Common Soccer Injuries and How to Avoid Them

While injuries can happen to any part of the body, a soccer player’s legs take the brunt of the impact. Here’s a look at some of the most frequent lower-body injuries we see from soccer players and the preventative steps you (or your child) can take.

Ankle Sprains

An ankle sprain occurs when the strong ligaments that support the ankle joint are stretched or torn. This most commonly happens when the foot rolls inward and damages the ligaments on the outside of the ankle.

This is arguably the most common soccer injury and can happen from landing awkwardly after a jump for a header, planting your foot incorrectly during a quick change of direction, or, of course, from an opponent’s tackle. Uneven playing surfaces can also be a major culprit.

How to Avoid It:

• Strengthen Your Ankles: Focus on exercises that improve balance and proprioception (your body’s awareness of its position in space). Simple single-leg stands, balancing on a wobble board, or performing figure-eights with your ankle can all help.
• Wear Proper Gear: Ensure your cleats are a good fit and appropriate for the playing surface.
• Taping and Bracing: If you have a history of ankle sprains, consider prophylactic (preventative) ankle taping or wearing a lace-up ankle brace during practices and games for added support.
• Warm Up Before Every Practice and Game: Focus on dynamic stretches and light jogging to prepare the muscles and ligaments.

ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) Tears

The ACL is a critical ligament deep inside the knee joint that provides stability, particularly for rotational movements and forward/backward shifting of the shin bone. A tear can be a partial or complete rupture of this ligament, often resulting in significant pain, swelling, and a feeling of the knee giving way.

ACL tears in soccer are often non-contact injuries, as they typically occur during sudden deceleration, a rapid change of direction, or landing from a jump with poor mechanics (such as landing on a straight leg or with the knee caving inward).

How to Avoid It:

• Focus on Proper Landing Technique: Be sure to land softly on the balls of your feet with your knees bent.
• Strengthen Supporting Muscles: Build up your hamstrings and glutes to balance out strong quadriceps.
• Participate in Agility Drills: Practice cutting and pivoting with correct form, avoiding letting the knee collapse inward.
• Prioritize Conditioning: Fatigue is a major risk factor, and injuries often happen late in the game when players are tired and their form breaks down. Therefore, maintaining excellent cardiovascular fitness is a key part of avoiding common soccer injuries like ACL tears.

Hamstring Strains

A hamstring strain (also referred to as a pulled hamstring) is a tear in one or more of the three large muscles that run down the back of your thigh. These strains can range from a mild pull to a complete rupture. This injury is common during sprinting, sudden acceleration, or over-striding while kicking.

How to Avoid It:

• Always Warm Up: Never play a game cold. A proper dynamic warm-up (think high knees, butt kicks, leg swings, and walking lunges) is essential to prepare the muscles for explosive activity.
• Use Eccentric Strengthening Exercises: Don’t just strengthen your hamstrings—train them for their specific job. Exercises like Nordic hamstring curls or good mornings are excellent for building eccentric strength.
• Stay Hydrated: Dehydrated, tired muscles are much more prone to cramping and straining.

Shin Splints

Shin splint is the common term for pain along the inner edge of the shinbone (tibia). It’s an overuse injury, typically involving inflammation of the muscles, tendons, and bone tissue in that area.

Soccer players often suffer from shin splints at the beginning of the season. This is because they rapidly increase their training intensity or play on hard surfaces. Worn-out cleats, poor running mechanics, and flat feet can also contribute to this injury. If left untreated, shin splints can lead to stress fractures.

How to Avoid It:

• Gradually Build Endurance: Avoid the “too much, too soon” trap. Gradually increase the intensity, duration, and frequency of your training to allow your body to adapt.
• Wear Proper Footwear: Replace worn-out cleats that have lost their support and shock absorption.
• Care for Your Calves: Keep your calf muscles strong and flexible, as tight calves can pull on the shin.
• Avoid Overly Hard Surfaces: When possible, do your conditioning runs on softer surfaces like grass or a track rather than pavement.

