England Women: The doctor on 'empowering' players to success – BBC

England defender Niamh Charles has had a back injury that affected her pelvic floor
From European champions to World Cup finalists, England's Lionesses have enjoyed unprecedented success over recent years.
So, what is their secret?
Head coach Sarina Wiegman and her backroom staff have been key in entrenching a winning mentality.
But there is one member in particular who has helped deliver a competitive edge by inspiring change of a different kind – tackling the taboos of female athlete health.
Dr Ritan Mehta has worked for the Football Association (FA) in his role as head of women’s medical for nearly 10 years.
Talking about periods, sports bras and breast and pelvic floor health has helped the team go from strength to strength.
He told BBC Sport: “We started looking at the menstrual cycle about five to six years ago. We want to empower our athletes to understand themselves better.
“I’ve been really surprised at how open the players are and, as a male doctor in a female environment, I think I was probably more conscious than they were.”
New ACL research to be carried out with WSL clubs
The FA’s approach to female health became even more sophisticated three years ago when it started working with an elite sport bio-analytics company, which provides platforms for menstrual cycle tracking through apps.
More than half of teams in the Women's Super League use the FitrWoman app, allowing players, coaches and medical staff at both club and international level to track cycles and tailor training and nutrition accordingly.
"It’s trying to understand each individual because it’s not one size fits all," Dr Mehta explained.
One player had bouts of nausea and by tracking their cycle over a long time they realised it was related to a certain time of the month.
“We’re never going to get everything to zero. It's a natural process for a female – they will go through hormonal changes and that will unfortunately produce some symptoms that may be impactful.
"We're not going to remove all of that, but can we make it better? Can we make it 1% better, can we make it 10% better?"
Attention is now turning to pelvic floor health, the area of muscles controlling the bladder and bowels.
Dr Mehta, who is also a club doctor for Reading, believes this could have the biggest impact for female players as research suggests 20% of players in the professional game are affected.
"You hear anecdotal comments from players about leaking, particularly around gym and exertional activities and other issues including pain and discomfort," he added.
"It's a gap in our understanding at this stage but we want to fill that."
Discussions around pelvic floor is one of a number of female-specific health projects recently launched by the FA, while Chelsea recently became the first Women’s Super League club to appoint a pelvic health specialist.
Investment in this area has already helped a number of players, including England and Chelsea defender Niamh Charles.
Speaking to BBC Sport, the 24-year-old said: “I’ve had a really bad back injury and that definitely affects my pelvic floor.
"There’s some movements in the gym that I don’t feel comfortable doing with my back but when I link it to my pelvic floor and I start breathing correctly, the pain goes away."
The Lionesses’ approach to female health has now filtered through the pathway teams as far down as the under-16s, with a strong focus on education programmes and one-to-one sessions with players.
Charles added: "It’s day-to-day things and it’s high-performance things.
"When I’m playing football, it will be massively important but also when I retire, it will continue to be important for as long as I live."
Miami Grand Prix qualifying: Verstappen takes pole
Real Madrid crowned champions after Barca's defeat at Girona
'Arsenal left praying while Man City shine as end game nears'
Train stations, cars and how to be a winner in life
Comedian Michael Spicer's unique satire with topical and character-filled sketches
The slow-burn hit that became the nation's favourite
Essex and Wales collide when Gavin and Stacey fall in love. But what is next?
Japan’s last World War Two soldier to surrender
Hiroo Onoda spent 30 years fighting in the jungle, believing the war was still going on
'It was a collision of two very dangerous people'
A raw documentary about the life and crimes of televangelists turned cult leaders Susan and Tony Alamo
What makes 'genius and visionary' Newey so special?
'Canelo will be truly appreciated when he retires'
Sutton's Premier League predictions v Kings of Leon drummer Nathan Followill
'Outrageous' and ‘rejuvenated' – Sancho has 'mojo back'
Bears pin hopes on Williams – meet NFL's next superstar
How Stormzy's #Merky FC is providing opportunities in south London
Sid, Senna and an F1 revolution
Schalke's fall to the edge of existence
Royal Troon will have longest hole in Open history
Who are the winners and losers from the NFL Draft?
World Championship order of play & BBC TV schedule
'I thought I couldn't play' – GB basketballer on wearing hijab
Who will win the Premier League?
Join the BBC Sport WhatsApp channels
© 2024 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.

source

Comments

comments