Sailors get shoulder injuries footballers don't

Most of what comes through the door from Portswood Athletic is lower limb: hamstrings, groins, the occasional ankle. Most of what comes through from Hamble Point and Itchen Ferry is shoulder, and specifically the front of the shoulder, from repeated winching and sheeting under load with the arm away from the body.

Treat a sailor's shoulder like a thrower's shoulder and you will miss the point. A thrower needs rotational power. A sailor needs the shoulder to hold a fixed, loaded position for minutes at a time in a cold, wet boat, which is closer to an endurance problem than a power one, and the rehab programme has to be built that way from the first session.