Youth Development Physio Greg Reid talks about a new piece of equipment that allows players to maintain their cardiovascular fitness even when they are unable to train.

The physios at Cambridge United have recently started using a new piece of equipment to help them minimise the loss of fitness caused when a player is unable to train. The red, plastic POWERbreathe apparatus is a hand-held inspiratory muscle trainer designed by professional exercise scientists at the University of Birmingham to help maximise sports performance and improve fitness.

"It targets specifically the muscles that the body uses to inhale and exhale," Greg (pictured) explains. "In the same way that most cardiovascular training is geared towards improving the function of the lungs and such like, this is a unit that actually as well as improve lung function, will actually improve the muscles that are utilised when you breath in and out to expand and then close the rib cage. These are the smaller intercostal muscles, which are the muscles that actually work on the rib cage to expand and such like.

"One of the problems that we face in sport, particularly professional sport, is the players work very hard to improve their fitness levels - whether it be strength, muscle endurance, cardiovascular fitness and such like - but when they are injured not only do we have to concern ourselves with getting the actual injury site to repair itself, but we try to minimise the loss of training effect, i.e. reduction in strength, power, cardiovascular fitness.

"So for instance, someone who picks up quite a nasty ankle sprain would be immobilised probably for four or five days. Once we can get them in the swimming pool then we can maintain their fitness, to a certain extent, but they can use this almost from the moment that injury occurs just by breathing in and out."

Retailing at £50 each, the POWERbreathe trainers only became available towards the end of last year but the Club had them on order after Greg read about them in a fitness publication and they were in use within a week of becoming generally available.

Explaining the way the equipment works, Greg added that their use will not be restricted to injured players: "It makes it harder for them to actually get air in the lungs as the muscles have to work harder, so we can minimise the amount of loss of lung function right from the moment that injury occurs. It can actually happen quite quickly; the quickest loss is with strength, but cardiovascular fitness can drop off quite quickly too. With an ankle sprain, which might take six weeks before the player is back to full fitness, the first couple of weeks is very much geared towards reducing the swelling and getting a range of movement back, and it is during those times when the loss in cardiovascular fitness is at its greatest.

"That is when we believe that the POWERbreathe will be very beneficial to us, and also when they are getting back into training we can use this as an aid. For instance, if they were doing twenty minutes on the exercise bike, by using the POWERbreathe at the same time it actually makes that twenty minutes far more intense in terms of the work that the lungs and respiratory muscles have to do, so it can turn a small workout into quite an intensive workout. When it is pulled up to its maximum it's very difficult to breathe in and out when you are sitting down, let alone when you are exercising, and you sound like Darth Vader!

"We are also trying it with a couple of young lads who are not injured but need to improve their aerobic capacity. They are going to use them in addition to their training programme just to see whether it can help give them a bit of an edge in terms of improving their cardiovascular and aerobic performance. This will help them last the ninety minutes and also the recovery, depending what position they play in. Midfielders in particular cover a considerable amount of ground during the course of a match so those guys have to have a very good aerobic capacity to enable them to keep making the runs."

Greg with youth team player Adam Smith and a POWERbreathe trainer

The equipment has already been used extensively and successfully by the England Rugby Union team and Greg added, "I'm sure you are aware there is quite a revolution in terms of the fitness levels with Rugby Union, particularly with the advent of the professional game. Whereas in the past it was very much the beer swilling type image, now they are absolute professionals and top class athletes, the same as footballers and any other professional sport."

Greg believes the trainers will be of great benefit to the players, not only to improve their athletic performance but also to aid their rehabilitation, and will be monitoring the results closely. "We will be able to test and tell quite clearly whether their aerobic performance has improved because there are various tests that we do to test their aerobic capacity, and what they call VO2 Max, which is the amount of air that the body can inspire and utilise in one breath, so we will be able to tell quite clearly whether it has had a positive benefit or not."

If you have questions about the way the players at Cambridge United are treated when injured, the training routines, how their fitness and well-being is monitored and maintained, or anything else on the topic of physiotherapy at a football club, here's your chance to have them answered. First team physio Stuart Ayles is the subject of next week's Q&A, which will be published weekly from now on so you must hurry to send your questions! Please give your name and town and put 'Stuart Ayles' in the subject field.

Previous Main Features:
13Jan02  - Kit Carson Explains His 'Head of Talent Development' Role
05Jan02  - Dale Brooks Enjoying New Role
04Dec01 - U's Players Try Out Premiership Physio Machine
10Nov01 - U's Launch New Away Kit

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