 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Cricket - Bowling injuries Cricket is a much loved sport in England and played by many. Compared to football and rugby it may seem a slow paced, non aggressive sport but the injury risk is high. Cricket is very technical and demanding, particularly for bowlers. The bowling technique is the hardest to master and accounts for 43% of all injury occurrences in cricket. There are three main bowling techniques which are; The front-on Hips and shoulders remain parallel to the crease for much of the action The side-on The action starts with the hips and shoulders pointing down the pitch The mixed action The back foot lands in a front on style and then the trunk rotates into a side-on position by the time the front foot lands. The mixed action places additional rotational stress on the lower back and as such has been identified by a number of studies as the action most likely to result in injury (Barlett 1996, finch et al 1999). Pace bowlers are also at risk due to repetitive nature of the sport which places high stress on the joints of the lower limb and back. Despite this knowledge many injuries still occur. Short term solutions See a sports injury specialist Use pain relieving modalities such as ice and heat Rest – active rest, some form of exercise can always be achieved Long term solutions Correction of technique – use a video to do this, at first it is hard for a bowler to feel the changes in technique correction, it takes time to adapt and be aware of limb position Sports specific exercise programme – this should include core stability Because of the repetitive nature of bowling it is natural to develop soft tissue tightness; sports massage is a good prevention of injury method. The injuries Side strains and back pain are the most common injuries seen in pace bowlers. The back Injuries include spondylyosis (fracture of the lumbar vertebrae), disk degeneration and muscle and other soft tissue damage. Fractures The diagnosis of a fracture can be made clinically, but scans can be used for confirmation of the stage of injury. Treatment can be done conservatively with the initial management been rest from the bowling action, supervised rehabilitation and re-education of core muscles, and analysis of bowling action and appropriate modification. Surgery may become an option when conservative management is unsuccessful. Fractures tend to happen due to the fatigue theory. With repeated efforts, the muscles become unable to support the skeleton during impact as the foot strikes the ground, the load is transferred to the bone instead of the muscle absorbing the shock. As the load surpasses the capacity of the bone to adapt the fracture develops. Also the overloading of the muscles contraction can cause the bone to bend and finally break. If you feel pain on a bone when bowling you should stop, if the pain persists after 2 weeks a stress fracture maybe suspected. Side strains A study by Humphries and Jamison (BJSM 2004;38) took ten cases of lateral trunk injuries in first class cricket pace bowlers. Results found the injuries typically occur during a single delivery and is associated with pain and prevents the bowler from continuing. “However the fatigue theory mentioned earlier is also a factor so the problem may be chronic” The most noticeable features are the consistency of the injury occurring on the non bowling arm side, a positive resisted side flexion test, and a high rate of previous similar injuries. Some players kept bowling through the injury but reduced the load. Treatment varies slightly with different sports injury therapists but should follow pain relief, recovery of mobility, and recovery of strength achieved with electrotherapy, massage and exercises. A study showed by Sarah Shute (SIB low back – cricketing lower back injuries) showed females to play with the same techniques and suffer with same injuries as male players. Side strains can be due to a strain or tear of the internal/external Obliques, and/or transverse abdominus. Another area affected maybe the intercostals (situated between each rib) and quadratus lumborum. Transverse abdominus – is the deepest of the abdominal muscles and has a tremendous affect on posture. It’s the muscle that sucks in your stomach and is used as a pre-setup for any exercise to be performed. Most back pain sufferers have lost the function of this muscle and retraining is part of a vital programme to prevent reoccurrence. External oblique – these are located on both sides of the trunk, it quite a superficial muscle and helps to side bend to same side and rotate to the opposite side. Internal oblique – works with the external obliques, it is deeper and has more influence on posture than the externals. It helps side bend and rotate to the same side. The quadratus lumborum originates from the iliac crest (pelvis) and inserts on to the lumbar vertebrae 1-4 and 12th rib. It can over compensate for weak hip flexors but its main actions are lateral flexion, extension, hip hiking and stabilisation of the 12th rib. If injury occurs to these muscles you get pain when exhaling deeply, coughing and sneezing. They also have function in the position of the pelvis again back pain suffers tend to have lost the ability to tilt the pelvis forward and backward. Contributing factors to injury v Technique v Weak core muscles v Soft tissue tightness, hamstrings, glutes, hip flexors, ITB etc. v Overuse – fatigue of muscles As you can see cricket has many risks but like with all sports if you take the right precautions injury will not happen. Most of all it’s about enjoyment. If you feel pain and it persists see a sports injury therapist straight away and get treated efficiently. Click here to visit the coach interview page and get top tips from Scarborough Cricket Club Players References
Bartlett, R.M.,
Stockhill, N.P., Elliott, B.C., and Burnett, A.F. (1996). 'The biomechanics of
fast bowling in men's cricket: a review.' Journal of Sport Science, 14, pp
403-424 Both found in Adrian Burden, Case study 2 - lower back injuries, sports injury bulletin (SIB)
|