Early retirement. A phrase that conjures up thoughts of sunny rounds of golf and spending more time doing the things that you really want, when you want. Many people dream of being able to retire early. Retiring from a 9-5 job is one thing, but being forced to stop early from the sport that you love would be devastating.

So much so that many people involved in grassroots sport ignore the advice of doctors and physios and look for any way possible to still be able turn out on a Sunday morning.

This weekend look for the guy applying the deep heat to his entire body, wearing two knee supports, a back support and a pair of cycling shorts in an attempt to protect the dodgy hamstrings that are ready to snap at any point. There's your guy, who is probably ignoring the advice of someone like me.

But what do the experts know anyway? This last week I watched with amazement as Chelsea player Sam Hutchinson continued an amazing journey back to fitness.

In August last year the defender was told by the experts to retire from the game aged just 21 due to a right knee problem that pushed his pain threshold to a point where he could take no more. The enamel, basically the protective layer underneath his kneecap, had worn causing severe pain and swelling.

This type of injury is not uncommon if you're in your 40s and 50s, but for someone so young, it's pretty unlucky. The injury means that players have to have a lot of rest in-between games and work on strengthening their knee muscles. Other players in the game such as Ledley King appear to be doing it and one of my own players at the time, Darlington's Craig Liddle towards the end of his career, was in a similar situation.

There is something underestimated about rest. To rest your body at the right times is probably the simplest form of treatment you can get. I regularly tell my patients that above any Doctor or Physio, the best healers they have are themselves. They just need to give the body time to do so. Parents and coaches take note.

Following enforced retirement, Hutchinson did nothing other than rest from pounding the pitch and worked on strengthening muscles and his story is one that as a player you should look more closely at. If you're a parent or coach there's a great message in this comeback that pushing players too hard too soon isn't always helpful as some injuries, particularly around the knee joint can be disabling and lasting.

Osgood's Schlatter's is the term for another very common knee injury in junior football. Just this week in my Durham Physio clinic I have treat two players aged 14 with this injury.

It's a problem that effects the tendon in the front of the knee, just below the kneecap. When your body starts to grow, the bones grow faster than muscles so the result is that the tendons are stretched too quickly, like stretching an elastic band. This means they become weak and the more you play the worse the pain gets. There's no magic cure for this injury, just lots of sensible rest and regular ice. Knee strength exercises are vital.

You will be very unlucky to suffer the problem of early degeneration inside the knee in your 20s, but it is certainly likely to be a problem for anyone who has been a keen runner for a number of years or is now in their 50s and still playing five-a-side twice a week.

The obvious temptation is to turn to the knee supports but my advice is to postpone the use of them for as long as possible. They are okay in the short term, but in the long term they serve to reduce your balance and weaken muscles. Both of which if you improve upon, will hugely reduce your chances of a longer, pain free career.