MONDAY NIGHT INJURY CLINIC

The Sports Injury Clinic holds a regular Monday night injury clinic. Between 6pm and 8pm clients can receive injury management from the weekend’s activities at a reduced rate, phone 9783 9990 anytime on Monday to secure your time.

Our Physiotherapist will assess, treat and direct a rehabilitation program for your players’ immediately as well as an active management plan to avoid spending more time than is necessary the on sidelines. On the day of assessment our physiotherapist will contact and report to the injured players coach or manager by phone or email to report findings and outcomes. You will also have immediate access to Sports Medicine Doctors for assessment and investigations if required. A Monday night injury clinic session is fully covered by your private health fund with no gap to you, or in the event you don’t have private health insurance the cost is $20.

Facts & safety tips for Surfing

Preventing Surfing Injuries

Surfing is a very popular sport with an estimated 18 million surfers globally.

Today the sport attracts a wide range of participants covering all age groups. Surfboard development and the resurgence of longboards or Malibu’s has made the sport more accessible to a broader range of surfers.

Facts about Surfing injuries

Surfing is regarded as a safe sport. Compared to some other sports the overall risk of injury is low (2.2 injuries per 1000 surfing days or 0.26 injuries per surfer per year) and the large majority of injuries are not serious.

Common Surfing injuries

Recent research suggests that lacerations account for almost half of all surfing injuries. Sprains account for over a quarter of all injuries followed by dislocations and fractures. Health problems such as swimmers ear and surfers ear are also common.

Body parts most frequently injured

Surfers most often sustain injuries to the leg (46%). Head and facial injuries are also common (26%), followed by injuries to the trunk/ back (13%) and the shoulder and arm (13%).

Cause of injury

The main cause of injury is contact with a surfer’s own board or that of another surfer (45%). “Wiping out” accounts for 36% of all injuries and striking the seabed accounts for 18% of injuries.

Preventing Surfing injuries

Effective injury prevention involves a host of measures including good preparation, good technique, appropriate practices, correct equipment and appropriate injury management.

Good preparation

• Surfers should undertake a warm up prior to activity. This may include a general body warm up followed by suitable stretches.
• Sunscreen (30+) should be worn at all times.

Good technique

New or novice surfers should participate in a Surfing Victoria accredited surf school to learn appropriate skills and technique and water safety.

Appropriate practices

• Surfing etiquette should be practiced by all surfers to avoid collisions in the surf. Good surf etiquette includes:
  • Respecting the rights of other surfers in the water.
  • Allowing everyone to catch their share of waves.
  • One surfer on a wave, as waves do not allow room for more than one and collisions, injury and conflict between surfers can occur.
• Inexperienced surfers should not surf alone.
• A responsible adult should supervise children at all times when surfing.
• Surfers should check weather and beach conditions before entering the water, to ensure safety.
• Adequate water should be consumed before, during and after activity to avoid dehydration.

Use correct equipment

• Professional advice should be sought when purchasing a surfboard.
• Consideration should be given to purchasing a board with flexible fins and a blunt nose or protective nose guard.
• Existing surfboards should be fitted with nose guards to minimise injury risk.
• For buoyancy, sun protection and to prevent seabed abrasions surfers should wear wetsuits.
• Surfers should wear leg ropes, especially in large surf.

If an injury occurs

• Surfers should stop immediately if an injury occurs and should seek prompt treatment.
• If you have a previous injury please consult a sports medicine professional to ensure you are fit to surf.
• Wherever possible surfers should have a mobile phone close by in case of emergency.

This article was provided by SmartPlay, to see the original document with references click here.

A PRO-ACTIVE 2008 FOR YOUR CLUB

The Sports Injury Clinic gives you tips and offers services that can help your club be pro-active in preparation on the training track and ultimately lead to improved performance on the field.

Ground conditions affected by the drought are just one of the challenges we face during 2008 in getting your players up to peak condition.

However, with The Sports Injury Clinic’s AFL approved programs and player management systems, we can implement effective strategies for your club in a structured and pro-active way, 7 days a week.

Some of the concerns coaches consistently raise with us include injury reoccurrence, non structured training nights and rehabilitation programs.

The Sports Injury Clinic can address all these issues positively, working within your current club infrastructure.

What can we do for your club?

Assistance 24 hours a day

Your club will have access to an on-call physiotherapist who will give immediate assistance for players, coaches and trainers 24 hours a day. Just call 1800 351 421 for on-the-spot advice.

Exercise Physiology

The Sports Injury Clinic’s qualified Exercise Physiologists can come to your club and conduct specialist training sessions. They can also assist with structuring your training year based on prior knowledge of football injury and best outcomes. Exercise physiology sessions are also available on-line for your club during training and specialist injury sessions. (i.e. Hamstrings, groins, quads, knee/ankle injury.)

Injury Updates

You will receive 20 Injury Updates per year which will give you facts and information regarding certain injuries for use by coaches and players.