Sample Response on Physical Preparation

Resource Description

Discuss the role of physical preparation in reducing the risk of sports injuries occurring.

Physical preparation enables the body to better cope with the demands of sport, reducing the risk of injury through preventative actions. These actions include pre-screening, skill + technique, physical fitness, and warm up, stretching and cool down.

Pre-screening assesses the health status of a person before they become involved in a training program, reducing the risk of injury by identifying physical limitations such as age, prior experience, and medical conditions e.g. CVD. For example, an older, obese and unfit person with asthma carries significantly higher risk than an active and healthy 20-year-old, as the first person requires numerous  onsiderations to prevent injury while exercising. By using pre-screening, coaches can develop tailored exercise programs suited to these individual needs – e.g. starting a person with a heart condition on low intensity, aerobic exercise such as jogging rather than high-intensity activities such as powerlifting, which puts strain on the heart – and thus prevent injury by practicing safe participation in sport.