When an Injury Happens, We’re Here to Help

Whether you’re a parent of a young athlete or a weekend warrior yourself, these prevention tips can minimize the chances of a soccer injury this fall.

Of course, sometimes, despite your best efforts, injuries happen. In the event you or your child gets hurt during a game, our sports medicine specialists are here to get them back up on their feet. We begin with a thorough assessment of the injury, which includes listening to how it happened and performing a detailed physical examination. From there, we’ll recommend a personalized treatment plan. This plan might involve targeted physical therapy to rebuild strength and mobility, compression and elevation, medication, or, if necessary, surgical intervention to repair the joint.

Don’t let an injury keep you out of the game for good; get a comprehensive evaluation and a plan to return to the sport you love by partnering with Premier Orthopaedics. We specialize in foot, ankle, and knee care, as well as trauma and fracture care, so that no matter which injury you’re dealing with, we have the expertise to help.

Schedule an appointment with our team in the Greater Philadelphia area today to get started.

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The two most common ways that a disc can become herniated is the natural degeneration of the disc or through trauma. Sometimes, a herniated disc goes unnoticed as it can cause few to no symptoms. Other times, patients will not have symptoms in their neck or lower back but rather in their shoulders, hands, legs or feet, which will lead them to seek treatment related to the extremities. Finding yourself with a herniated disc does not mean you have to have a surgical procedure. For those with a herniated disc in the neck or lower back, there are several non-surgical options available.

Medication.

When it comes to relieving mild to moderate pain, several different medications can help. There are also a variety of medications that a physician can prescribe to you that are stronger such as muscle relaxants or steroids. Remember, over-the-counter medications only mask the pain from your herniated discs, so it is important to consult with your physician to fully relieve your discomfort. You should also read the medication label and speak with a pharmacist to determine if it is safe to take anti-inflammatories.

Injections.

If there is little to no improvement from oral medications, a physician might recommend cortisone injections as an alternative solution. A Corticosteroid injection can reduce inflammation around an irritated nerve, but it will not reduce the actual size of the herniated disc. The injected medications may include steroids, local anesthetics or saline. The goal of an injection is to numb the irritated nerves which will ultimately relieve the pain symptoms. Injections go straight to the area of injury to deliver the pain-reducing medication to your spine.

Physical Therapy.

Physical therapy may be able to combat some of the painful symptoms associated with a herniated disc. With this injury, a Physical Therapist will utilize exercises that attempt to relieve pressure on the compressed nerves. Another target exercise is core stabilization which in turn helps with spine stabilization. Other practices such as stretching and manual work also might be used to benefit your flexibility. When working with a physician on your herniated disc, your physical therapist will work in conjunction with them to give you the most successful recovery.

When you have a herniated disc, you will want to control your pain management to the best of your ability. These tips may not work for everyone, but in the meantime can be useful to some.

The post What are Non-Surgical Treatment Options for a Herniated Disc appeared first on Premier Orthopaedics.

We also strive to make the process as efficient as possible!

For instance, if a patient visits our orthopaedic urgent care on a weekend, we can have them scheduled for an x-ray and MRI on Monday. The doctor reviews the images that day and immediately charts a course of action, whether it be non-operative or surgical treatment. That’s quick, affordable, convenient care!

Premier Orthopaedics also offers same day or next day in-person appointments in Malvern, Exton, Collegeville, and Coatesville.

For an appointment with one of our specialists or for more information about our services, please call 610-644-6900 or visit the office’s location page.

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Of course, as we all now know, some seven weeks later the resilient Birds would prove that there was more than enough talent on the roster to, against all odds, go on to capture their first Lombardi trophy without their star signal-caller. An outcome that even the most optimistic fans could’ve predicted as Quarterback Carson Wentz limped off the field at the LA Coliseum in the third quarter, or when later physical exam and MRI would reveal a torn ACL in his left knee.

The ACL, or Anterior Cruciate Ligament, helps stabilize the knee joint, preventing it from shifting during quick side-to-side motion. When the ACL is injured, the surrounding ligaments and cartilage are often injured as well—as was the case with Wentz. In addition to his torn ACL, surgeons would also repair a torn Lateral Collateral Ligament (LCL) during a Mid-December surgical procedure.

