Rehabilitation principles are similar but differ depending on the injury in question. The basic tenants of functional progression in rehabilitation would be to begin with reducing pain and swelling, restore range of motion, build basic strength followed by neuromuscular proprioception. Once these parameters have been achieved, the re-establishing of motor pathways and finally return to practice before match play. It is also prudent to start with skill training for the sport concerned, as rehabilitation may happen over extended periods of time.

• • After a hip injury, depending on the specific injury, and how long will the rehabilitation programme last, will dictate at what level of fitness the player will be, in order to return to play. In most cases hip injuries rehabilitation can take between 2 to 8 weeks of rehabilitation depending on the grade of injury.
  • It is imperative, that rehabilitation process start as soon as possible in order to reduce the recovery time, however, it depends of the wiliness of the player
  • An analysis of the players movements during competition is important so that specific rehabilitation techniques could be used to have an effective rehabilitation programme
  • Once the swelling, pain and tenderness has been abated, then the improvement of functional stability should be tackled and rehabbed

Finally there are a number of factors that influence the rate of recovery of the player. These are type of injury and it’s severity, sport code, contact or non-contact, how far into the season, did the injury occur and the mental toughness of the player. The final decision to return to practice will be an assessment done by a multi-disciplinary team for the green light to be given to the play.

Return to practice or play is usually determined by a multi-disciplinary team, taking all factors into account. These guidelines depends on a number of factors, including, how long did the rehabilitation period last, which will indicate level of deconditioning. The players psychological state of mind during the injury and during rehabilitation and if the player was in rehabilitation for longer than 8 weeks, then the level and intensity of training should be commence at pre-season stage. Another factor to be taken into account is how far into the season will the player join the team. If the season is almost over, then it is suggested that the player sit out till the next pre-season training.

• Different parameters of fitness testing will differ from sport to sport, e.g. a gymnast will focus on greater flexibility and strength and agility, whereas a soccer player will focus on aerobic, anaerobic, agility and speed
• A comprehensive fitness testing programme is required and compared to pre-season testing results
• The basic testing parameters would be flexibility, aerobic, anaerobic, speed, agility and muscular strength and endurance, as related to the hip injury
• Once a score of 95% of pre-injury levels are achieved, the player is ready to go back to practice
• During the first two weeks of practice, the rehabbed player should only train at an intensity of 50% of the teams intensity, then following that 60% , 70% and finally join the team at same intensity, then the player would be ready for match play

1. Prentice, W.E. (2000) Rehabilitation Techniques in Sports Medicine. McGraw Hill. New York.
2. Mellion, M.B. (1994) Sports Medicine Secrets. Mosby. Boston.
3. Bruckner, P and Khan, K. (2007) Clinical Sports Medicine. McGraw Hill. New York.