Football is a demanding multi-directional sport which can place great stresses through the body, especially the lower limbs. More often than not, a team and the players are generally expected to perform a similar type of conditioning program incorporating lots of Olympic lifting and general core work. Now this is good practice but the trouble is that individual players all have a different genetic make up with strengths and weaknesses in different areas of their bodies. They also have varying roles on the pitch which have different demands depending on if they play on the left or right, midfield, forward or back. It really is the case of ‘what’s good for one player, may not be good for another’. The evidence has shown that the players who possess ideal posture, an evenly balanced level of flexibility and have a decent standard of core strength/stability are more likely to avoid injury. They will also benefit from having improved recovery levels and a longer playing career than someone who has poor core strength, muscle imbalances and flexibility issues.
Corrective exercise is a procedure of assessing the individual to gain an understanding of where the player is strong and/or weak as well as discovering their overall flexibility levels. From here, unique and individual exercise programmes are developed and implemented to help ‘pull’ the player into optimal balance by spending time developing the weaker areas of the body and working to ‘balance out’ their stronger areas.
The procedures involved in assessing the player can involve the following:
Static biomechanical assessment – this gauges joint range of motion from head to toe. From these findings we can determine what muscles are tight and possibly restricting joint range or just the opposite. If a muscle is weak or lengthened, it can make a joint potentially unstable, especially when presented with a tight muscle group on the opposite side of that joint. Corrective exercise would simply address the imbalance by working to release or stretch the tight side and strengthen the weak side. In Football, this could relate to the quads and hamstrings and how they affect the knee joint.
Dynamic Movement Screening – this evaluates how the player moves when the stabilizing muscles of the pelvis or torso are placed under load. From here we can generally view the imbalances taking hold of the body, if present, and create alternative movements to attempt to ‘mask’ the weaker areas. An example of this could be a single leg squat. If the ankle is limited in range it will affect the ability of the heel to remain on the floor the deeper the squat is performed. When the heel comes of the floor, the quads are used to a larger extent and ‘steal’ some of the workload from the gluts and hamstrings. If the player is partaking in a generic weights programme which doesn’t address this, over time it can create an imbalance around the knee due to an ankle restriction in the first place. This can cause problems in the short or long term. By using dynamic screening we can start to design programmes to address the findings whilst keeping the player strong in the areas they need to be for the demands of their playing position.
Video Analysis – This enables the assessor to build a database on the player and provide a reference point of how the players were when they started and how they progress. Modern software enables the assessor to overlay images, replay in slow motion to evaluate in more detail, play ‘before and after’ in a side by side comparison and so on.
It is also very important to keep reassessing the players to see how they ‘shift’ over time. Programmes can usually start to take effect on the body in as little as 4 weeks so it is important to stay on top of things, monitor progress and adjust accordingly throughout the season.
Corrective exercise is logical and highly personalised training not guesswork or the generic ‘3 sets of 10 reps’ gym programme designed for all. By implementing corrective exercise into your sport or lifestyle you can expect to have improved posture, balanced all round flexibility, reduction of reoccurring injuries and a high standard of functional strength which carries over into your work or sport.