Tank Lanning
If I was given a chance to have my rugby career again, this would be the first thing I would pack in my kitbag. In fact, I would go so far as to say that it should be something that all parents are either buying or making sure their kids have access to it …
Especially props and hookers, but it will benefit all players …
A mountaineering helmet designed by NASA? Nope, a specialized multifunctional helmet and tubing, used for neck strengthening exercises from Opti-M …
My career was cut short at the age of 24 due to two discs in my neck (C4 and C5) having herniated and thus pushing in on the spinal chord. The single fusion operation (where they replace the disk with either a piece of your hip or some cow bone and stabalise it with a piece of titanium down the front of the spine) is now common place in rugby, with many players coming back to play. Mine required a double fusion and it’s simply too dangerous to carry on playing with that much of your neck immobilized.
Now I am not saying this contraption would have prevented my neck injury, but I have no doubt that it is better than the hanging one’s head over a gym bench with a 50 kg dumb bell that we used to do …
With the increasing physical demand in the nature of the game of rugby, little has been done to prevent the cause of serious neck, shoulder and spinal injuries. Opti-M have thus developed a product to prepare players to handle these physical demands, and thus substantially decreasing the risk of injury.
Statistics show that between 35%-50% of the most common injuries occur in your shoulders, neck and head because of the following:
1-Scrum
2-Scrum collapse
3-Rucks and Mauls
4-Tackle situation
The key components of the Opti-M programs are:
1-Llimits and prevents occurrence and re-occurrence of injuries
2-Improves flexibility
3-Increases FUNCTIONAL STRENGTH
4-Proprioception
5-Corrects abnormal biomechanics
It is currently being used by the Western Province Rugby Institute, Stormers and u/21 High Performance Squads. Testimonials have come in from Clint Readhead(SARU minister of BokSmart), Johan van Wyk (WP Rugby Institute), J.D. Moller, and Schalk Ferreira.
Bismarck du Plessis and John Smit used it after their neck injuries, while Danie Gerber, at who’s clinics this apparatus is widely used, has also used the device, saying : “There is nothing that comes close to ultimately strengthen and exercise all the plains around your neck and shoulders in the modern game of rugby. It would be a great pity if the Springboks do not make use of this breakthrough in technology. They need to use every means available to keep them one step ahead of the other rugby playing nations in terms of preparation.”
A few pics of Johan van Wyk making use of the product:
So basically it is about attaching one end of the tubing to the helmet, and the other end to a stationary object, like the poles, and then going through a range of exercises, starting from the very basic and static, to more complex and dynamic, and then functional. The device comes with a DVD that takes one through the exercises in detail …
Opti-M are currently in the process of marketing the product in Europe and United States and once completed, the studies and tests being done, will be published in a medical journal.
For more info on the product, CLICK HERE
Or speak to designer and Biokineticist Pea Blaauw:
Mobile: +27 83 444 4155
Office: + 27 21 979 1427
Email: peab@opti-m.co.za
NB: I was given one of these helmets to try, but am in no way involved in the Opti-M business or apparatus sales. I am of the belief that every rugby player in SA should be using one, though.
