Guards Polo Club Official Yearbook 2017 Official Yearbook 2017 | Page 76

staying fit for polo
KEEP PLAYING
Guards Polo Club-based sports therapist, Mary MacKay, creates a guide
to players of all handicaps on how to avoid injuries and aid recovery
P
olo is a high-risk sport and is
unique in merging the skill of
a player with the agility and
performance of an animal to create a
single participant in a contact sport. It is
therefore vital to go into every game fully
prepared and in the best physical shape.
Of course, it is impossible to guarantee
that a player won’t get injured. Take a look
at the stats from the 2015 Argentine polo
season compared to that of the English
rugby season from the same year:
• Polo: incidence of injury was 7.8/1000
playing hours
• Rugby: incidence was 53.8/1000 hours
Some 64% of those polo injuries were
considered serious compared to just
14.5% of the rugby injuries.*
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INJURY PREVENTION
In polo, there are numerous extrinsic
(collision with an external object) and
intrinsic (muscle tear/overuse) risks, but a
lot can be done to help prevent the latter
injuries.
The best advice to avoid those intrinsic
injuries is to ensure good off-season rest
and recovery. Then, after a few weeks off,
the player should start to keep their fitness
ticking over and work on weak areas
before the season starts. Increasing core
strength and flexibility are always the key
areas in injury prevention.
WARMING UP
The warm-up should gently prepare the
body for the activity it is about to do by
gradually increasing the heart rate and
circulation. This will loosen the joints and
increase blood flow to the muscles. The
warm-up should be dynamic and gradual.
This is also a good opportunity for the
player to prepare themselves mentally for
the game ahead and for a team to