athlete’

• Educational concept for clubs, trainers/coaches and players

• Personal Development in sports

• From recreational to top-sports level

• From intro to ‘soccer-pro’

• 1 day up to max. 3 months



More information

1. www.Act2Prevent.com

2. Willem Timmermans : +32 477 / 80 50 50 [email protected]

3. Soccer DVD : ‘Injury Prevention and strength training by …’

Injury prevention in Soccer/football Cisc

Education

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