In the third episode of the byrizz™ Rehab & Performance podcast, I'm speaking to Markus Waldén, MD, Ph.D. Markus is Head of Research and Development currently responsible for arthroscopic knee surgery and sports medicine at the Department of Orthopaedics, Hässleholm Hospital. He is also a senior researcher at the Department of Medical, Health and Caring Sciences at Linköping University. He is a member of the Football Research Group (FRG) and Sport Without Injury Programme (SWIPE). Markus completed his medical dissertation in 2007 on the epidemiology of injuries in elite football and has authored almost 100 scientific articles and book chapters. Currently, he is the chairman of the Swedish Society of Football Doctors, a Swedish Football Association Medical Committee member, and the Swedish Society of Exercise and Sports Medicine's scientific secretary.

In this episode, we talk about how today's injury prevalence is in the biggest game in the world, football. How Markus has evolved as a professional in the sports he has been involved in and how those sports injury prevention methods have improved during the last decades. We also touch on how the Covid-19 football season affected injury rates in the women's top league (Damallsvenskan) in Sweden and what Markus and the researcher's colleagues are focusing on to improve injury prevalence. 

The episode is in Swedish and will be available on your favorite audible podcast resource from the 10th of February!⠀ ⠀

In this talk with Markus, you'll learn:

• Who is Markus Waldén: Past and present
• Injury prevalence during Covid-19 - How did the virus affect the injury rates?
• How does football differ from handball when it comes to research and resources? 
• How the ongoing injury prevention work in different leagues looks like; cooperation and advances.
• Markus and FRG ongoing prospective research that has been actual for more than two decades.

Markus can be reached on Twitter @MarkusWalden and Linkedin @Markusw3. Markus explains his research and experiences with simplicity and clarity - We hope you enjoy this episode with Markus, and please share your feedback!

This episode is sponsored by The byrizz™ Rehab & Performance application. The application gives you the continuity to reach your goals at any level, whenever and wherever. The workouts, programs, and boot camps are made and customized to your needs and consist of trained therapists and strength & conditioning coaches with long experience in health and fitness. byrizz clients range from the novice athlete to World Cup medalists and Olympians.

This episode is also brought to you in cooperation with Sparta Science. Sparta Science is the industry's gold standard for Force Plate Machine Learning that predicts, improves, and validates individual and team availability. With a simple two-minute scan per person, organizations increase fitness levels, prevent injuries, and accurately predict team readiness using the world's largest machine learning force plate database. For more information about Sparta Science, visit Spartascience.com.

Markus performing a clinical examination on a handball player at IFK Kristiansand. Photo Markus Waldén.