View From The Treatment Room at Hednesford Town FC

Injuries are a fact of life when you play sport. At whatever level you play at they cannot be avoided.  Normally they occur as a result of a physical contact. That is anything from a kick on the thigh (a dead leg) a bang on the head, or the `accidental` stray elbow. It can happen intrinsically when a `niggle` of soft tissues occurs through overuse. It becomes chronic when the player ignores the discomfort and then the pain when playing and training making it more difficult to treat.

REST is the most effective way of dealing with most type of soft tissue injures. That allows the body to start repairing itself. Anti-inflammatory medication prescribed by a doctor helps to calm down the pain. There is then a gradual return to movement, followed by rehab. exercise. Only then should they train to prepare to go back to a competitive game. Historically football players HATE being injured or they fear the risk of being injured. The lads at Hednesford are no different. They get very impatient with themselves and it is almost a `tribal` instinct to get back playing sooner than they should. Usually it is because they are afraid of losing their place. It not only happen with adults in that I have seen it in kids who play for youth teams at professional clubs.

I accept that some professional players, on thousands of pounds a week, will go out to play through pain. I recall some years ago the Italian striker Fabrizio Ravenalli (nicknamed the Grey Fox) played while injured for Middlesbrough in a Cup final. He should not have played but the thought was that if he lasted only 20 minutes and scored what turned out to be the winning goal then it would be worth it in the prestige and the revenue from winning a Cup final. When you look at the club’s honours they did not win those Cup finals in 1997-1998.

That being said, though, not all injuries take place on the pitch. They occur getting out of the car, dropping a bottle of ketchup on your big toe, and getting bitten by the next door neighbour’s terrier in the nether regions. They can range from the outlandish to the innate.

Alan Shearer's opening goal for England against Germany in the Euro 96 semi final was celebrated throughout the country by football supporters. I have seen an X-Ray of a fracture of the calcaneum (heel) which occurred when an "armchair" supporter

celebrated with the customary jumping up and down in front of their television set.

Former Arsenal and England Goalkeeper David Seaman once broke a bone reaching for his TV remote. It was also reported that Barnsley’s Darren Barnard slipped in a puddle of his new puppy’s pee on the kitchen floor. The resulting knee ligament damage kept him out of action for five months.

So be warned it probably more dangerous in the kitchen of a home than on the pitch.