Football Injury

The Beautiful Game

Football, or to be precise, Association Football or Soccer, is the most popular sport in the world. If it's not being played, it's being watched, listened to, read about or debated upon.

The origin of the game is not entirely clear; the history goes back centuries with some historic versions of the game still being played today. Folk football, a version of the game popular in medieval times, is still played today in parts of England but it requires some bravery to play this no-holds-barred, unbounded iteration of the game.

As a sport, the power of football can transcend race and culture bringing people together with the one commonality. This was best illustrated during the Great War Christmas 1914 when soldiers from opposite sides laid down their arms to meet in No-Mans-Land for carols and a game of footie.

Health benefits of playing football

In the UK 1.9 million admit to playing football at least twice a month each year (ref). Not that we need a further excuse to have a kick-about, but regularly playing football comes with health benefits:

• Blood pressure control - regular recreational football can help lower high blood pressure
• Reduce cholesterol - playing football regularly can lower your total and "bad" cholesterol (LDL) level
• It can increase your VO² max, a measure of how aerobically fit you are, by as much as 7-15%
• and can increase bone density by up to 5.4% in previously sedentary individuals.

Football injuries

Injuries from playing football are a common occurrence with roughly 2/3 a result of contact with another player. More injuries occur during matches than in training. 

Common soccer injuries include:

• Ankle sprain
• Knee injuries  - Medial collateral ligament (MCL), Meniscus, Patellar tendon, ACL
• Groin injuries
• Hamstring muscle strain
• Calf muscle strain
• Muscle contusion 
• Skin abrasions
• Fractured/broken bones
• Concussion

The impact of an injury can be just as devastating for the professional athlete as it is for the weekend warrior. The psychological impact of not being able to do what you are known for or the unplanned disruption of your social outlet should not be underestimated. This is why following an injury, it is important to get an early diagnosis and a plan to recovery to give you a goal to work towards.

If you have a football injury that you are concerned about, click here to make an appointment with Dr Ade.