From a young age, Aussies learn to love football. We play it in the streets when we’re kids, with our mates in school or after work, and some of us even manage to make it professionally. We love the footy for its exciting, high contact action, but with the fun comes that necessary bit of danger, and it’s important to know how to stay safe when playing or training.

The majority of football injuries occur from the waist down, concerning the pelvis, hips, thighs, knees, calves, ankles, and feet. Though the injuries aren’t always severe, they do need to be treated properly to prevent them from happening again.

With such a high contact sport, injuries are bound to happen. If you’re a footy player – casual or serious – it’s important to know about at least the most common injuries and how can you avoid and prevent them.

Trauma Injuries

The majority of football related injuries are a result of trauma. Trauma injuries occur when a player collides with either another player or with the ground at force, or at an awkward angle, and they can lead to injuries that range from mild, which only require a small amount of healing time, to severe, which can render a player unable to play at full ability again.

One of the most common trauma injuries is to the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL), which is an injury to the knee. The ACL ligament connects the thigh bone to the shin bone and works to stop them from moving too far apart. When the ACL is damaged – often due to landing heavily only a bent knee and then twisting – it requires the opinion of an orthopedic consultant.

Depending on the severity of the injury, physiotherapy may be the best route to recovery. Programs can be tailored to fit your needs, giving you the quickest and safest recovery possible.

Concussion

A sport such as football leaves a lot of opportunity for head injuries to occur, and concussion is one of the main injuries a football player can sustain due to the frequency of impact with other players, the ground, and the ball itself.

While not everyone suffering from a concussion will lose consciousness, there are several ways to tell if you suspect someone has sustained a head injury. If a player is complaining of nausea, dizziness, blurred vision, loss of balance, and a numb or tingling feeling, there’s a high chance they are concussed and need medical attention.

Ensuring you are wearing headgear that is properly fitted is the easiest way to protect your head from damage and stay safe while playing.

Overuse

For older players and higher level players that train more frequently, overuse is a common complaint. The muscles and ligaments in older players don’t recover as quickly as they do in younger players, leaving those over the age of 25 more prone to issues caused by overuse. For those training in higher levels, there is a risk of overtraining syndrome, where the player trains beyond the body’s ability to recover, leaving them worn out and, again, prone to injury.

Tears and Strains

As a result of the fast-paced nature of football, tears and strains are a common cause of injury. Hamstring strains are one of the most reported injuries – caused by a tear in the hamstring muscle when it is stretched beyond its limits. This can happen during sprinting exercises or during a particularly fast-paced game, and strains can be classified as either first, second, or third degree depending on their severity.

Another frequent injury is the knee cartilage tear, which is caused by damage to the meniscus in the knee. Smaller tears may settle down quite quickly, but a sufficient tear can cause swelling and severe pain.

Heat Overload

Most people associate sports injuries with collisions or falls, but not many people would attribute them to heat. However, in hot countries such as Australia, heat injuries can be a cause of major concern. If players are not sufficiently hydrated and protected from the sun and heat, they can expect cramping, exhaustion, dehydration, and possibly even heat stroke.

While professional players are probably well aware of the dangers of playing in the heat, young or recreational players may not notice that they are becoming dehydrated, and may not understand the importance of replenishing their body’s fluid levels.

How to Prevent Injury

While the only way to completely exempt yourself from sustaining a football related injury would be to not play football, there are plenty of methods you can adopt to lessen the risk.

Playing the sport frequently allows the muscles to adapt and become used to the movement, which decreases your risk of injury significantly. If you were to suddenly play an intense game of football after not doing so for several months, your body would not be prepared for the demands the game requires.

Ensuring you warm up and cool down correctly also goes a long way toward preventing injury, as it allows your muscles to prepare and recover before and after you play.

Attending training sessions before competitions and pre-season training sessions will allow your body to build up strength, flexibility, stamina, and balance. In many football clubs, those who do not attend training are not permitted to play in competitions, as their bodies are not properly prepared.

While some sports injuries require only a few days of rest before you can be back on your feet, others require much more care and attention – and ignoring them could lead to further complications down the road. Physiotherapists are the experts in soft tissue injury management, exercise prescription and conditioning to assist in earlier return to sports participation, recovery of strength, optimal flexibility and future injury prevention.