A few years ago it was rare to ever hear of an oblique injury. Now the number of injuries appears to be increasing for no apparent reason. Because of this there is increased attention to this problem, especially in view the fact that it takes a long time to heal this type of injury. As a result, most of the attention is on diagnosis and treatment.
It appears that almost all of the major teams are not trying to determine the cause of such injuries. For example, teams do not do technique analyses or testing of the muscles that are specifically related to the technique of execution of the skill in which the injury occurs. Such analyses would have to be done prior to the injury and if the analyst understands the skill technique, he would be able to predict the occurrence of an injury.
It is necessary to know not only which physical abilities are involved but even more importantly, how they are involved in the skill execution. This requires a level of expertise not readily found. This knowledge will enable the coach to make timely corrections to prevent injury. In addition, the coach will be able to select the best exercises for development of the obliques and other muscles. .
But since teams do little to no analysis, the number of oblique injuries will probably continue to increase. To put a stop to such injuries it will be necessary to identify the cause. If you can stop the injury from occurring there will be no lost playing time.
There is considerable money being spent on injury treatment. There is no questioning the fact that treatment is ultra-important and there should be effective treatments if the injury does occur. But isn’t this analogous to trying to secure the chicken coop when the chickens have fled?
It is a lot simpler to prevent an injury than to treat it. Most effective in this regard is to have technique analysts so that they can determine whether the players have effective and safe execution of the game skills. He will also have to make the necessary corrections in technique. This is how they can prevent injury and many times enhance the ability of the athlete.
Technique and the physical qualities specifically related to the technique are the key factors involved in any injury. One or both of these factors will always be involved in an injury. This is why these two factors should be foremost in the training and evaluation of any athlete when injury prevention is important. Note that these two factors are also the key to improved athletic performance!
Teams spend considerable money on developing general physical qualities while ignoring technique and special physical abilities. Understand that the special physical abilities are the key to not only improving the athlete’s abilities but also in the prevention and treatment of oblique and other types of injuries.
For more information on this topic, read Build a Better Athlete