Whether you’re pushing through pre-season, chasing performance goals, or eyeing the next level of competition, one thing can derail it all — injury.

Yet, injury prevention is one of the most overlooked components of athletic development, especially among younger semi-professional athletes. You’re motivated, competitive, and willing to work hard — but without a smart, proactive approach to injury risk, that hard work can quickly become undone.

Why prevention matters more than you think

Injury prevention isn’t about avoiding all risk. It’s about building a more durable, adaptable and high performing body. Most injuries in sport aren’t freak accidents – they’re the result of:

• Poor load management (eg. sudden increases in training volume of intensity)
• Muscle imbalances or weaknesses, especially around the hips, core and shoulders
• Fatigue reducing movement quality and neuromuscular control
• Inadequate recovery between sessions or games

When you train hard but skip the foundations of recovery, stability and movement quality, you’re increasing your risk of soft tissue injuries, overuse syndromes and joint-related problems – all of which lead to time off the field, disrupted progress and potential long-term consequences.

Five key principles for injury prevention

1. Master load management
The number one predictor of injury? Spikes in training load. Your body adapts to stress gradually. If you go from two to five sessions a week, or dramatically increase intensity, your tissues don’t have time to adapt – and that’s when tendons, muscles and joints start breaking down. Use a structured program with progressive overload and deload phases. Recovery days are part of your training – not a sign of weakness. 

2. Train for movement quality, not just muscle size
Big lifts and gym gains are great, but they’re only part of the picture. Do you have good single-leg control? Can your glutes stabilise your pelvis under fatigue? Can your scapulae control overhead motion? Movement screens and functional strength work help identify leaks in your kinetic chain that can’t be picked up by a mirror check.

3. Prioritise core and lumbopelvic control
No matter your sport, your core is your transmission. A weak or poorly controlled core leads to energy leaks, poor force transfer, and increased injury risk in the knees, hips, groin, and back. Core control isn’t just planks — it’s about how your core functions under load, in rotation, and during movement transitions.

4. Respect recovery and sleep
Injury prevention doesn’t stop when you walk out of the gym. Sleep is when your body repairs and rebuilds. Athletes consistently getting less than 7 hours of sleep have significantly higher injury rates. Don’t underestimate the power of nutrition, hydration, and sleep as part of your training plan.

5. Listen to early warning signs
That nagging tightness, mild ache, or fatigue that won’t go away? That’s your body talking. Many athletes push through these signs until they become something bigger. A quick check-in with a physio can catch issues early, keep you training, and prevent minor niggles from becoming major time-loss injuries.

Performance is built on consistency

You don’t get better by training harder for a week — you get better by training consistently for months. Injury prevention is what makes that possible. It’s not a separate thing you do — it’s how you train, recover, move, and take care of your body every day.

If you’re not already including these principles in your routine, now is the time. Find out how your physio can help your performance.

About the author

CSSM Physiotherapist Corey Farrell has always been interested in how the body works, sport and strength training.

Corey has an intense passion for physiotherapy with a particular interest in lower limb injuries including the ankle and knee. He also has a keen focus on injury prevention and high performance especially in younger age groups with many of his patients playing football, soccer and basketball.

Book in with Corey here.