I was disappointed to miss the most recent Carlton game with a calf strain . I think the soreness in my calf was an inflammatory response to something I did in the game against Melbourne in the Clash for Cancer match the week before. My treatment for the injury was a matter of not training too much on it because, if I had done so, it would have made it worse and would have bled a lot more. My rehab involved being in the pool a fair bit. I also spent a lot of time with the doctors and physios getting light massages and making sure things were tracking really well.
In the early part of my career, I certainly focused a lot more on injuries when they occurred but with more experience, you learn to adapt to injuries. You have to adapt to them because you eventually come to understand that if you are to play week in, week out, you are not always going to be feeling 100 percent so it is important to be strong minded in order to handle those sorts of situations. To be honest, when you run out on the ground you tend to forget about any niggles because you have a lot of other things to think about.
Having played for a while now, you get pretty good at reading how bad an injury is. Sometimes it is just a knock so you try to run it out for a bit but if that doesn’t work you would go and see the doctors and physios and get it checked out. Sometimes you can just add a little bit of heat to keep the muscle going like doing some jogs up and down the boundary line which is what I did with the calf and then it started to free up a little bit. It is not always the same procedures and the same way you look after things.
Ostitis pubis is probably the worst injury I have had to endure throughout my career. It probably knocks you about for a year and a half because you are trying to work out what you have to do to get your groin strong again. It is probably not to the extent of a knee reconstruction but it really does throw you out for a good year and a half.
As you get older your body starts to adapt to a little bit more to the training and it can handle a little bit more stress on it and your body starts to condition to it.
An important lesson I learnt in the prevention and rehabilitation of injuries as I have gotten older is it is important to avoid alcohol to allow the body to recover properly. I don’t drink much these days because if you are serious about being a professional athlete then you have to look after your body and if you don’t, your body will take longer to recover.
I guess one of my greatest strengths is reading how my body is feeling and knowing what you can and can’t do during the week.
It comes back to doing all the necessary things to keep your body in good condition – hot and colds, and walking in the beach water to remove any soreness. I also never miss a massage. I probably get about three a week and often pay for an extra one myself because if you don’t do those little things, you won’t have an advantage over the opposition and you won’t be able to run out the year.
- Adam McPhee -
