Injury Prevention Program Resources

If you haven't already figured out by now, I like to blog about reducing injury risk in young athletes. You've probably also heard me bang on occasionally about how we should start calling Injury Prevention Programs, Performance Enhancing Programs, right?

Sorry, but I'm not sorry.

I'm not sorry because things need to change.

And fast.

Injury rates in young athletes, particular serious injury like ACL tears, are increasing; when as many as 50% of them could have been avoided with the implementation (and adherence) of a sport specific Injury Prevention Program.

So today I'm taking a stance.

No longer should we accept this growing trend of serious injury in our young athletes. And no longer should we accept excuses from coaches/athletes that they don't have time to implement appropriate warm up activities and regular strength & conditioning programs.

The evidence is too loud.

We all have to make time.

I've said it once and I'll say it again. Injury Prevention Programs improve performance outcome measures. They even actually decrease injury risk. It isn't false advertising. Who would have thought??

So without further ado here is a comprehensive list (but not exhaustive list) of Injury Prevention resources that every coach, parent, player and health provider should be aware of to help reduce this increasing trend of serious injury:

"Injury Prevention Programs"

Netball:

Netball Knee Program

Football/Soccer:

11+

11+ kids

AFL:

AFL prep to play

Footy First Program

Rugby Union:

Smart Rugby

General:

Get set - Train Smarter App by The Oslo Sports Trauma Research Centre: wonderful App based resource that covers injury prevention strategies across 30 different sports

PEP program

Recommended Participation Guidelines

Further to the Injury Prevention Programs provided above, the following are documents produced by some sporting codes in regards to recommended workloads in young athletes to reduce the risk of "overuse injuries".

Cricket: Australian Cricket Playing Policy (From Page 29)

Baseball: Pitch Smart

Basketball: Youth Basketball Guidelines

Further reading

Blog: Injury prevention blog

Blog: Injury Prevention v Performance Enhancement

Blog: ACL Injury: Prevention is Greater Than Cure

So there you have it, a comprehensive list of resources and readings that should you provide you with the tools to keep our young athletes on the field/court.

We need to stop thinking of Injury Prevention Programs as a waste of time, or "extras".The end result of implementing and adhering to these programs is improved performance and less injury that results in greater team/individual success.

And that sounds like a no-brainer to me!

If you're interested in learning more about ACL injury prevention and ACL rehabilitation, watch my online ACL Masterclass by clicking on the link here