Massive tackles. Diving catches. Planned (and unplanned) collisions. All the things that make Australian Rules Football worth playing also make it unpredictable – particularly for the complex and delicate shoulder joint.

Whether you play professionally or just once in a blue moon, footy can put your shoulders at risk. But we’re not here to scare you away – far from it! We’re here tell you how to identify shoulder injuries, and what to do if you’ve got one, so that you can stay in the game.

Common AFL Shoulder Injuries

The high contact nature of footy can take its toll on your shoulder in a number of ways. The following are some of the most common:

  • AC Joint Injury (Shoulder Separation)

    • The AC Joint (or acromioclavicular joint) is an important junction in your shoulder. An injury to this area is commonly called “shoulder separation” and usually means you’ve sprained or stretched the ligaments supporting the AC joint (at the end of the collar bone).
    • This can happen through collision, or from landing on an outstretched arm (hopefully you caught the ball).
    • Symptoms include pain on the top of the shoulder, swelling and/or bruising, loss of shoulder movement, and occasionally, a hard, visible lump on the top of the shoulder.
    • You might start to feel better within a few days, but full ligament healing can take at least six weeks. During that time, you’ve got to be careful not to overstretch those ligaments! Engage in careful shoulder rehab exercises.

  • Dislocated Shoulder

    • If you’ve done this one, you’ll know it. Shoulder dislocations are usually extremely painful and can render the arm immobile until the shoulder joint is “put back” into its socket.
    • Shoulder dislocation can occur as a result of a sudden trauma (like a massive tackle), or from underlying shoulder joint instability.
    • Symptoms: your shoulder will probably look visibly deformed. You may feel it ‘pop’ out of joint, at which point it may ‘pop’ back in, or remain disjointed.
    • Rehab is extremely sensitive and important here. If you’ve suffered acute or repeated dislocations, a Physio is recommended to prescribe proper treatment and ensure complete healing.

  • Rotator Cuff Injuries

    • The rotator cuff is a group of important muscles and tendons responsible for the rotation and movement of the shoulder. It forms a cuff around the ‘ball’ part of the ball and socket joint. Rotator cuff injuries are perhaps some of the most common shoulder injuries out there.
    • Symptoms will vary, but can include a flash of pain or clicking when the arm is raised to shoulder height, pain when lying on the shoulder, muscle weakness or pain when reaching or lifting, pain when putting your hand behind your head, or even pain when your shoulder is at rest.
    • The following several injuries all have to do with the rotator cuff

  • Shoulder Tendonitis

    • Shoulder tendonitis is an inflammation injury to the tendons of your rotator cuff. It’s a progressive injury (one that gets worse over time), and is often associated with associated injuries like shoulder bursitis.
    • The cause here is not usually a specific one-off trauma, but a history of small stresses.
    • Symptoms: Shoulder tendonitis is not always an obvious injury, it usually comes on slowly. Symptoms can include those listed above for rotator cuff injuries.
    • Most shoulder tendonitis is reversible. Rehab may start with rest, ice, and support, and progress through exercises to regain motion, regain control, and regain strength.

  • Shoulder Impingement

    • Shoulder impingement occurs when your rotator cuff tendons are trapped and compressed (or ‘pinched’) when you move your shoulder. This pinching happens most often on the top of the shoulder, when you raise your arms over your head.
    • The cause can be a sudden trauma, or sustained stress. It’s common for injuries of this type to be caused by a combination of factors, movements and injury history.
    • Symptoms can include those listed above for rotator cuff injuries.
    • Treatment involves careful rehab, and it’s especially important for this type of injury to find out the original cause of the trouble.

  • Bursitis Shoulder (or Shoulder Bursitis)

    • Shoulder bursitis is one of the most common injuries we see at Morley Physio. It occurs when a bursa (a fluid filled sac that pads between the bones, tendons and muscles in the shoulder) gets inflamed.
    • Bursitis can occur due to traumas, overuse, repeated stress, and other injuries such as shoulder impingement.
    • Treatment involves very careful and complete rehab. Shoulder bursitis is an injury that rears its head again and again if recovery isn’t completed before you return to sport and normal activity.

What to do if You’ve Got a Shoulder Injury

The two most important things to do if you’ve injured your shoulder are 1) find out exactly what the injury is, and 2) find out how to properly treat that injury.

For both of these, a good physiotherapist will give you a full evaluation, taking into account your present injury, your lifestyle habits, your physical history – everything it takes to really determine the root cause of your injury, care for it properly, and avoid re-injury moving forward.

Shoulder injuries can recurr in the future if they’re not properly cared for, take Gary Ablett of the Gold Coast Suns for example. He dislocated his shoulder in 2014. Afterwards, he made the tough decision to go in for reconstructive surgery and miss out the rest of that season. He took good care of the shoulder in 2015, but injured the same shoulder in 2016 and missed 8 games that season. It just goes to show that even with the best care available, re-injury can happen. The reason Ablett is still in the game is that he’s taken good care of himself, and many times, he’s made the careful choice to rest – even though he’s a legend on the field and no doubt wants to be there with his team for every game. Shoulder rehab after surgery can be a key part of recovery.

Physiotherapy for Rehab

Whether your injury is sudden and severe or a slow nag, proper diagnosis and complete rehab are the keys to recovery. If you are experiencing shoulder pain, read more here.

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.

At Morley Physio, we place the utmost importance on finding the root cause of your issue. Treatments and rehab are always customised to each patient’s lifestyle, sport habits and specific injury. We want to get you back on the field, and give you the education and tools you need to keep it that way.

If you’ve sustained an injury while playing footy, our sports injury clinic is here to get you back to full strength. Contact us at Morley Physio to find out how we can help you.