Soccer Injuries
There are between 30-60 million soccer athletes between ages 6-18 years worldwide, with 13 million participants in the US alone. It’s the third most popular sport in the US. There are about 300 million players that play globally. The occurrence of soccer injuries varies depending on age, level of play, player position, timing of injury and gender. Muscle strains, ligament sprains and contusions account for 70% of all soccer injuries. Overuse accounts for 27-33% percent of them. Reinjury rates range between 9-30% in professional adult soccer players. Players with previous injuries have a 4 to 7 times greater risk of subsequent injury. Soccer players have the highest injury rate of any women’s college sport and the third highest injury rate of any men's college sport.
Dr. Alfy evaluating a youth soccer player.
Common Soccer Injuries
Knee injuries account for 8-18 percent of injuries in practice and play. Knee injuries include:
Medial collateral ligament injuries: The inside of foot pass and block tackle moves put athletes at risk. The risk of injury increases with poor techniques and when the leg is extended away from the body.
Osteochondral injuries: These are bone and cartilage injuries. An MRI is usually needed for diagnosis. The patient presents with pain and/or swelling. The treatment varies depending on the clinical picture.
ACL injuries: These occur at higher rates in female athletes. In general they’re not as common, but an ACL injury has a longer return to play time of about 9 months.
Ankle injuries are also common in soccer.
Ankle sprain is present in about 60 percent of soccer players. These injuries usually occur during player contact. Osteochondral lesions have a 50-70 percent incidence in all acute ankle sprains and fractures. Symptoms include clicking and locking of the ankle. Lesion size and location determines treatment options.
Stress Fractures represent overuse injury of the bone, not a sudden mechanical stress. Training errors can account for more than 20 percent of these injuries.
Hip injuries and groin pain account for 5-28 percent of soccer injuries.
Adductor and hip flexor injuries are the most common. Risk factors for hip injuries include previous groin injury, higher playing level, and reduced hip adduction strength.
Different athletes, different injuries.
Most injuries among youth soccer players, and every day athletes, involve the lower extremities. The ankles and knees are the most injured body parts, whereas sprains and/or strains and contusions are the most reported injury types. Concussions, while concerning at the college and pro levels, are not common. Still, there are more than 30,000 concussions a year in youth soccer, mostly caused by heading the ball or colliding with another player.
According to researchers who reviewed 15 years of injury surveillance data from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the risk for injury for college players changes depending on whether it’s practice or a game:
The injury rate during games was 4 times higher than during practices.
Game injuries were often contact injuries between players, while practice injuries were often not.
In both games and practices, more than 60% of injuries were in the lower extremities.
The most common type of injuries in NCAA players was ankle sprain and it accounts for 17 percent of injuries in both practice and games. Ankle sprains are often caused when a player makes a sudden stop or change of direction, causing the ankle to twist unnaturally.
After ankle sprain, the top four most common NCAA athlete injuries were:
Muscle-tendon injuries to the upper leg, including injuries to the quadriceps and hamstring muscles.
Muscle-tendon injuries to the hip or pelvis.
Knee injuries. These include tears in ligaments like the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) or to the meniscus. ACL injuries are among those with the longest recovery times.
Concussion. Since there is a likelihood of player-on-player contact during games, concussions were 14 times more likely to occur during a game than during practice.
Prescriptive stretch/exercise recommendations for soccer:
FIFA 11+ exercises are used by youth and pro sport players alike. The entire workout can take less than twenty minutes and includes running exercises, strength, plyometric, and balance exercises. The running exercises are conducted solo and with a partner. The other exercises involve a bench, the ground, and the soccer ball.
What else can be done to avoid these common injuries:
Preparation: many injuries can be avoided if an athlete properly maintains fitness, stretches well, and hydrates.
Prevention: making sure that your surroundings are ideal for ensuring safe physical activity, for example, making sure the playing area is kept in ideal condition, there are no hazards, and players agree to adhere to safety rules.
Protection: Athletes from youth to professional need to maintain proper equipment and bodily protection. Using proper shoes with molded cleats, wearing shin guards, and gloves when necessary are easy ways to prevent an array of common soccer injuries.
When you KNOW it’s time to see the doctor with these injuries:
You know your body. Your joints should not be giving out on you when you try to use them. That’s a sign of an injury that might need treatment. You also know what “normal” sounds your body makes. If your body is making “not normal” noises for a couple of days, you may want to consult a doctor. Swelling of the knee or instability in the knees, like locking or giving out on you, should be looked at after a couple of days.
Re-injury is a common reason for missing time on the field. Make sure you speak to your provider before returning to play.