KneeSchool/Junior Academy/Warm-Ups That Work
Warm-Ups That Work
Page 0.2.3 · Sport and Your Knees · junior_explainer page
Some warm ups lower injury rates and some mostly waste time. The difference is what you practise.
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Warm-Ups That Work
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Function
A warm up has two jobs. The obvious one is getting you ready to play: heart rate up, muscles warm, mind switched on.
The less obvious one is teaching your body how to move. That is the part that lowers injuries, and it is the part most warm ups skip.
Think about how most knee injuries happen in sport. Nobody touches the player. They plant a foot and turn, or they land from a jump slightly off balance, and the knee goes somewhere it should not. The knee collapses inwards for a fraction of a second.
You can train the body not to do that. Not by thinking about it in the moment, which is far too slow, but by practising the movement often enough that the good version becomes automatic.
Clinical Relevance
Programmes designed around this exist and they have been tested on large numbers of young athletes. The ones that work share a few features.
They include landing practice. Jumping and landing softly, with knees bent and tracking over the toes rather than falling inwards.
They include turning and cutting practice, done deliberately and under control before it is done at full speed in a match.
They include strength, especially for the thigh, the hamstrings and the hip. Hip strength matters more than most people expect, because the hip controls where your thigh points when you land.
They include balance work on one leg, which is the position most injuries actually happen in.
And the thing that matters most is dull: doing it regularly. Twice a week, right through the season, by the whole squad. A programme done enthusiastically in pre season and abandoned by October does very little. One done consistently has a measurable effect.
Static stretching, holding a stretch for thirty seconds before playing, is the part people think is the warm up. It does not appear to prevent injuries, and it may make you slightly weaker for a short while afterwards. Save it for after.
Key Learning Points
- A warm up prepares you to play and teaches your body how to move.
- Most knee injuries in sport happen with nobody touching the player.
- Programmes that work include landing, cutting, strength and single leg balance.
- Hip strength matters, because the hip controls where the thigh points on landing.
- Doing it twice a week all season matters more than which programme you pick.
If any of this sounds like something happening to you, speak to a parent, teacher, coach or doctor.
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References
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