Recovery from ACL injuries and ACL reconstructive surgery is a long process. With modern minimally invasive outpatient surgical techniques, patients can feel quite good in a few weeks and get back to every day normal activities pretty quickly. However, return to sports is a completely different matter. Athletes must reach certain goals and both rehabilitation and healing.

In the first few months following surgery, focus is on rehabilitation– regaining motion, strength and overall fitness and conditioning. Higher-level agility re-training usually starts around 6 months postoperatively. At that point the new ACL ligament is strong enough for those types of activities and forces, but not quite ready for high impact loading necessary for full sports participation. Recent research has shown that the ACL graft can actually take up to 2 years to regain maximum strength. Athletes can feel and look very good, strong and mobile even several months after surgery, but the ACL graft in the knee is not ready for primetime in terms of strength and durability. This is why most athletes are now waiting 9-12 months before returning to full sports activities. The goal is to avoid the all too common re-tear of the ACL.

Yet despite the prognosis, and barely into the earliest stages of his rehabilitation, Wentz began ruminating aloud of his plans to make it back to game action by September 6th, 2018…otherwise known as opening day. In other words, less than nine months removed from the gruesome injury.

Although the third-year pro didn’t quite reach his personal goal of making it back to the field for the Eagles’ season-opening victory over Atlanta, the consensus opinion is that it’s only a matter of weeks before he does. Once cleared medically for contact, and with the assistance of a knee brace, Wentz and the team expect his 2018 debut to occur in week four or five. When he does, it will complete a remarkable journey from injury to full recovery in, impressively, less than ten-months time.

The prognosis for returning to full sports participation is excellent following ACL reconstruction surgery. Brandon Graham, whose tremendous play, stripping the ball from Tom Brady late in Super Bowl LII, and helping seal the victory, had also recently recovered from ACL surgery. In fact, there are 9 starting quarterbacks in the NFL (Bradford ×2, Brady, Brees, Flacco, Keenum, Tannehill. Rivers, Rodgers, Watson ×2) who have overcome a torn ACL. No doubt, Philadelphia Eagles #11 will be #10 to join that list!

The post Carson Wentz’s Long Road Back From ACL Surgery appeared first on Premier Orthopaedics.

Warm Up Before – Warm up with jumping jacks, stationary cycling, running, or walking in place for 3 to 5 minutes.

Cool Down After – Gentle stretching after physical activity is very important to prepare your body for the next time you exercise.

Consistent Exercise Program – Try to get at least 30 minutes of moderate activity every day. Pressed for time? Break it up into 10-minute chunks.

Be Prepared – Select the proper shoes for your sport and use them only for that sport.

Use the Ten Percent Rule – When changing your activity level, increase it in increments of no more than 10% per week.

Balanced Fitness – Develop a balanced fitness program that incorporates cardiovascular exercise, strength training, and flexibility.

Listen to Your Body – While no one likes getting older, you can prevent injury by modifying activities to accommodate your body’s needs.

* American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine and American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons

The post Sports Injury Prevention for Baby Boomers appeared first on Premier Orthopaedics.

Learn more about the various types of non-operative treatment methods used to treat patients with sports and spine injuries.

Physical Therapy

Physical therapy uses repetitive exercises to strengthen muscles and promote flexibility at the site of the injury to relieve pain and encourage healing. After your injury has been diagnosed, your doctor may recommend physical therapy to treat your injury. Your physical therapist will design a program individualized to you and your injury that usually includes specific exercises and stretches, strengthening routines, fitness machines and modalities such as ultrasound or electrical stimulation. This treatment method can reduce pain in your joints, tendons, ligaments, and muscles, allowing you to feel better soon after.

Acupuncture

This 2,000-year-old practice that originated in China to relieve pain and encourage healing has become popular in our culture today because of how it helps injuries heal quickly and improve overall mood. The procedure is performed by inserting small needles into the skin and applying heat or electrical stimulation at certain acupuncture points along special energy channels, called meridians, which flow through the body like rivers. When these meridians are obstructed, the energy cannot flow normally throughout the body. Acupuncture helps unblock these obstructions so energy can flow freely through the meridians and relieve pain and dysfunction.

