2 min read • October 20, 2022
Posted in
By Nikhil Sinha
Football continues to be one of the most popular sports in the United States as well as one of the most physically demanding. During a season, almost every football player deals with football injuries. The sports medicine team, which includes athletic trainers, physicians, nutritionists and more, do their best to get players ready to play. Despite this, football injuries still occur. Here are the 10 most common football injuries:
Muscle tissue contains muscle fibers. A muscle strain is the stretching or tearing of these muscle fibers. Muscle strains can be classified into three grades:
Grade 1: In this mild strain, only a few muscle fibers are stretched or torn.
Grade 2: This is a moderate strain with a greater number of injured fibers causing increased pain and tenderness. Swelling may be present.
Grade 3: This strain tears the muscle all the way through. This can happen when the muscle rips into two separate pieces or the muscles separate from the tendon. Tendons connect muscles to bone.
A hamstring strain is an injury to one or more of the muscles at the back of the thigh. The hamstring muscles help with extending your leg straight back as well as bending your knee. There are 3 hamstring muscles: semitendinosis, semimembranosis, and biceps femoris as shown below:
A hamstring strain can be a pull, partial tear, or complete tear of the hamstring muscle(s). The main cause of these injuries is muscle overload, which can happen when the muscle is stretched beyond its capacity or is challenged with a sudden load.
The knee is the largest joint in the body and contains four key ligaments. Ligaments are like tough pieces of rope that attach bones to bones. Knee ligament injuries are the number one most common injury in football. The knee consists of two collateral ligaments (MCL and LCL) and two cruciate ligaments (ACL and PCL) and are shown below:
Any direct contact to the knee or sudden movement such as changing direction too quickly while running can injure a ligament. Ligament injuries are considered strains and can be graded, much like muscle strains.
Grade 1: The ligament is mildly damaged but is still able to keep the knee stable.
Grade 2: The ligament is stretched to the point where it becomes loose. This is also called a partial tear.
Grade 3: The ligament is completely torn and the knee joint becomes unstable.
Your arm is kept in its shoulder socket by rotator cuff muscles. The rotator cuff is a group of 4 muscles that come together as tendons and function to attach the humerus (upper arm bone) to the shoulder blade. These muscles function to lift and rotate the arm and include the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, subscapularis, and teres minor muscles as shown below:
When one or more of the rotator cuff tendons is torn, the tendon becomes partially or completely detached from the humerus. Rotator cuff strains can be due to injury or wear and tear.
Ankle sprains can be split up into two types: inversion sprains and eversion sprains. Inversion sprains are when the foot turns inwards; the anterior talofibular ligament and calcaneofibular ligaments are at risk. Eversion sprains are when the foot turns outwards; the deltoid ligament is at risk.
The Achilles tendon is the largest tendon in the body and connects the calf muscles to the heel bone as shown below:
Achilles tendonitis is when this tendon becomes irritated and inflamed. This condition is typically due to repetitive stress to the achilles tendon.
A stress fracture is a small crack in the bone or severe bruising within the bone and is most often caused by repetitive activity and overuse. Stress fractures in the foot are most commonly found in the metatarsal bones, which help form the main arches of the foot and are essential for weight bearing activities.
Jumper’s knee, also called patellar tendonitis, is an injury to the tendon connecting your kneecap to your shin bone. The patellar tendon works with the muscles in the front of your thigh to extend your knee.
Shin splints, also called medial tibial stress syndrome, refers to pain and inflammation along the inner edge of the shinbone (tibia) often caused by repetitive running.
Concussions are traumatic injuries to the brain, often caused by a bump or blow to the head, which causes the brain to move rapidly inside of the skull. Concussions happen quite frequently during the course of a football season and measures have been taken in recent years to reduce the risk of these types of injuries in football. A concussion can temporarily impair brain functions such as memory, balance, coordination, and speech.
Some tips to avoid common football injuries include:
-Wear properly fitted gear including helmets, pads, shoes, mouth guards, etc.
-Consistently incorporating strength training and stretching before and after play to prevent football injuries.
-Hydrate regularly to avoid heat related injuries
-Tackle with the head up and do not lead with the helmet.
-Consult with the sports medicine professional or an athletic trainer for injury prevention strategies.
Most physical sports, especially football, carry injury risk. To play injury-free football, it is important to understand the most common football injuries as well as the basic anatomy relating to each injury. Sports medicine professionals are trained to help treat football players if they suffer injuries and can also help with injury prevention.
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