Always ready for injuries: "Our purpose is to do a quick assessment"

The physiotherapists are always ready in case of injury.

Gothia Innebandy Cup stretches across four days – and during that time there’s an enhanced risk of injury for the players due to playing many matches.
That’s why there’re physiotherapists ready to evaluate and take care of injuries in the courts that are holding the finals.

In the tournament that stretches across four days – where over 400 teams participate and over 1300 matches will be played – there’s an enhanced risk of injury. Ready in the final courts, Valhalla Sporthall and Partille Arena, are there for physiotherapists always ready in case of any injuries occurs.
– It may be injuries on everyone from players to bystanders, says the physiotherapist, and Gothia Innebandy Cup-official, Sofia Billger.
The most occurring types of injuries are shoulder injuries and finger injuries on the goalkeepers as well as frictional injuries.
– Of course, we’ll go out in the courts if there’s a serious injury, if not they’ll come to our space where we examine them. Our purpose is to do a quick assessment with the questions: can the player continue, or should the player go off the court, should the player go to the hospital, emergency or can the player stay here? Is the injury something that ends the participation of the tournament or can the player continue to play in another match, says Billger.

Every day there’re injuries occurring in the courts, and the present physiotherapists needs to make quick and difficult calls whether the players can continue to play or not.
– We need have different perspectives in our assessments. It can be disappointment and fear of not being able to play any more in the tournament, but also to attain a long-term injury. Many has put a lot of effort to be here, so sometimes we might do another assessment that we might not have done off season. In tournaments there’s more at stake and you allow more, she says in the same breath as telling that the regard of the players age make the judgement might fall the other way around:
– You’re always aware of that the players have invested a lot to be here. The youths have been looking forward to this for a long time, that’s also what we’re trying to facilitate for the players. In regard to that we need to be able to take a calculated risk that we might not do when off season. It can be if it hurts but there’s no chance of getting a serious injury, then we might try to tape it, says the physiotherapist.