It's not just the Nottinghamshire playersat Trent Bridge who have access to the bestphysiotherapy and rehabilitation treatment.
The general public can also be assured oftop-class professional assessment, treatment and advice if they visit thePhysiotherapy and Sports Injury Clinic at the ground.
Chartered Physiotherapist, Sheila Ball, whohas 34 years of experience working with elite athletes and sportsmen, runs theclinic.
Her team specialise in musculo-skeletalproblems and can offer the latest treatment to help a smooth and rapidrecovery.
The clinic can also help people recoverfrom more general injuries such as whiplash, repetitive strain and post-operativeconditions, offering ongoing in-gym rehabilitation support and creating aprogramme of exercises to follow.
Sheila is a well-known figure to many Nottssupporters, having acted as the team physio from 1985 to 1998, moving to takeover at the clinic when it opened.
During her professional career the importanceof physio treatment for the players has grown and grown to the point wherecurrent team physio, Craig Smith, who took over in 2004, has a wealth oftechnical data and support staff to call on.
It's all a far cry from her early days at Trent Bridgeand she said: "In those days I was working on my own looking after the FirstXI, Second XI and the Colts teams, while treating injured players at the sametime.
"When there was a home game I was expectedto treat the opposition players if they had a problem, but then I might have tohead across to wherever the Second XI were playing to check on them as well.
"Things did improve with time - in 1991 webegan working with Loughborough University's SportsScience department for pre and post-season fitness testing and winter trainingprogrammes, while the importance of food and nutrition and psychology reportswere gradually introduced.
"Visual testing and assessment of field ofvision was undertaken by Simon Falk, an Optometrist from Leeds.The trends have continued to evolve but the basics and fundamentals of what wedo are unchanged."
In recent years the growth in interest ingeneral fitness and health, and the explosion of information available on theInternet, have led to a greater awareness of physiotherapy treatment and theneed to recover properly from injuries.
But that doesn't necessarily mean thatSheila's job has been made any easier, because as she explained: "People maywell research their injuries online before they come to see us, but they don'talways diagnose their problem correctly.
"It has helped us in the sense that peopleare more aware of how their body works, but sometimes they can get the wrongvibes about an injury which we then have to educate them about."
Sheila anticipates that physiotherapy willcontinue to evolve to include Extended Scope Practitioners in the future, to promotea more of an 'all in one' service, with increased power to offer scans andinjections treatments that are currently administered by hospitals and doctors.
"Physiotherapy courses are certainlybecoming more extensive in their training, with more optional areas than everthat could eventually become standard practice," she added.
"Some of the Premiership football clubshave their own x-ray machines or even their own MRI scanners, so that couldbecome a more widespread practice with improvements in technology.
"For our part, we are always looking to seethe clinic progress. It would be fantastic if any future redevelopment plans atTrent Bridge gave us room to expand and haveour own exercise studio or even a hydrotherapy pool to run our rehabilitationprogrammes.
"We are however very proud of the servicesthat we offer here and people can be assured of getting the best possibletreatment."
For more information on the Physiotherapy and Sports Injury Clinic or to make an appointment please contact Rosemary Baldock on 0115 982 3038.