Common Football Injuries
Are you a football enthusiast? Have you ever injured yourself while playing? This is your guide in understanding the type of soccer injuries. Soccer is a physical sport, which might lead to severe injuries. Be it minor and major injuries, every injury needs special attention.
Types of Soccer Injuries
Achilles Tendon Rapture
It is the tendon at the back of the leg above the heel, running from the knee to the heel bone. The tendon is responsible for pushing the body weight against the ground when walking or running. Raptures occur when this tendon is either weak or strained due to vigorous activities. Science also proves that some medications have a component that causes tendon rapture.
Muscle Strain
It is the most common injury among athletes and occurs when there is a complete or partial muscle tear. When the muscle fails to contract regularly (shortening and lengthening in irregular format), they cause a sharp pain that might temporarily incapacitate movement Muscle strain occurs when there is:-
- A sudden forward surge, especially in sprinting.
- Irregular muscle strain, especially in training.
- When muscle cross 2 joints.
However, muscle strain also affects other cadres of people as normal movement might interfere with muscle contraction. It can also happen in sports physiotherapy if the routines are strenuous.
Hamstring
Hamstring injury is also a common soccer injury, affecting the back of the thigh. Ideally, the hamstring has 3 muscles that enable seamless movement. The short head from the biceps femoris suffers the most strains. The pain sensation occurs at the back of the thigh as they run. The following conditions can expose a soccer player to a hamstring injury:-
- Old age – causes inflexibility of the hamstrings.
- History of hamstring injuries
- Leg muscle fatigue – especially transitioning from light to heavy training.
Sprain Ankles
Wrong tackling in football can cause a sprained ankle. At first, it might not be serious, but continuous spraining around the same ankle might weaken the ankle. It may lead to an ankle injury in the long run. Although not as severe as other ankle-related injuries, take care to avoid spraining the same ankle repeatedly. Sports physiotherapy session have such sessions to teach soccer players how to prevent long term injuries.
Knee Injuries
It is one of the most severe soccer injuries as it completely inhibits movement. Injuries to the knee are long term and might affect regular activity. Even if you manage to come out of danger, some effects of knee injuries include:-
- Legs muscles imbalance – one leg may be stronger than the other.
- Flexibility – knee injuries also affect ligaments, which might hamper flexibility.
- Slower surges – women are the most affected by these since knee movements affect the hips
Other soccer injuries include:-
- Head injuries – head to head or high-boot tackle can cause serious head injuries.
- Fractures – rough tackle or awkward falls may lead to foot, toes fractures.
