Quote ="AJC"Injuries have become a frustrating by-product of the summer game.
The advent of full time professionalism has seen a huge leap in both physical & mental approach to the game, added to strict nutrition & diet plans enabling players to become faster, stronger & physically bigger than ever before. Something will have to give (just not sure what) as it is becoming a detriment to the game having so many players on the treatment table at any one time. It could almost be argued now that the team with the least injuries in a season is the team most likely to become champions. The only possible change I can think of is reverting to the 5m rule at the ptb, I certainly wouldn't want to see any less intensity though - that (for me) is what makes the game so appealing'"
I was reading an eminent physiologists paper on this a while back. That eminent I forget his name, but he had an impressive array of letters after his name anyhow.
It all comes down to physics and one fact, you can't train tendons and ligaments.
The physics of Karl Harrison and Kelvin Skerrett hitting each other and the physics of Mark O'Meley and Tony Puletua hitting each other are the same only the mass and acceleration figures in the latter are higher. The percentage body fat into which Harrison and Skerrett could disipate shock just are not present in the modern player. So the shock is born by the muscles of the athlete, which puts strain on the ligaments that anchor them to bones. And they can come off, not to mention tear to bits.
Damo makes a good point. Are injuries part of the game, yes they are, but ones as serious as we see nowadays? Not necessarily so. I don't know what the answer is but the game gettting faster and more intense coupled with better training and diet not just for the pro player but across the board, means that the collision is now akin to a car crash at times. This concept of "resting" your big lads might have more to do with common sense than we might think.