Advanced Minimally Invasive Treatments

• Fluoroscopically (X-ray) guided procedures for proper and safe needle placement
  • Epidural steroid injections
  • Facet joint and sacroiliac joint injections
  • Radiofrequency ablation for facet and sacroiliac joint pain
  • Hip and shoulder joint injections
  • Spinal cord stimulator trials
  • Discography
  • Ultrasound-guided peripheral joint, tendon, and nerve injections
  • Platelet-rich plasma injections
  • Prolotherapy
  • Fragmentation of calcific tendinopathy

Daily Exercise

The American College of Sports Medicine recommends 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week to maximize health, endurance, and muscle strength. Daily exercise can improve cardiovascular health, decrease the risk of injuries, and help you to be a healthier, stronger person overall. Your doctor may suggest daily exercises such as walking or jogging to treat your injury and help relieve your pain.

Because it’s very common for patients to reinjure themselves after recovering, your doctor may also recommend various strengthening programs that will help reduce the risk of reinjury. Some methods may include the following:

• Core strengthening and stability
• Balance, coordination, and functional fitness training
• Conditioning programs to make muscles stronger
• Daily exercises and stretches
• Warm-up before strenuous physical activity

In addition to physical therapy, acupuncture, and daily exercise, there are many other treatment methods that doctors often prescribe to reduce pain while your injury is healing. These additional methods are listed below.

Other Services

• Osteoporosis treatment
• Electrodiagnostic testing (testing nerve function)
• Concussion testing and treatment (ImPACT)
• Fracture care
• Scoliosis management
• Osteopathic manipulation

If you’re dealing with a painful sports or spine injury, consult a physician to get treatment so you can obtain relief. For more information about common orthopaedic injuries and non-operative treatment options, download our e-book, Understanding Your Options: The Non-Operative Guide for Sports and Spine Injuries.

The post Non-Operative Treatment for Sports and Spine Injuries appeared first on Premier Orthopaedics.

Warm Up and Cool Down

Before beginning any sort of physical activity, it’s crucial to spend 10-20 minutes warming up. Focus on warming up the muscles you’ll be using during your workout. A brisk walk, a light jog, or light weight training can help your muscles prepare for more intense activities such as a long run, sprints, or heavy weight training.

After exercising, be sure to spend another 10-20 minutes cooling down. The cool-down process is similar to the warm-up process, except at a slower pace. Perform a less intense activity to allow your muscles to fully recover.

Stretch

Spending 10-15 minutes stretching your main muscle groups can drastically reduce muscle tears. Hold each stretch for 20 seconds to allow the muscles to become more flexible, and therefore less likely to sustain injury. Stretching out your muscles also helps them reach their full range of motion.

The best time to stretch is after your warm-up and before the intense activity. This way, your muscles will already be warm and they will stretch better.

Diet

What you eat greatly impacts the health of your muscles. Your diet helps your muscles strengthen, repair themselves, and function properly. It’s important to include protein, carbohydrates, healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals in your diet for healthy muscles.

Add the following foods to your diet for muscle health:  

• Protein – Muscles are mostly made up of proteins. It’s important to include protein in your diet to replenish what is lost during workouts. Proteins include meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, and milk products.
• Carbohydrates – Carbohydrates provide fuel so you can perform physical activities. They also promote the release of insulin so your muscles can build new tissue. Include whole grains, fruits, and vegetables in your diet for carbohydrates.
• Fats – Unsaturated fats are helpful in muscle recovery. These fats are found in walnuts, flaxseed, fish oils, peanut oil, and olive oil.
• Vitamins and Minerals – Eating a balanced variety of healthy foods from those listed above will provide you with the essential vitamins and minerals you need for healthy muscles. Taking a daily multivitamin can also help your body obtain the nutrients it needs.

