Coming back to sport after years off
A pattern we see constantly across Casey: someone in their thirties or forties whose kids have joined a club decides to play again after ten or fifteen years off. This group carries one of the highest acute injury rates of anyone we treat, and the reason is a mismatch between memory and capacity.
Skill outlasts tissue
Movement skill is retained remarkably well. You can still read the play, still position, still kick. What has changed is that the tissue supporting those movements has not been loaded at speed for a decade. So you attempt a movement your brain executes perfectly and your hamstring cannot support.
The classic injury
A hamstring or calf tear in the first few sessions, usually while sprinting for something competitive rather than during structured drills. It happens in the moment enthusiasm overrides preparation. See muscular strains.
Old injuries resurface
The ankle you sprained repeatedly at 22, the shoulder that dislocated once, the back that "goes" occasionally. These were never fully rehabilitated, and returning to sport reveals that. Worth addressing before the season rather than during it.
What to do differently
Build running capacity before joining team training — six weeks of progressive running, including some sprint exposure, changes the risk substantially. Add strength work twice weekly. Expect the first month to feel harder than you remember, because it will.
Getting a pre-season check
If you are planning a return, a pre-participation assessment is genuinely worthwhile: we look at old injuries, current capacity and the specific demands of your sport, and give you six weeks of preparation that meaningfully reduces the odds of a first-month injury.
What a first appointment looks like
We start with what actually happened and what the demands of your sport are, then assess the injured area alongside the joints and muscles above and below it — because the painful structure is often not the limiting one. You get a diagnosis, a realistic timeframe, and a plan that accounts for your training and match schedule rather than assuming you can stop. If we think you need imaging or another practitioner, we will say so at that first visit rather than after six sessions.
Booking in
We are at 5/6-8 Langmore Lane, Berwick, with street parking directly outside and same-week appointments most weeks. Initial consultations are 60 minutes and $149, with private health rebates processed on the spot via HICAPS. No referral is required, and we also work with WorkCover, DVA and Medicare care plans where they apply.
Book an initial consultation at RISE Sports & Spinal in Berwick. Clear diagnosis, hands-on treatment, and a plan that actually gets you better.
