Soccer Injuries

Researches are taken up by the related institutes in order to develop the prevention and rehabilitation programs. Most common soccer injuries occur in the lower extremities. It is highly important that the common injuries must be recognized, treated and prevented in time to save the players from staying out of the field for a long time.

There are two types of soccer injuries. The cumulative injuries take place due to the excessive use of the joints, muscles and tissues. Due to continuous use of these parts some times slight pain starts to establish. However, it grows if proper attention is not given to them and can be really harmful for the players in the long run. The second type of injury is the traumatic one. These injuries usually crop up during the course of the match. These are usually serious in nature because of the force and speed involved in the injury.

One of the most common soccer injuries is ankle sprain, which occurs when the ligaments surrounding the ankle joints is over stretched or torn. The groin pull takes place when the muscles of the inner thigh are stretched. The hamstring tear, pull or strain is also very common among soccer players. Blisters take place due to the extreme running and the rough use of the hands and feet. There are other many kinds of splints, sprains and fractures that can take place in different parts of the legs. Concussion is one of the worst head soccer injuries. This occurs because of some sudden impact or blow on the player’s head. After the blow the brain makes a hard impact on the inner side of the heard skull. There is a growing concern about this and other soccer head injuries in the soccer circles and many people have suggested the players to wear the padded head gear.

Another common soccer injury is ACL or Anterior Cruciate Ligament. A rupture can take place in ACL in both contact and non-contact situation, like running and jumping. While running the cause of the injury can be a quick change in the direction or the rotational movement of the body. When the player lands on the ground with his full might, during a fast paced match, two types of stresses accompany the player, inward and the outward. These stresses cause a stress over ACL which can result in injury. The rehabilitation and the treatment of the player after the ACL injury is very expensive and also results in the loss of the playing time.

According to the study taken up by N. Rahnama, T Reilly, and A Lees at Research Institute for Sports and Exercise Science, John Moors University, Liverpool, the first and last fifteen minutes are the high time for the soccer injury to take place. It is so, as these are the periods of the game when the game is at its peak. Most of the injuries occur when the player has the control of the ball. However there is a high chance of the injuries to take place when they are trying to intercept it. Therefore, the area where the ball is mostly challenged, penalty area in particular, has got the highest risk of causing injuries to the players. All the attacking and defending zones around the penalty areas also come in this category.

The head injuries are proven to be the worst soccer injuries. They can even sometimes be fatal. Therefore, the coaches must provide additional training to the players to teach them how to prevent the most common head injuries during the game.