BCCI to conduct 5-day camp for physiotherapists at Bengaluru

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will conduct a five-day Sports Science and Medicine Programme at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru, starting June 13, India Today reports. More than 200 physiotherapists and trainers, as well as strength and conditioning coaches from all over India, are expected to attend the event aimed at imparting knowledge regarding the latest trends in the field of sports science.

The camp will be headed by former Indian national team physio Andrew Leipus, who is presently the lead physiotherapist at the NCA, having accepted a one-year contract for the role in October 2015. Leipus, who spent five years with the Men in Blue from 1999 to 2004, is largely credited for transforming the mindset of the Indian players with regards to their fitness.

Talking about the programme, Leipus said that this will be the first among many such programmes organised by the BCCI and something which will become mandatory in due course for whoever wishing to work with the national team in the future.

"We are looking up-skill physios and trainers across India. We want to ensure they are up to date with how the national team operates and the best way to do that is have a professional workshop and meet them face to face, educate and discuss issues,” he said. "Going forward this is going to be a mandatory programme for all those who are looking to get involved in Indian cricket."

The five-day course will focus on key topics like load monitoring, orientation on the use of the BCCI database, injury definition and surveillance, cricket-specific lower limb injuries, return to play decision process (hamstring) and basic biomechanics, nutrition and supplementation trends, according to bcci.tv.

Special emphasis will be laid on the importance of on-the-spot first aid, which, more often than not, plays a crucial role in limiting the extent of damage once an injury occurs. Leipus also added that the participants will be made aware as to how the BCCI’s team of medical experts and Team India’s physiotherapist Patrick Farhat work together to maintain the workload of players, especially the fast bowlers.

"With the BCCI now having an online database tool, accessing information related to player injuries and workload will be fairly easy and quick. We will have combined lectures for strength and conditioning coaches and physios, where we will talk about management of injuries and monitoring workload, especially for the fast bowlers" Leipus told bcci.tv.

"At any stage selectors, coaches, Patrick Farhat (Team India's physiotherapist) or I will be able to look online and know the status of a player with regards to injury or workload. The BCCI has an online database and the physios working with domestic teams need to insert and update data regarding their players and we can track the status" he added.