Enhancing Athletes Wellbeing

A) What role does physical preparation play in enhancing the wellbeing of the athlete?
Physical preparation plays a major role in injury prevention. Some preparation techniques include;
• Pre – screening= Allows an exercise program to be tailored to the individuals needs based on age, health status, gender, previous experience etc.
• Skill and technique= many sports injuries happen as a result of poor technique. Injuries may come from a single blow e.g.   Poor head position when making a tackle in rugby, or repeated minor impacts/overuse e.g. tennis players may suffer stress fractures to the spine.
• Physical fitness = Athletes should focus on the specific fitness requirements of their sport, this will greatly reduce the risk of injury e.g. neck stretching exercises to reduce the risk of neck injury in a rugby scrum. Individuals need to undertake specific preparation for these reasons: previous injury, medical conditions, disabilities etc.
• Warm – up, stretching and cool down = the purpose of the warm up is to; increase blood flow and oxygen levels, increase body temperature, stretch muscles and ligaments to reduce risk of injury, assist mental preparation, allow athletes to compete at their physical and mental peak.  
- A warm up is best structured into 3 parts. Gentle exercise e.g. jogging, Stretching and vigorous exercise e.g. short sharp sprints.
- Cool down – a cool down is necessary to assist the body in returning to its normal pre – exercise state.  
Coaches/trainers should be aware and cater to individual needs during the training process.

B) Analyse why sports medicine has a focus on the specific demands of children, young athletes and female athletes.
Sports medicine focuses on women, children and young athletes because the body composition of these groups, are less suited to the rigours of physical activity, and therefore injuries and conditions develop.  
E.g.   Conditions and injuries in children and young athletes:
Children are not...