Athletes across the UK and around the globe are preparing for the world's greatest sporting event next year and the biggest competition of their careers.
The GB Rowing Team is already focused to meet the high expectations of the British public and will be taking on top international rowers this weekend at the Rowing World Championships in Slovenia, an event that is also the qualifying regatta for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
But with such intense pressure to guarantee they are at the peak of their physical fitness at this important time, how can they minimise their risk of injury and ensure they don't miss crucial days in training?
Overall fitness plays a huge role in the success of any athlete, and adding to the GB Rowing Team's existing fitness measures, they have recently formed an association with The London Clinic giving the team access to experts in sports medicine and state-of-the-art facilities and technology to help diagnose and manage sports injuries.
This will ensure minimal injury time and subsequent time out of training, and thus help to maximise their continued international success in the sport.
But it's not just elite athletes whose sporting endeavors are impacted by injury. According to new research undertaken by The London Clinic [1] 86% of people have suffered an injury whilst exercising or participating in sport, with more than a third being prevented from returning to sports for at least three months due to their injury.
When it comes to looking after sports injuries a worrying 57% said they will just rest the injured body part and hope it will recover over time. Whilst prevention is undoubtedly better than cure, a quick and accurate diagnosis, coupled with expert and timely treatment are still essential to reduce the risk of short, medium and long term repercussions or damage from any sports injury.
[1] The research for The London Clinic was carried out by Opinion Matters between 13/05/2011 and 24/05/2011 (Sample: 1032 UK adults).
