SSA Blog: Wash your hands young man

Handshaking hit the Premier League headlines this weekend. A number of managers told the media that players have been instructed to stop shaking hands in light of continued concern about coronavirus.

West Ham, Liverpool, Tottenham and Newcastle all had the issue raised in pre-match press conferences.  Steve Bruce explained that players, under the advice of Newcastle United club doctor, are temporarily halting the club ritual of shaking hands with teammates and staff when they first see each other each day.

But how unusual is this sort of measure and are players really at any additional risk of becoming ill?

The practice of limiting handshaking is well versed in the British elite sporting system. Anyone who worked with Team GB around the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympic Games will attest to  the amount of hand wash and sanitizer being used.

Staff overseeing athlete appearances often had to brief guests and media that the athlete wouldn’t be shaking hands and that this was part of a performance plan rather than a sign of disrespect or unfriendliness. If explained properly, guests were often intrigued and enjoyed an insight into the elite performance world that not many people were privy to.

When preparing for an Olympic Games, medical staff do all they can to ensure athletes are in peak condition to perform. With all the talk of marginal gains plus the technical and tactical innovations, general health and simple hand washing is often overlooked by fans as a key part of the equation.

Like Olympic athletes, footballers are also very keen to avoid illness. Research has shown, particularly during congested fixture periods, the risk of infection and illness increases significantly as players’ immune systems are tested by intense exercise with limited time to recover (Morgans et al 2014).  

A further issue for clubs is that players exist in very close proximity to each other for weeks on end during the season. They share a dressing room, they train together on the pitch and in the gym, they eat together, travel together and obviously play games together. This means that if a player or member of staff does become ill the risk of infecting others can be high.

Most clubs, lead by the medical and sport science staff, do have procedures for isolating teammates if they become ill and take hygiene very seriously.  Actually, missing fixtures due to illness is relatively rare. However, the system relies on players being honest with the medical and sport science teams and also taking responsibility for hygiene to protect themselves and their teammates.

So, with some Premier League teams limiting handshaking in the battle against coronavirus, it is probably worth taking the same advice outside of professional football. In elite sport, some athletes have training as to how to wash their hands, but for those of us who are mere amateurs, the NHS provides some great guidance on how to wash your hands. With the right advice about hygiene, increased hand washing and use of hand sanitizer, footballers, and the rest of us, can do our bit to help reduce the spread of infection and if this weekend’s games were anything to go by, still enjoy a ‘tactile’ goal celebration.