Arsenals läkarteam om skador
Det har ju varit mycket skador detta år. Som vanligt tycker man och det har höjts röster om läkares oduglighet, okunskap och ibland konstiga beslut. På Arsenals hemsida, så tar man tjuren vid hornen(det heter så..och tur att man inte tar tjuren någon annanstans, då hade det kunnat gå illa) och ställer Gunners chefsdoktor Colin Lewin mot väggen. Colin är den forne läkaren Garys broder och om de firar jul ihop, så går det säkert muntert till. De tejpar vrister, provar nya bandage på sina barn, provtacklar tomten och kollar om nya skydd funkar. Kul i jul.
Lewin förklarar varför det har varit så många skador detta år med "antal matcher. Gunners har spelat något mer denna säsong än tidigare" (ääh..va?). Sedan tycker Lewin att laget har haft otur med en hel del "underliga skador." Han menar odkså att "brott inte har lönat sig detta år"; "But it has been a freak season for traumatic injuries. We would normally expect one, sometimes two fractures a year. This season we are on seven."
Lewin har inte sett en värre säsong under sian år hos Gunners. "Yes, up until now it probably is the worst. We are slightly up on last season and the season before but not much has changed from other seasons except for the high level of traumatic injuries. By traumatic injuries I mean breaks and fractures from bad tackles. We are not blaming the other teams; this is just a freak season for traumatic injuries. Statistically we run the furthest in the Premier League. We also have the highest number of sprints compared to the other Premier League teams."
Doktor L menar att det påverkar att laget har en så stor träningsmängd och är så bra tränade."Therefore, everybody is in agreement that the training, as directed by the manager, has to reflect this high level of fitness. When you add the fact that we play more games than everybody else there is a decrease in the recovery time. We play midweek games where we get three days recovery. Other teams get a week. That also adds risk. It is another factor as a lot of injuries are fatigue related."
Lewin menar inte att andra lag egentligen har mindre skador, men hakar på att Gunners spelar mer matcher än de flesta lagen. "You have to say that teams who play a similar number of games to us have got a similar injury record. You always see your own team as being worse because that is the team you support. Our players have around a 50 per cent increase in match exposure than players at some other Premier League clubs who might only play 40 games per season. " Sedan kommer de internationella matcherna. "That again adds to the number of games and therefore the fatigue element is increased. The injury risk is far greater than in a squad with a far lower percentage of internationals. So when you compare us to teams who play a similar number of games, we are not that different."
En ytterligare sak är att de långvariga skadorna gör att man kan rotera mindre och det sliter på spelarna. (Den kunde till och med jag. Jag kan också stava till plåster:)
När det gäller sträckningar, bristningar och sådant, ser inte Lewin att det är onormalt. "Compared to other clubs it is a similar scenario to comparing traumatic injuries - it is difficult to compare us to teams who don’t play as many games. If you compare us to teams who play in Europe, it is fairly similar."
Colin Lewin har jobbat med wenger i fjorton år. Det ger stabilitet och förtroende. Varje vecka skickas en uppdatering till Gazidis också. Man reapporterar dagligen om hur spelarna mår, utvecklas och om de har personliga träningsprogram. Men det är inte bara om de skadade spelarna utan "...we have to keep an eye on the fit players too and stop them from getting injured where possible. Therefore we are constantly liaising with Tony Colbert regarding specific strength and conditioning programmes. He has an important role in injury prevention.We are constantly trying to improve the medical team. Between the three physios and the doctor there is over 50 years experience of working with elite athletes. We have access to the best surgeons, the best specialists and the best sports science in the world."
Hur ser läkarteamet ut framöver måntro?`Jo, Lewin berättar"We have a very good doctor, three experienced physios, two masseurs, podiatry and nutrition input, osteopathic expertise and the strengthening and conditioning knowledge of Tony Colbert. " Men en i teamet - Neal Reynolds" lämnar för att återgå till Norwich och ersätts av en viss Simon Harland. "He is a good, experienced physio who has been working with elite athletes for 15 years. He has come from the Northern Irish Institute of Sport where he has been working with elite rugby players and he has experience in other elite sports. We are looking forward to working with him." Vidare så har man gott samarbete med läkarteam från olika delar av världen, till vilka man skickar spelare om så behövs.
Lewin avslutar sakralt "We are constantly monitoring and reviewing the situation because our job is to treat and prevent the injuries and make improvements to stop them happening again. You won't have a season with no injuries. No club will ever have that. It’s important that we stay abreast of the latest developments and practices in sports medicine to ensure that we continue to provide the best treatment possible for our players."
