Pearl Physiotherapy Center

Football Injuries

Football injuries treated by Pearl Physiotherapy Center

Football injuries most commonly affect the lower extremities with knee injuries being the most common in footballers. The demands of the game, with sharp bursts of speed interspersed with cutting and twisting movements often lead to such injuries. Football is a very physical game with tackles and collisions at high speed that can often lead to trauma. Book an appointment with one of our qualified physiotherapists to find out more about football injury treatment and recovery.

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Types Of Pains and Causes

Hamstring Muscle Strain/Tear

Football will often involve short, explosive running with accelerating and decelerating forces. This can cause lead to excessive forces in the hamstring muscle group leading to strains and muscle tears. A hamstring strain will often result in tightness and pain in the back of the thigh, whereas as a tear can result in swelling and bruising with significant pain. In any acute hamstring injury or soft tissue injury, the best treatment immediately is the PRICE regime of Protection, Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation in the first 24-72 hours after the injury.

Ankle Ligament Strain

This involves a sudden stretching/stress to the ankle ligaments when the ankle joint is forcibly stretched beyond the normal ranges of motion. The most common type of ankle ligament injury is an inversion sprain; this involves the ankle and foot turning inwards often with the weight of the leg over the inwardly turned ankle which can lead to the ligaments being overstretched and injured.

Knee Cartilage Injury

The cartilage or menisci is the cushioning between the joint of the knee and assists in the joint gliding, rolling and rotating in the knee. Often cartilage injuries are caused by a forcible twisting motion of the knee, often when studs are caught in the grass and a pivoting rotation force occurs at the knee. The main symptoms of a cartilage tear is a sharp pain on weight bearing, swelling and a difficulty bending or straightening the knee. In more severe cases, the knee can lock and give way as the damaged cartilage tear can be trapped between the opposing joints movements.

ACL Injuries

The anterior cruciate ligament, otherwise known as the ACL, is located in the centre of the knee joint and is of crucial importance to the stability of the knee joint as it connects the femur (thigh bone) to the tibia bone (shin bone). ACL injuries are common in footballers due to the forces exerted through the knee with acceleration and deceleration forces and sudden changes in direction. Often during a game situation, these dynamic forces can be accentuated to the ACL due to external forces from tackles and/or when studs become caught in the grass during sudden movements.