Sofia Goggia knows this well, as do many other champions forced into the pits these days. Injury is the most dreaded nightmare for any sportsman. Regardless of the discipline practised, it forces a stop from activity for a longer or shorter period of time and requires patience in order to return first to health and then to fitness.

«After an initial strictly rehabilitative period, the athlete must return to performance in all his global neuromotor apparatus, not just the injured part. It is therefore necessary to carry out tests, specific to the type of injury and speciality, and plan an individualised pathway to allow him to return to pre-injury conditions and, if possible, even better ones» explains Dr. Franco Combi, specialist in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Mapei Sport Research Centre. «Sport-specific functional recovery plays a decisive role because it reduces the risk of relapse often associated with a too early return to competitive activity and returns the athlete to the optimal psychophysical condition to return to the desired technical and athletic levels as soon as possible».

Functional recovery and sports reathletisation represent the final stages of the athlete’s post-injury rehabilitation pathway. In these phases, the principles of specific sports training are used for the complete recovery of the athlete’s conditional capacities (strength, speed, endurance and joint mobility) and sport-specific skills. Re-athletisation constitutes the first part of the pathway back to sports practice, which will be followed by the gradual return “on the field” until the complete resumption of competitive activity.

To find out more, discover the Mapei Sport Training Department Centre.