Hydrate

Staying hydrated is important for overall health, including blood flow, kidney function, and digestive functions. Water is also important for muscle health. It provides essential electrolytes that are necessary for muscle strength and control. It’s also necessary for building muscle. The average person should drink two liters, or half a gallon, of water per day which is eight 8-ounce glasses. When you’re very active, you lose a lot of water during workouts and should increase your total amount by a few glasses.

Exercise

This may seem obvious, but exercise is very important for maintaining muscle health. People who exercise have stronger muscles than others in their age group. Any kind of exercise that causes the body to work against gravity will help build muscle. Muscles will break down as time goes on without exercise.

Practice weight-bearing exercises such as running, jogging, jumping rope, and dancing. Adults should get at least 30 minutes of exercise daily.

Follow these simple tips to keep your muscles healthy, and you’ll find that your performance will increase and you’ll feel better overall.

For more information about improving your performance,click here to download our e-book, The Athlete’s Guide to Reaching Peak Sports Performance and Preventing Injury. This educational guide will help you understand common sports injuries, treatment methods and how to maintain fitness after an injury.

The post Top Five Tips for Keeping your Muscles Healthy appeared first on Premier Orthopaedics.

You may have been working out with the rest of your body and isolating the injury while it’s still healing, but incorporating it back into your routine is a slow process that takes a lot of patience. It’s important to make sure you’re not performing any intense activity, and if at any point you feel pain at the site of the injury, you should stop immediately to avoid further injury.

The following guide will help you safely get back to your normal exercise routine after you’ve suffered an injury:

1. If your injury was severe and involved surgery or a serious fracture, the time between your injury and when you start to exercise again will be greater than if your injury was mild. If you undergo surgery or suffer a broken bone, you’ll be in a cast for a period of time, during which you will heal almost completely. This type of injury may also require physical therapy sessions in order to regain the full range of motion in that area.
2. After your injury has had some time to heal and the pain and swelling have diminished, gradually begin moving the injured area. Because muscle inactivity can lead to decrease in muscle strength, you’ll want to start testing your muscles as soon as possible to prevent muscle loss. Start using the affected area sparingly by performing stretches to regain flexibility and range of motion.
3. If you successfully stretched out the injury without pain, slowly start to put weight on it. Soreness and swelling will likely return as you increase activity level which is normal, but remember to stop any exercise that causes pain to avoid re-injury.
4. After stretching and bearing weight on the injury, you’ll want to test it to gauge if it’s strong enough to use during exercise. Start out with low-intensity workouts to see how much your injury can tolerate. It’s likely that you’ll experience some swelling as you continue to exercise. Use it as a guide to determine how much the injury has recovered.
5. Continue less intense workouts for a few days to make sure that the injury is strong enough to handle more strenuous exercise. If you’re not experiencing pain and your swelling is minimal, you should be safe to work out like you did before the injury.
6. Prepare the injured area with an elastic compression bandage or medical tape to provide extra stability. Take it easy when returning to your normal workouts and don’t push yourself too hard. Be cautious of the area and check for any swelling. It may be slightly sore for a few days afterwards, so you may want to apply ice to treat the pain.

The rule of thumb is not to return to exercising before your injury has recovered. This typically results in an even more severe injury. Be sure to discuss your exercise plans with your doctor and follow their advice.

The post Tips for Exercising after a Mild Sports Injury appeared first on Premier Orthopaedics.

Consider the following tips to keep your muscles healthy and strong in order to avoid strains.

Practice the Correct Technique

Whether you’re blocking on the field or doing a sit-up, or even in the gym, practicing the right form is crucial to preventing injuries from occurring. Utilizing the proper technique will help you complete the task efficiently without hurting yourself. If you aren’t sure what the right form is, be sure to ask a professional such as a coach or a personal trainer. Understanding how to perform a task properly will result in more effective workouts.

Too Much Weight

It’s crucial to your health to only use as much weight as you can handle while strength training. When you’re using free weights or a barbell and you can’t support the weight, you won’t be able to control it or contain its movement. You could easily drop it and injure yourself or others. If you want to increase the weight that you use while training, slowly transition from a weight that you’re comfortable with to a slightly heavier weight. This way, you’ll be able to identify the amount you can control.

