Sport: Football (Soccer)

General commentary:

With over 240 million registered players worldwide and many more recreational football players, Association Football or 'Soccer' as it is sometimes called is easily the world's most popular sport. And this despite the higher incidence of injury in comparison to so many other sports.
A lot of players means a lot of injuries...

Common Injuries:

• Sprained Ankle
• Shin splints
• Hamstring Strain
• Knee Cartilage Tear
• Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) damage
• Gilmore's Groin (also known as a Sports Hernia)

Most football injuries affect the lower body: groin, pelvis, hip, thigh, knee, calf, foot and ankle. In too many cases the method of injury is trauma, like a collision with an opponent or awkwardly landing from a jump. 25-30 % of all football injuries are avoidable, as they are due to overuse and develop over a period of time – you can see them coming. Paying attention to early signs of wear and tear can mean better injury management.

How to avoid Injury:

• Use “warm pants” to avoid hamstring, thigh & groin injury
• Wear a brace or get taped – this can reduce potential injury by 90% in ankles
• Train on the wobble board to assist the re-education of the proprioceptive system
• Develop strong quadriceps and hamstring muscles that support the strain on the knee
• Core strength and core stability exercises can improve muscle function across the trunk and pelvis – this can help to avoid hernia
• As ever, warm up & cool down well

Home treatment:

The immediate treatment of any muscle injury calls for the RICE protocol - rest, ice, compression and elevation (use a tea towel between skin & ice).
The muscles in the legs: quads, hamstrings, calves, shins, and the achilles tendon – all benefit from a regular stretch routine. These muscles take a lot of energy and fatigue quickly in the course of a game, so keep them long & happy to avoid injuy.

When to see a specialist:
A trained Massage Therapist to help you maintain/regain full range of motion in the joints associated with football. Re-establishing flexibility and range is much easier when muscles are long & pain is minimized. With targeted treatment to Soccer's trouble areas – the legs, your Massage Therapist can increase circulation to fatigued muscles and get you back on the field, where you want to be.

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