In a recent research review published in The Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, academics from Monash University in Melbourne reviewed studies that looked at this question. Surprisingly, over the past 40 years, only a handful studies have looked at the injury reduction benefit of a warm-up.
Of the five studies examined, three supported using a warm-up to reduce injury, whilst the remaining two did not.
The Monash researchers went on to conclude that:

• The three positive studies emphasised general exercise to increase body temperature, while the two negative studies focused on stretching warm-ups.
• There wasn’t enough evidence to either conclusively endorse or recommend against routine pre-exercise warm-ups to prevent sports injuries. However, the weight of evidence suggested that warm-ups involving general exercise did decrease injury risk.
• Further support for warm-ups comes from a more recent 2008 Norwegian study. This concluded that a warm-up programme reduced the risk of severe injuries, overuse injuries, and injuries overall.

Despite the lack of research material, we still suggest that you complete a thorough pre-exercise warm-up, which should involve:

• 5-20 minutes in total.
• General activity to increase your basic body temperature, followed by some more specific range-of-motion stretching that replicates the events to follow.
• A series of balance-related activities to prepare your sensory receptors for the tasks to follow.
• Gradually increasing intensity that becomes more specific and “game-like” as the training session or game approaches.

For assistance with your pre-exercise warm-up talk to one of our physiotherapists at BodyFit Howick.

The post Are Warm-Ups Worth the Effort? appeared first on BodyFit Physio Pakuranga & Back Pain Clinic.

Generally, the higher the tread on the shoes the less ‘give’ there is and the more stress is generated on the ankle and knee joints. When applied to football boots, this means that larger and longer cleats will give you more friction which may be a positive thing when you are playing on a wet surface such as often seen in winter. However, in dry conditions this may not allow enough ‘give’ and therefore result in a serious injury. Therefore, it would be fair to say that there is no universally ideal footwear design suitable for all sports and surface conditions. Instead, it is wise to choose the type of footwear taking into consideration the current conditions on the day. In summary, the boots with larger and longer cleats are recommended to be worn in wet weather to provide adequate friction between the shoe and the ground to prevent slipping, and shorter cleat footwear with reduced grip are to be used on dry surfaces.

Another factor to consider is playing on artificial turf which is being used more and more these days. A study by Villwock et al, 2009 has shown that wearing special turf footwear which has a dense pattern of short elastomeric cleats may reduce the stress on your joints while participating in sports on artificial surfaces.
And last but not least a firm mid-sole will help to prevent excessive rear-foot movement and avoid associated problems. It is really easy to check for this when purchasing your new pair of football or rugby boots just by bending and twisting the boot through the middle. There should be a reasonable amount of resistance felt when doing this.

In addition to the above I would like to say that the footwear you play sport in should also simply feel comfortable. That means picking the right size as well. The last thing you want to do when you are participating in a sport is worry about pain and discomfort associated with footwear being too tight and those annoying blisters.
I would also recommend consulting with a health professional knowledgeable in the area such as a physiotherapist or podiatrist before purchasing your next pair of sports shoes/boots if you are not sure exactly what to look for when buying sports footwear.

1. Mark R. Villwock, Eric G. Meyer, John W. Powell, Amy J. Fouty and Roger C. Haut. (2009) Football Playing Surface and Shoe Design Affect Rotational Traction. American Journal of Sports Medicine, 37: 518.

The post Are you wearing the right shoes for your sport? appeared first on BodyFit Physio Pakuranga & Back Pain Clinic.