The term “Sports injuries” refers to injuries that commonly occur in sports. Football is a sport where many of its players sustain these types of injuries. Despite the term, these injuries are not limited to athletes. For example, factory workers who do not play tennis can still get tennis elbow and vice versa. Sports injuries like tennis elbow are usually caused by repetitive overload. However, a large amount of these injuries are also caused by trauma and direct impact.
Ankle Sprains
Usually, an ankle sprain occurs when it is forcefully twisted and as a result, the ankle ligaments overstretch beyond their normal range of motion. After you twist your ankle, you may present with the following symptoms such as pain, visible swelling & bruising, tenderness to touch, reduced mobility & strength and difficulties putting weight on your ankle.
For the first couple of days after you’ve sprained your ankle, follow the RICE method to help reduce any swelling and to promote stability.
Rest – stop any exercises, avoid strenuous activities, and try not to put any weight on your ankle.
Ice – apply an ice pack (or frozen bag of vegetables) to your ankle for up to 20 mins every 2-3 hours. Do not use a heat pack as this may increase swelling.
Compression – wrap a bandage around the ankle for support.
Elevate – keep the ankle raised on a pillow as much as you can.
If the pain is getting out of hand, try to take painkillers such as paracetamol and ibuprofen. When you can move your ankle without pain stopping you, start to perform physio exercises on it such as, calf raises and stretches, balancing on one leg and gentle ankle movements in all directions.
Hamstring Strains
In a similar fashion to an ankle sprain, a hamstring strain occurs when the muscles at the back of your thigh overstretch beyond their normal range. This usually happens after a sudden explosive movement such as sprinting or jumping. The symptoms are also like that of an ankle sprain, so you may present with the following: pain, visible swelling & bruising, tenderness at the back of your thigh, reduced mobility & strength, and difficulties with walking/standing.
The RICE method will also be appropriate for the first couple of days after you’ve strained your hamstring. Additionally, you can also take painkillers if the pain is too intense. When you can walk/stand without too much pain, start to perform gentle hamstring stretches. You should then follow this up with gentle hamstring strengthening exercises such as hamstring sets, knee slides & curls. Activities like cycling & walking should also be used in conjunction with these exercises. Prevention is often better than cure. Hamstring strains can be prevented if you warm up properly before exercising/playing football, adopt a consistent strength training programme for your hamstrings, and monitor the intensity and duration of exercise so you can increase these factors appropriately.
Groin Pulls/Strains
The mechanism of injury with regards to groin pulls/strain is more or less the same as a hamstring strain. In this case, the muscles at your groin/inner thigh (adductors) are overstretched beyond their normal range by way of sudden twisting & turning or a change in direction when playing football. The presenting symptoms are also like that of a hamstring strain. The only difference is that these symptoms are now located at the groin, so any pain, swelling, bruising & tenderness will be at your inner thigh. Pain and restrictions in mobility and strength may also be evident when trying to bend your knee or bring your legs together.
Implementing the RICE method with a combination of painkillers can also be applied for the first couple of days in this case. As pain allows after these initial couple of days, gentle adductor stretches such as butterfly and side lunge stretches can be performed. These can then be followed up with gentle adductor strengthening exercises such as squeezing a ball in between your thighs, side-lying leg lifts & side lunges. As mentioned previously, prevention is often better than cure. Therefore, all the preventative measures necessary to reduce the risk of hamstring injury will also be necessary for reducing the risk of a groin injury.
Shin Splints
The term “shin splints” refers to pain along your shinbone. Usually, the reason why you are having pain in your shins is that they are subject to repetitive and excessive overload from playing football. Running and jumping on hard/uneven surfaces, improper running technique and a sudden change in the frequency that you play football are all factors that contribute to this overload.
Just like the injuries that were described above, a short-term strategy to reduce any pain or swelling will usually be your first point of call. Simple painkillers like ibuprofen and paracetamol as well as the application of ice packs to your shin may help to ease the pain at your shin initially. As the days go by and your shin splint pain has reduced in intensity, implement exercises that aren’t as stressful to your shins, such as yoga and swimming. Just to add a note, remember to warm up before exercise and cool down after!
ACL Tears
Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears are one of the most common knee injuries sustained in sports. The mechanism of injury is similar to that of a ligament sprain, meaning that the ACL has overstretched beyond its normal range. Usually, an “undesirable translation” of your knee joint when playing football is at fault. Hyperextension of your knee, sudden directional changes when walking or running, twisting of your knee when landing from a jump, or being on the receiving end of a direct blow to your knee by way of collision with other persons/players are all examples of “undesirably translate” your knee joint to cause an injury to your ACL. After the injury, symptoms that you might expect are pain, visible swelling & bruising, tenderness to touch, reduced mobility & strength, difficulties putting weight/walking on the knee and feeling as if your knee could give way at any point. You may have even heard of a popping sound when you injured it too, which could be indicative of a Grade 3/complete tear.
As you might expect, the RICE method in conjunction with painkillers is advised in the first couple of days after your injury. Supportive measures such as using crutches or wearing knee braces may also need to be implemented. This will mostly apply to you if bearing weight on your knee is difficult. Depending on the severity of the tear, surgery may or may not be an option. Factors like knee stability and the type of lifestyle you lead are considerations. Regardless of surgical intervention or not, strength & mobility-based exercises such as quad & hamstring sets, knee extensions & slides and sit-to-stands that are performed under the guidance of a physiotherapist are imperative to restore base function. Even If you were to consider surgery, you will still need strong hamstrings and quadriceps and a full knee range of motion before the process to ensure a successful recovery. Luckily, a physiotherapist can help in both scenarios! To book an appointment click here