Having “blown” her own knees playing netball, EIT academic Lee-Anne Taylor is now helping young women avoid similar injuries.
Annual knee injuries for teen females playing netball have increased by 75%, and cost ACC $37 million.

Tia Lewis & Chanay Peri work through Lee-Anne Taylor’s warm-up protocol.

Knee injuries generally occur because of poor biomechanics on landing but can be significantly reduced by adopting correct landing techniques and ensuring players have adequate strength and conditioning, says Lee-Anne.

While coaching the under-17 Hawke’s Bay netball team, she trialled quite different warm-up exercises.

She presented her study results at the NZ physio conference and is now in collaboration with experts to develop an injury prevention strategy that can be rolled out nationwide.