Sports Injury Prevention For Football Players
Implementing safety habits can support your health and prevent future injury after your recovery. When playing football, whether as a fun weekend activity or as a student-athlete, you can benefit from specific health practices.
Common preventative methods for football players include:
- Wearing adequate protective gear including a helmet and a mouthguard
- Properly warm up and cool down before and after a game
- Stay hydrated before, during, and after a game
- Learn your body exhaustion and pain cues and listen to them
- Use adequate techniques for specific moves like tackling
- Get enough rest between games and practices
- Incorporate regular strength training in your workout regimen
- Stay active between football seasons to maintain your physical conditioning
You should get regular medical checkups to monitor your well-being and address any concerns in a timely manner. Getting a doctors approval after an injury also helps you return to your football practice more safely. Taking active steps to support your well-being plays an important part when engaging in regular sports activities like football.
If you got injured while playing football in the North Dallas area,our online form to get professional medical advice.
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Urgent Care Services In Colorado Springs And Texas
If you or a loved one have been injured playing soccer or another sport, we can provide the care you need. If you have questions or need immediate treatment, your nearest Complete Care location is ready to help, no matter the time of day or night. We offer a variety of services to help you and your family in your time of need. No appointments are necessary.
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Most Common Soccer Injuries For Preschool Soccer
The youngest soccer players rarely get seriously injured, but it can happen. In 12 years of running a soccer program for kids ages 2-6, with hundreds of kids enrolled every Fall, Winter, Springs, and Summer season, fortunately, I never had any reported serious injuries.
According to the PubMed study, In the group of children 2 to 4 years old playing youth soccer the kids sustained a higher proportion of face and head/neck injuries than the older kids did .
Why? It’s likely that the young players have not yet developed the same level of balance and body control. Additionally, that automatic reaction to soften their fall and protect their heads/necks/faces by using their hands and arms is not developed as much as older soccer players. On a personal level I’ve notice this to be accurate in my 14 month old grandson.
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Limitations Of Previous Studies
The data collected by previous studies were by observation during competition, or competition and training. Authors could not control factors that may contribute to the injury, such as type of soccer shoe, intensity of warm up exercise, and condition of the playing surface. Therefore the results from previous studies included all possible factors, which makes it difficult to analyse only one of the factors.
Moreover, different definitions of injury make comparisons between studies difficult. Awareness of the differences in these definitions is important when interpreting the reported results. Some defined injury as one received during competition or training that prevented the injured player from participating in competition or normal training for at least one day, not including the day of the injury, and another defined injury as any condition that caused a player to be removed from a game, miss a game, or disabled enough to come to the medical tent.
Thoughts On Preventing Soccer Injuries
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Most Common Overuse Injuries In Football
Soccer is a highly competitive game with multiple players moving rapidly in all directions. In this environment, in addition to the benefits athletic activity provides, there is also a chance to sustain an injury.
You cant fully avoid soccer injuries. But understanding the most common injuries in soccer can help you reduce the risks. . Weve prepared a soccer injury list for you, plus some tips on how you can reduce the risk to get injured. .
Here is a list of the most common injuries in soccer:
What Are The Most Common Soccer Injuries
Most common soccer injuries can be broken into two categories:
- Cumulative or overuse injuries
Acute soccer injuries stem from trauma, like a collision, a fall, or a blow to the body.
Cumulative or overuse soccer injuries are problems that occur from repeated stress on the joints, muscles, and soft tissues, like ligaments and tendons.
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What’s The Most Common Injury In Youth Soccer
The most common injury in youth soccer is caused by overuse. The list of injuries involving kids playing soccer includes tendonitis, shin splints, and stress fractures that will simply heal with the proper amount of rest. Of course recently, the most talked about safety issue lately mentioned in the news is head injury from concussion.
With soccer injuries, the most common body parts injured with children is wrist/finger/hand at 20.3%, ankles at 18.2%, and knee with 11.4%. The most common diagnoses for soccer-related injuries for kids were sprain/strain at 35.9%, bruises/abrasion at 24.1%, and fractures at 23.2% of all diagnoses.
This data comes from a study of 1.6 million pediatric soccer injuries reported on pubmed.gov. A statistical breakdown of soccer injuries in kids ages 2-18 was done. **Note that these medically diagnosed injuries don’t include all the knee scrapes and brush burns that likely go unreported by soccer moms and dads everywhere.
Recovering From Soccer Injuries
Soccer players can be injured during a collision with another player and in non-contact moves such as changing direction, tripping, or running.
For athletes with a sports-related injury, orthopedic and physical therapists can help to speed recovery and restore function. Even if injured players cant participate actively in subsequent games, they should support their team by attending matches, cheering for their team, and participating in practices and drills as much as possible, says Gee, who is also the chief medical officer for Real Salt Lake Soccer sports medicine services.
