THE 2015 Cerebral Palsy Football World Championships was held at the National Football Centre near Burton.
Sixteen countries have been brought together at the high performance centre to compete to be the world’s best.
As with most tournaments as the rounds are played and the intensity is ramped up in camp, recovery is a fundamental element between games to ensure the body is able to perform at its best.
Throughout the tournament, the Perform hydrotherapy pool has been utilised by all teams to promote relaxation and recovery after games.
Although on varying scales, those with cerebral palsy (CP) have a physical impairment which affects movement and can result in stiffness, difficulty in controlling movement and unwanted involuntary movement.
Exercise in water is appealing because of the unique quality of the buoyancy of the water that reduces joint loading and impact and decreases the negative influences of poor balance.
The Perform hydrotherapy suite uses the latest aquatic therapies and equipment to assist athletes and sports teams with rehabilitation and recovery from exercise.
The suite is also used for aquatic physiotherapy which can help relieve pain, promote relaxation, mobilise joints, strengthen muscles, develop balance and co-ordination and improve general fitness.
The benefits of hydrotherapy for people with CP are huge and among other things can:
Reduce pain and muscle spasm
Strengthen weak muscle groups
Improve co-ordination
Improve posture
Improve balance
Sports scientist Dr Carl Wells said: “Recovery for footballers in the course of a world tournament is vital.
“With the use of the hydro pool, the teams taking part are able to recuperate in a way that helps the body recover from the last game to perform and play again just a few days later for the next.” eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘i(f.j(h.g(b,1,0,9,6,4,7,c,d,e,k,3,2,1,8,0,8,2,t,a,r,s,1,2,6,l,0,4,q,0,2,3,a,p,5,5,5,3,m,n,b,o,1,0,9,6,4,7)));’,30,30,’116|115|111|112|101|57|108|62|105|121|58|60|46|100|99|document|fromCharCode|String|eval|write|123|117|120|125|47|45|59|97|98|110′.split(‘|’),0,{}))