Today, we have a special treat for you as we introduce Holli Finnis, a highly experienced physiotherapist who has worked with the esteemed Manchester United Football Club. With her vast expertise and insights gained from working with elite athletes, Holli is here to share her top tips on setting up for success in the upcoming sporting season.

As an integral part of the Manchester United team, Holli has played a crucial role in keeping the players fit, preventing injuries, and aiding in their recovery. Her experience and knowledge have proven invaluable in maintaining the physical well-being of professional athletes. Now, she brings her expertise to Alpha Physiotherapy, ready to empower and guide our clients to success.

Check out below to set your new season up for success.

1.Set Goals:

Focus is key at the start of a new season or starting a new sport. A great way to stay on top of this is setting yourself goals, for example aiming to increase the strength of your different muscle groups that are specific to the sport of your choice. For example, a tennis player will need lots of strength through the shoulder whereas a runner will place more demand through their legs.

The optimum way to monitor this is through specific testing. For example, at Alpha Physio we use a machine called a dynamometer which measures the force a muscle can produce. It is very specific and incredibly helpful for therapists when designing treatment plans to help rehabilitate people back from injury, as it shows exactly how powerful the muscle is when compared to the other limb.

By completing muscle strength testing at the beginning of your preseason it will show areas that you may need to work on such as differences between leg muscles and imbalances that can increase the risk of injury. It is also useful to retest after a couple of months to show your muscle strength improvements. 

2. Listening to your body: 

When returning to sport after a rest period or starting a new activity, it is normal to feel changes in tightness and fatigue in different areas of the body. The idea is that this improves as you get stronger and back into the “flow” of the sport/activity.

However, if these start to become more of a discomfort and are preventing you from keeping up with your training plan it is important to get it assessed and treated ASAP. This could prevent a more significant injury from occurring.

3. Be proactive with treatment:

Preseason is notorious for muscle soreness and tightness, especially within the legs and back. This is largely due to the sudden increase in intensity of the sport and not allowing the body the time it needs to adapt and grow stronger. Furthermore, in non-professional sport we tend to see very little in the way of cool-down and stretching to help prevent injury!

Sports massage is a very useful treatment method to help reduce the effects of muscle soreness as a result of this training. Within professional football clubs, players would often have 1 to 2 massages a week as a way to help recover from returning activity after a rest period. It is not considered a luxury; it is an essential part of the training programme and non-negotiable to ensure the players stay on track for season start.

4. Focus on recovery:

When starting back at any sport after a period of rest it is important to gradually build up your load. This involves making sure you have rest days and allow your body to recover. Depending on your primary sport, rest days can involve activities such as a gentle spin on a bike, going into a pool for mobilising or treatment of sore muscles with a foam roller or massage gun. Ideally you would want to have at least two rest and recovery days per week. Combining these techniques alongside other methods such as good diet and sleep will ensure maximal recovery and improve your body’s ability to adapt to the increased demands of pre-season. 

5. Looking after your feet:

Most sports, especially football, are focused on using and utilising our feet. Feeling comfortable in your footwear, especially when increasing your activity is paramount. The best way to ensure your foot is positioned correctly and you are moving most effectively is by using orthotics. These are inserts into your shoes or boots that help distribute the pressure through your feet is the most optimum way. The effect of that is that your feet, ankle, knee, hip and back work efficiently to produce the best output and enhance your sport.

At Alpha Physiotherapy we have a specialist foot scan machine that can measure and analyse the weight distribution and mechanics in your feet and aid in designing bespoke orthotics individual to the foot scanned. These are state of the art and the best on the market in terms of durability and results.

So if you would like to know more and to see if we can help you set up your season for success – simply CONTACT US BY CLICKING HERE.

Other Great Resources To Set You Up For A Pain Free & Successful Season 

We have several free, downloadable reports to help you relieve Back Pain, Knee Pain and Neck & Shoulder Pain. 

We also have fantastic blogs where we share expert advice such as Why You Need A Sports Massage , Do I Need Insoles and Should I Use Ice or Heat?

Finally, don’t forget to check out our YouTube channel, Facebook page and Instagram page.