'A bird’s eye view on the nest'

Added: Saturday, June 12, 2010 (19:24)

By Sarah Allen-Marcus (Team Physiotherapist)

By the close of our very busy and compact 2009/2010 season most of our players had recovered from their serious injuries and I am sure that their bodies will enjoy the rest they will get during their off season and come back ready for the pre-season training in July.

Besides the very compact season and strenuous training our injuries were kept to a surprising minimum. Most players suffered many muscular aches and strains during the year which is a natural side affect from the amount of training and games that they played but with an effective and well planned pre-season they all managed to prepare their bodies for the physical and mental challenge ahead of them.

Unfortunately Vinicius Da Silva was our only significant casualty for the entire season with Compartment Syndrome (Shin splints) on both lower legs. He was unable to train with the team for the entire season but managed very light sessions and upper body strength training in the gym. Our other two Brazilian players also had an unfortunate season with Igor Alves undergoing another knee operation in December and Davi Rancan picking up a ligament tear to his ankle in the last half of the season. Both players had committed rehabilitation sessions and by the end of the season were fully recovered. Cheemon Petersen tore his meniscus in his knee and had surgery to repair his injury in March and has recovered quickly.

Groin strains and injuries are a common complaint during any season as this is the area that gets the least attention during strength training but with a season being particularly strenuous I saw a lot more occurring. Siyabonga Nomvete suffered a Grade 2 strain early on in the season which saw him sidelined to undergo strength and fitness training for the next 3 months. Shaun Haschick was recovering from his Quad (thigh) strain when he overstretched for a high ball and strained his groin which set him back a couple of weeks. He then went on to suffer from a knee strain which was probably a direct result of the groin strain.

Many people often wonder why players are plagued with so many injuries but one thing to keep in mind is that most injuries when not fully recovered offset strains and sprains into another area of the body that may be weak and causes an overload which in turn without proper rest and recovery can cause more injuries. Lefa Tsutsulupa, Sibusiso Khumalo, Collins Mbesuma, Vincent Kobola, Thomas Cichon and Quinton Mphahlehle are all players that suffered with severe groin strains at some time during the season and all these injuries were either the result or cause of an ankle injury during the season.

Our Goalkeepers had an excellent year with no injuries to cause concern although Aubrey Mathibe did strain a quad (thigh) muscle but because of his strength and fitness he recovered quickly and was back in training within 2 weeks. Well done on the excellent work to the entire squad for a brilliant season. Let us hope 2010/2011 is as productive.

Regards
Sarah Allen-Marcus