M.Phil. (Biokinetics) / As with any other athletic activity, football participation carries an inherent risk for injury. Inadequate rehabilitation and incomplete healing have been identified as some of the key reasons for the high levels of injury in football. The majority of football injuries occur in the lower extremities. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between functional movement patterns and injury in junior football players. South African youth development players (119) participated in the study. This study adopted a quantitative and descriptive research approach. An injury questionnaire (retrospective) was completed and Functional Movement Screening (FMS) was used to assess each participant. The relationship between injuries suffered previously and FMS score was analysed. Kolmogorov-­‐Smirnov and Shapiro-­‐Wilk tests were used to determine normality. A Levene’s test for equality of variances was conducted. Independent sample t-tests were used to test inter-group differences. The confidence level was set at 95% (p≤0.05). The findings reflected that injuries, in this group, were prevalent with 87.3% of the sample having sustained a previous injury. Lower limb injuries were the most prevalent (76%); 58.8% of the lower limb injuries were of a non-contact nature and 41.1% were due to contact. The mean FMS score was 12.9, which, according to previous research, is linked to an increased risk for injury. There was a significant difference in FMS score between players who sustained a lower limb injury, compared to those who suffered an injury to another part of the body (p=0.032). This study found that injury was prevalent in junior football players and that FMS is a useful tool to screen for injury risk. The primary recommendation is for injury prevention strategies to be established in youth development football in South Africa.

Background Clinical usable assessment methods to quantify mobility, balance, stability and postural control functions together in a full kinetic chain movement are sparse. Normative data of such dynamic functions in different group of athletes are  still lacking and therefore the relationship between dynamic functional mobility and overuse injuries are also unknown. The prevalence of overuse injuries among adolescent athletes are continuously high and team gymnastic is one example of a sport with multiple and underestimated overuse injuries.   Aim The first aim of study was to establish normative data of dynamic functional mobility in a group of elite team gymnasts. The second aim was to investigate ongoing overuse injuries and evaluate associations between ongoing overuse injuries and dynamic functional mobility in the group.   Method A descriptive cross sectional study including 31 female elite team gymnasts 16-19 years old were conducted. “The hand reach star excursion balance test” (HSEBT) was used to measure dynamic functional mobility in 20 different movement patterns. The "Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center Overuse Injury Questionnaire"(OSTRC) was used to record and analyse severity of ongoing overuse injuries in the group. Pearson correlation analysis was used to determine the relationship between the scoring in the HSEBT- tests and scoring on the OSTRC.   Results A majority of the participants presented with scores near the maximum values on the HSEBT. Further,  97% of the subjects had an ongoing overuse injury. Severe injuries, affecting participation in sport were present in 67%. Correlations was found between prevalence of severe injury in the lower back and lower scoring on the right leg in a rotational movement pattern (r= -0,42) whereas prevalence of severe injury in the hip was associated with extreme high mobility in a sidebending pattern in both legs (r= 0,50, 0,49). There was also a relationship between individuals with multiple severe overuse injuries and dynamic functional mobility in an extended movement pattern of the left leg (r= -0,36, -0,38).   Conclusion Normative data of dynamic functional mobility according to the HSEBT can provide clinicians with reference points to compare elite female team gymnasts. There was an indication of association between limited mobility in some of the included tests and prevalence of overuse injuries in the lower back and hip. This study included a small sample and therefore conclusions have to be interpreted carefully.

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Title: Using the FMS method for injury prevention in older school-age athletes Objectives: The objective of this diploma thesis is to show new methods and approaches used nowadays for preventing injuries in athletics. In order to fulfil the objective, it was necessary to gather as much information as possible about the characteristics of older school-age children, the issue of injuries at this age, in general and in athletics specifically. Understanding the connections, two methods were then selected and described in detail which focus on preventing injury and which are used in athletics as well as other sports. One of these methods is the ComplexCore+ method which was invented and described by Austrian physical therapist and coach Roman Jahoda. This method is widely used in athletics and its main focus is the local and global stabilization of the body. In this thesis, however, I have more focused more on describing and analysing the principles and options for using the Functional Movement Screening (FMS) method. FMS is founded in physical therapy and was created by American physical therapist and coach Gray Cook. The purpose of the method is to identify and assess the quality of basic movement patterns through 7 mobility tests. In order to fulfil the objective of the thesis, two FMS tests were...