Sports doctor, Andhika Raspati SpKO, said various bad effects can be experienced by footballers if they return to the game with high intensity after a long holiday due to Covid-19.
The leagues in Europe are back and planning to roll again after a ‘break’ because of the corona virus outbreak.
The German Bundesliga became the top league in Europe for the first time to “restart”. Meanwhile, the Italian League received permission to roll back on 20 June.
While the English League and Spanish League have the opportunity to follow in order to complete the 2019/2020 season. Premier League is claimed to be able to kick-off on June 17 while La Liga at the end of June.
However, the rolling of competition in the new normal period is risky for players who are ‘off’ for more than two months.
The players in Europe are not completely off training, it’s just that they train at home not with the same intensity when with the club.
According to Andhika, the thing to remember from the principle of exercise is reversibility, that is, the body’s performance will decrease if someone who was previously intense in exercising leaves his habits at one time.
“The question is, the players during the house there is no match, no training yourself? What training with the same intensity when in a match situation?” Andhika said to CNNIndonesia.com, Friday (5/29).
“If an official match is usually the player will be more all out, the impact is high, usually more explosive,” Andhika added.
Andhika explained, players who took a break from a match for quite a long time and practiced modestly could make a lot of decline. Starting from a decrease in muscle strength, coordination of movement, how to respond to the opponent’s movements or reaction speed, joint stability and balance.
“Decreased muscle strength can make a player prone to injury. This component of motion will go down, because previously training was not consider as training,” Andhika said.
“Once he plays at the official match level, his body condition is not necessarily ready after stopping for almost three months. This could be a risk of injury, especially if he has a busy schedule,” Andhika continued.
Related to the schedule, the players in the English League have the potential to play matches with a more solid agenda.
With most teams leaving 9 matches, the Premier League this season is scheduled for completion at the end of June.
After that, the clubs that still perform in Europe will again compete in the Champions League and Europa League. These conditions have the potential to make Premier League players injury-prone.
Regarding the injury, Andhika also divided him into two groups. First, a group of players who are disciplined by undergoing a regular training program in accordance with what is given by the coach.
This discipline group is likely to have a lower risk of injury potential compared to the second group which is those who are stubborn or undisciplined to run a training program given by a coach. Moreover, if the supervision provided is not optimal.
The most likely injury to a footballer who immediately appeared in a high-intensity match after a long holiday is muscle cramps. Muscles are experiencing cramps due to working beyond their capacity after long periods of rest.
“When the power of movement decreases, muscle strength, coordination of motion, how to respond to the opponent’s movements or reaction speed, stability of the joints and decreased balance are feared to cause tears in the muscles or joint tears, or ligaments.”
“In football, body contact also occurs, if the alacrity is lacking in the opponent’s movements, then for example being hit by a tackle and falling, his ankles could be torn. Decreased joint stability can also result in ligamentous tears due to lack of support from the surrounding muscles,” Andhika explained.
Prevention that can be done to minimize injuries to footballers is by following a home training program provided by the coach with supervision. After that, a physical test is carried out before starting the exercise to find out the fitness level and performance of each player.
The results of the physical test can be called a benchmark to determine the right training program menu for players. While the player is adapting to practice with a gradual increase in intensity.
“You have to adapt first slowly, you can’t immediately with high intensity. How long the adaptation time varies, depending on the exercise program at home and athlete compliance,” Andhika said.