Warm Up

Be sure to warm up for about 15-20 minutes before beginning a high-intensity exercise to get your heart rate up and increase blood flow to your muscles. Your warm-up should be low-intensity exercises that incorporate all the muscles you’ll be using during your workout. Activities such as jogging, swimming, and stair climbing are great for warming up.

Stretching

After warming up, spend 15-20 more minutes stretching out for flexible, limber muscles. This will help prepare your muscles for intense activity by relaxing and elongating them. Stretching also prevents muscles from soreness and tearing.

Training Too Often

One way to invite a sports injury is to train too hard without any rest. When your body is tired and over-trained, its overall strength is weak which can result in serious injury. Giving yourself one day a week without strenuous physical activity can help your muscles recover from your workouts. If you consistently feel tired and worn out from working out, you may want to consider cutting your training sessions back.

Healthy Diet

Diet and nutrition are important for training. Your body requires certain foods for muscle health and performance. Incorporate foods to your diet that contain protein, carbohydrates, unsaturated fats, vitamins, and minerals.

It’s also important to stay hydrated. Your body is made up of mostly water and you lose that water while sweating during workouts. Be sure to drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water each day to replenish what you’ve lost during your training sessions. You should also replenish your electrolytes with sports drinks, coconut water, or fruit.

Working out puts a lot of stress on the body and can cause a serious injury. If you stick to these simple tips for avoiding muscle strains, you’ll greatly reduce your risk for injury. Remember, always listen to the warning signs that your body gives and it will let you know if you’re over training or working out too hard.

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Immediately following a blow to the head, the athlete should be removed from the game. It’s important to monitor the athlete to determine whether he or she displays any symptoms of a concussion. Young athletes should be evaluated more carefully because their performance takes longer to improve after a concussion.

Common symptoms of a concussion include headache, feeling dazed, vomiting, seizures, amnesia, or loss of consciousness. If you experience any of these symptoms following a blow to the head, it’s crucial to seek medical attention immediately. When being evaluated for a concussion, the physician may order tests, including one or more of the following:

Neurological test: This test assesses motor and sensory skills, the functioning of cranial nerves, hearing and speech, vision, coordination, and balance.

CT scan: This is a computerized X-ray that provides images of the brain and can identify bleeding or swelling.

MRI scan: This imaging study typically is used when patients have experienced symptoms for more than seven days. The concussion should only last about 48 to 72 hours.

ImPACT Neurocognitive Test: This computer-based program, available at Premier Orthopaedics, tests multiple aspects of brain function. The team of certified physicians and athletic trainers at Premier will help diagnose and treat athletes using this test.

No medication has been proven to aid in recovery after concussion, so the main treatment is rest by limiting brain function as much as possible. Physicians suggest patients refrain from watching television and using a computer during this time, and acetaminophen can be used to reduce painful headaches.

There are a few preventive measures athletes can take to reduce the risk of a concussion. An athlete who has experienced one or more concussions has a greater risk of suffering another one.

Fitting Helmet

If you play a sport that uses helmets, make sure yours fits correctly. An improperly fitted helmet doesn’t protect the head the way it should.

If your sport doesn’t use helmets, see what you can do to protect your head. Because concussions are serious, more sports are allowing players to wear some kind of head protection. For instance, the use of headgear is becoming more popular among soccer players who have sustained a head injury.

Avoid Using Your Head

Don’t use your head as part of the game. But if you do commonly use your head when playing a sport, such as in soccer, train yourself to avoid this as much as possible and instead focus on trapping the ball with your chest. Football players should utilize proper tackling methods and avoid using the head as a weapon, focusing instead on hitting with the shoulders.

Strengthen Neck Muscles

Strong neck muscles can absorb some of the impact to the head, reducing the force that affects the brain. One simple exercise to strengthen the neck muscles is lying flat on the ground with your head about an inch off the ground and twisting your neck from side to side at least 15 times.

Concussions are serious injuries that can ultimately cause severe damage. It’s critical to your health to take preventive measures to avoid suffering one. If you do suffer a blow to the head, get examined right away.

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