Athletes should acknowledge and accept injuries as soon as possible to start the healing process. Gee notes many injuries can be treated successfully with NSAIDs such as ibuprofen and the RICE protocol as follows:
Soccer players are happy to hear Goal! while actively playing in a game but are caught off-guard if they are injured and are forced to suspend their playing time while they recover. By paying close attention to their body through conditioning and training and acknowledging any signs of injury, they can get back in the game faster when their health care provider and coach give them the go-ahead.
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Study Design And Field Procedures
With respect to the study design, the volunteers were divided into six groups, based on soccer player positions: Goalkeepers , Quarterbacks , Wingers , Defender Midfielders , Advanced Midfielders , and Forwards . All participants were interviewed once in order to register information on their general and epidemiological characteristics. Height was measured using a metal tape adjusted on a wall2424 Leite N, Aguiar Jr RP, Cieslak F, Ishiyama M, Milano GE, Stefanello JMF. Perfil da aptidão física dos praticantes de Le Parkour. Rev Bras Med Esporte. 2011 17:198-201.. Body mass assessment was performed using digital scales .
Knee Collateral Ligament Sprain/tear
- There are two collateral ligaments of the knee, the medial collateral ligament and the lateral collateral ligament.
- These ligaments limit sideways movement of the knee which can cause increased damage to other structures.
- These ligaments are usually injured when a player gets caught up in a tackle or lands awkwardly after jumping, resulting in the knee being forced to bend inward or outward.
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Most Common Soccer Injuries
The most common soccer injuries occur to the lower extremities, affecting the ankles and knees in particular.
Soccer is an extremely dynamic sport that involves frequent accelerations, decelerations, kicking, changes of direction, and explosive actions. These types of movements put a lot of strain on the joints, ligaments, and tendons, making them susceptible to injury.
The most common knee and ankle injuries are mild to severe sprains, strains, and tears.
Other less common knee and ankle injuries include dislocations and fractures.
Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury
Soccer knee injuries, specifically ACL injuries, are unfortunately incredibly common in the sport. Your anterior cruciate ligament is a ligament that runs diagonally through the middle of your knee and connects your thigh bone with your shinbone and it can be damaged over time during practices and games.
Causes of a soccer ACL injury:
- Not landing properly after jumping
- Abruptly slowing down, stopping, or changing direction
- Turning while your foot is planted on the ground
- Experiencing a direct impact on your knee
Symptoms of a soccer ACL injury:
- Either hearing or feeling a popping sound or sensation in your knee
- Swelling in your knee, especially within the first twenty-four hours of sustaining the injury
- Being unable to place weight on your knee
- Your knee feels unstable and weak
- Loss of range of motion in your knee
Preventing and relieving ACL injury pain:
To prevent an ACL injury, ensure that you warm up thoroughly before exercising or playing a game. Include exercises that stretch and strengthen your ACL, as well as focusing on strengthening your core muscles. In addition, practice how to change directions, jumping, and landing by using proper techniques.
Much like the other injuries on this list, you can treat an ACL injury by resting, elevating, and icing the affected limb. Cold packs and compression bandages can be used to stabilize your knee and provide some comfort from pain.
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How Do Most Soccer Injuries Happen
As a sport thats played predominantly with the feet, many injuries occur due to contact and collisions between players competing for the ball.
Dead legs are common injuries when players come together in a tackle.
In terms of muscular injuries, the hamstrings are problematic for soccer players.
From niggles to full-blown tears, hamstring injuries cost teams millions of dollars every season, with players being sidelined for anywhere from a couple of weeks to several months.
Knee Injuries From Soccer
Soccer knee injuries range from stress and inflammation of the soft tissues around the kneecap to more serious anterior cruciate ligament sprains or tears, which often happen when the knee is twisted or hyperextended.
“ACL tears are much more common in girls than boys, possibly because girls tend to have more laxity,” explains Dr. Loveland. “These players will need surgery and could miss up to a year of soccer.”
Once an athlete has injured one ACL, they are more likely to reinjure it or tear the other ACL, so it’s important to take time for a full recovery and other steps to prevent ACL injuries.
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Epat / Shockwave Therapy For Soccer Injuries
EPAT Therapy is a non-invasive, pain-free method of treating and healing a wide range of injuries and is popular with sports medicine doctors and professional trainers.
It is also known as Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy, or ESWT, because it delivers impulse pressure waves, called Shockwaves, which successfully treat and heal all types of injuries.
A Shockwave Machine produces pressure waves that are precisely directed at the area of the damaged tissue that caused the injury.
EPAT / Shockwave Therapy treatment increases blood flow to the injury, decreases inflammation, and creates new blood vessel growth, which speeds the healing and recovery process.
