Competent coaching can be an indispensable element to a successful and injury-free physical training program. Not only can it direct the trainee towards a more effective set of exercises, one that varies dynamically depending on the current physical condition of the athlete, but it also can keep up the motivation and impetus to complete the exercises properly.
These are some of the conclusions and thesis of a recent study from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the Universtity of Gothenburg in Sweden that has shown that an important aspect to the prevention of injuries during sports is not only strength-training exercises but competent supervision during these exercises. The results have also shown that not only can the rate of injuries be significantly reduced by supervised exercises but also the overall performance level of the athletes can be markedly improved.
The study, which invited all Swedish elite-level teams to participate, collected questionnaires from 158 Swedish elite volleyball players near the end of the volleyball season. The study revealed that half of all the participants suffered from at least one injury during the season despite the vast majority participating in some form of injury-prevention activity.
One of the important findings of the study was the fact that the majority of these players performed injury-prevention activities unsupervised. "This is surprising since it is well-known that the training is much more effective if a coach or a physiotherapist develops an individualised programme and is present during the training sessions," says Sofia Augustsson, a physiotherapist and author of the Swedish study.
During the study, two groups of women volleyball players underwent separate injury-prevention activities with one group being given personalised exercise programs and supervision by a physiotherapist while the other group received unsupervised generic exercises programs. The group that received personal attention had a 50 percent improvement in performance over the group that went unsupervised and in addition suffered from fewer injuries.
"I have a feeling that more athletes really stick to the programme and focus on the task if there is a coach present. Many players may feel that the strength and conditioning training is the boring part of their sport, which makes it tempting to "cheat" when nobody is watching," says Augustsson.
