Netball Australia has launched The KNEE Program, which is a warm-up program aimed to reduce lower limb injuries (specifically Anterior Cruciate Ligament injuries in the knee) in netballers.
Anterior Cruciate Ligament injuries account for roughly a quarter of all serious netball injuries and have a significant impact on the lives of the injured individual.
The majority of injuries sustained during netball occur when the player lands from being in the air. The KNEE Program “targets safe take off and landing technique with specific attention to the overhead position required of netballers.”
The KNEE Program stands for Knee injury prevention forNetballers to Enhance performance and Extend play. There are 3 variations of the program catering to all netballers – Junior, Recreational & Elite. The program can be found at http://knee.netball.com.au/ and has a host of resources to explain the program in detail including videos of the program components.
All players, coaches and clubs should be encouraged to commence using the program on a regular basis to help reduce the overall number of serious lower-limb netball injuries.
