Chronicle Editor
Sikhumbuzo Moyo, Senior Sports Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Olympic Committee in partnership with the Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports (NIF) hosted a strength training, conditioning and injury prevention workshop in Masvingo over the weekend.
The workshop facilitated by a certified American Council of Exercise (ACE) Fitness Trainer and Lecturer Kudzai Muzorewa saw 30 coaches working with young athletes drawn from national federations and other sport delivery agents in attendance.
According to researchgate.net, prevention of sports injuries is a priority for sport stakeholders across the spectrum of training and competition.
Achieving this objective requires a multi-disciplinary approach with strength and conditioning coaches playing an important role in the process.
When considering sports injury prevention strategies, the role of the strength and conditioning coach can extend beyond observing exercise technique and prescribing training to develop a robust and resilient athlete.
“Sports injuries contribute a substantial burden on the health care system and an individual’s quality of life. Moreover, from a sports performance perspective, injuries are a significant barrier to an athlete and/or their team in achieving their performance related goals.
“In many sports settings, injury is often viewed as an unpreventable and unfortunate consequence of participation. This is despite evidence showing that the injury risk associated with sports participation can be significantly reduced with the implementation of appropriate preventive strategies.
“However a coach’s failure to adopt these strategies has been identified as a substantial barrier to successful injury prevention. In particular, coach’s attitude and knowledge of injury prevention strategies as well as availability of adequate resources are significant influences on adoption.
“Successful prevention of sports injuries relies on a multidisciplinary approach drawing from public health as well as sports and exercise science perspectives,” according to reaserchgate.net.
The same documents note that a model that can potentially be used to prevent sports injuries and improve athlete safety is the Translating Research into Injury Prevention Practice (TRIPP) framework.
This model is a six-stage process that begins with epidemiology (injury surveillance) to understand the extent of the injury problem and identify the priority areas for targeted injury prevention strategies.
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