Owen said: "It was the World Cup quarter-final against Brazil and I was just not feeling good at all about going into the game. That was the moment when I realised that I had to do something drastic.
"It was another hamstring injury and when we went off after losing to the Brazilians it didn't take much to make me decide 'I've had enough of this'. I knew that I had been injured too much of the time.
"I had a plan of action and I knew if I did it right the rest of my career would be fine. The early indications are that all the work that the physios and I are putting in is benefiting me.
"I do weights every day now, even though it can mean going into matches with heavy legs, with the edge taken off your game sometimes.
"But if, in the short term, there is a negative effect that helps in the long term, then so be it. I was determined from the moment I came off against Brazil. The physios and I made a conscious decision to do the weights, put the work in, and try to solve the problem.
"Maybe next season Iwill be able to ease off a little on the weights. I will have put the work in and got the grounding that I will be able to take with me for the rest of my career."