NIGGLES – TO PLAY OR NOT TO PLAY

NIGGLES – TO PLAY OR NOT TO PLAY

We know that more than half of adolescent athletes have played the sport when injured, and almost as many athletes report hiding or downplaying an injury so they could stay in the game. What are the possible consequences of playing with pain or injury? At what point does it become a problem? Should you tell anyone about it? We know that when you play with pain individual performance drops, and with that, so too does the overall performance of the team. You cannot play your role properly! Additionally, especially in overuse injuries (which account for over half of the injuries experienced by adolescent footballers), tissue damage can already have occurred prior to you feeling pain or performing poorly.