Teaching Sweden a thing or two about football
Elena Jakobsson
A program developed to reduce the sports injuries suffered by amateur Australian Rules players has drawn a Swedish medical student to Melbourne to study.
Elena Jakobsson came to Australia to participate in the National Guidance for Australian Football Partnerships and Safety (NoGAPS) research project currently being undertaken by Monash University's Australian Centre for Research into Injury in Sport and its Prevention (ACRISP).
Ms Jakobsson is an avid soccer player who intends to practise as a licenced sports medicine practitioner in Sweden when she graduates from the Karolinska Institute. She hopes to translate lessons from NoGAPS to community sport in her own country.
“I have played soccer my whole life and am familiar with the high rate of anterior cruciate ligament injuries in this area. My coach was very active in delivering prevention programs and was probably ahead of his time,” Ms Jakobsson said.
While there is considerable research on preventing sports injuries, the Monash University NoGAPS project is focused on disseminating this information to clubs in a practical way.
The program was developed by the Director of ACRISP, Professor Caroline Finch.
“Most research and attention to injuries is done for elite AFL players. This is the first time there has been any major investment in injury prevention for community players. This is one of the gaps we are addressing; the gap between community and elite sport,” Professor Finch said.
Another area addressed by the program is the gap between researchers who have access to the latest scientific knowledge and the coaches and players who don’t have benefits of this research.
“That is why the NoGAPS project is so important. It closes the gaps and makes community sport safer,” Professor Finch said.
Ms Jackobsson’s research goals are contributing to the observational component of the NoGAPS research by going out to football clubs and interviewing coaches. Following her return to Sweden, she plans to remain in contact with her colleagues at Monash and apply the implementation strategies of NoGAPS to assist coaches and players in Sweden.
“From my experience as a soccer player, it is very important to get this research out at the community level and reach lots of young people and future stars,” Ms Jakobsson said.