This treatment method can be used during the early stages of an injury, after surgery, or while undergoing physical therapy.
Soccer Injuries A Summary
- You might have noticed that there are injuries that are related to load and tissues not coping with an increase in activity
- Some of the injuries seen in soccer are the result of external forces, external factors and bad luck. Examples of these are knee or ankle injuries that happen during tackling, or sprains from divots in the ground
- Many of the injuries are related to factors that you can protect against and control in some way. Training load, footwear, adequate and appropriate warmup
- There is good evidence that the FIFA 11+ is effective in reducing the rate of ACL injury
- This modifies ACL injury into something you can protect against. The rate of many of these other injuries can also be reduced by following these guidelines
- Remember, the biggest factor in injury is whether you have been injured before.
While you cant erase a past injury, you do have ultimate control over the effectiveness of your rehabilitation the other biggest predictor of injury.
*Source:
Analysis of Injury Incidences in Male Professional Adult and Elite Youth Soccer Players: A Systematic Review
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Top 5 Most Common Hand & Wrist Injuries In Soccer
Introduction
Soccer is one of the most popular sports in the world, played by millions of people across hundreds of countries. As well as being one of the most popular sports around, it is also one of the most physically active sports: protecting yourself from hand and wrist injuries is an important step if you want to continue playing without being invalided off the pitch. Injuries are very common in soccer, particularly to the wrists and hands, and knowing about the risks is an important step toward looking after your body.
Below, you will find an introduction to some of the most common wrist and hand injuries in soccer, as well as how a sports medicine specialist can help you to look after your body. If you know what to look out for, you can protect yourself and heal as quickly as possible in the event that an accident happens.
What are the Most Common Types of Wrist and Hand Injuries for Soccer Players?
Wrist Sprains
Wrist sprains are a very common soccer injury. This type of wrist injury happens when the ligaments connecting the wrist bones and joints are stretched too far or are torn. In soccer players, this is usually as a result of a fall on an outstretched hand during a game.
In most cases, all you will need to do is simply rest and ice a sprained wrist, which should allow it to heal and get you back on the field soon enough. In rarer, more severe cases, you may end up needing a cast or, in particularly extreme cases, surgery to repair the torn ligaments.
Why You Should Go To The Er
If you experience severe symptoms or are on the fence whether you should seek immediate medical attention, going to the ER is typically a wise choice. It helps you avoid complications that can be life-threatening.
The ER usually involves a shorter waiting time compared to urgent care or seeing your primary care physician. You can receive a physical evaluation and diagnosis as soon as possible. In turn this allow you to get precise instructions on what type of treatment you need.
Emergency Rooms typically have on-site facilities that allow you to get any requested testing right away, whether it is blood work or medical imaging such as x-rays and CT scans.
At Advance ER, our board-certified doctors work with the SPECIALIST NOW team, on-call specialists who are available to discuss your situation. This can help expedite your diagnosis and get personalized care, whether you need to speak with an orthopedist or a neurologist.
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What Was The Worst Injury In Soccer
Unfortunately, there have been countless career-ending injuries throughout the history of soccer, so its hard to conclusively say what the worst injury ever was.
High-profile stars such as Luke Shaw, Eduardo Da Silva, Djibril Cisse, Aaron Ramsey, and several others suffered gruesome leg breaks. Despite how bad double leg fractures look, most players recover from them.
The German midfielder, Ewald Lienen, suffered a particularly gory injury in 1981.
In a collision with a defender, Norbert Siegmann, Lienens thigh was lacerated by his opponents studs, leaving an open wound that reached almost 10 in length. Lienens muscles and femur were visible.
Luckily, he was cleared to play again just a few weeks later.
Viewer discretion is advised! Lienens injury is not for the faint.
The worst injuries in soccer tend to be head injuries.
Former Chelsea goalkeeper, Petr Cech, suffered a skull fracture after colliding with Readings Stephen Hunt in a Premier League game. More, recently, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Mexico striker, Raul Jimenez also suffered a skull fracture that almost cost him his career.
In 2017, while playing for Hull City, midfielder Ryan Mason clashed with Chelsea defender, Gary Cahill, leaving Mason unconscious on the field.
After an 8-day hospital stint and emergency surgery for a fractured skill, Mason was released. He was left with 14 metal plates, 28 screws, and 45 staples to keep his skull intact.
Mason was forced to retire.
Gradually Return To Playing
After recovery, its important to gradually return to training and competition. Its natural for some people to rush back to the same levels of intensity he or she maintained before an injury, but its crucial to take it slow for at least a couple of weeks.
In severe cases of soccer injuries, it may be necessary to be medically cleared by a doctor before resuming normal activity levels.
Many of these treatment approaches will work well for most common soccer injuries, and they can be combined with each other to reduce pain and speed up healing and recovery.
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