Injuries are a major concern in football and can have long lasting effects on a player, which is why any coach would always be looking for things they can do, in training, to help prevent injuries as much as they can for their team.
A football injury prevention program is the combination of specific conditioning exercises and stretching methods, implemented at specific times, that result in an athlete being less prone to injuries.
An injury prevention program consists of the following:
- Developing and maintaining a players physical condition through a series of specific exercises
- Performing multiple stretches (dynamic and static) at the correct times
- Performing an effective warm-up
Injury Prevention is not able to completely eradicate injuries from the sport but it’s purpose or benefits are:
- Reduce the risk of injury
- Reduce the frequency of getting injured
- Reducing the severity of an injury
- Reducing the recovery time
- Enhance performance level
- Improves the strength of the joints
All of the above can be implemented into a coach’s training plan, no matter what level the team is playing.
Obviously at elite football clubs, or clubs with an abundance of resources, they are able to tailor individual programs for each player by using testing methods such as functional movement screen (FMS), for example, and having all the training facilities needed .
Whilst we now know what injury prevention is, there are many other aspects to this subject, for instance:
- What are the most common football injuries
- What are the best exercise methods to implement in an injury prevention program
- What evidence is there that an injury prevention program is beneficial?
All of the above questions will be covered in this blog post, along with illustrations of exercises that can be used.
WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON SOCCER MUSCLE INJURIES?
The majority of studies have suggested that the main reason for time spent not playing are through injury sprains, knee sprains, hamstring strains and groin strains and from my own experience, during my playing days, I would suggest that the quadriceps and calf muscle injuries are quite common as well.
A study established sufficient scientific evidence of three injury risk elements for professional football players which were:
- Previous injury
- Fatigue
- Muscle Imbalance
A muscle strain is the tearing of fibres within a muscle or tendon that connects a muscle to another part of the body. The severity of the strain depends on several factors including how much force has been applied to the muscle before it is injured.
A muscle or tendon strain can be partial or complete. A mild strain may cause some pain and the muscle may feel slightly tight but it will still function normally (partial). On the other hand, a moderate to severe strain will affect the range of movement of the joint in which it is located, resulting in reduced activity for several days and subsequently be accompanied by pain.
What are the best exercise methods to implement in an injury prevention program?
There are a number of injury prevention exercise methods that can be applied in a team’s training, such as…
- Eccentric strength exercises
- Joint flexibility of the lower body
- Compensation: core / abdominals
- Proprioception
Eccentric strength exercises
A great way to make these areas stronger is to perform eccentric strength exercises. This is an exercise where the muscle contraction takes place whilst the same muscle simultaneously lengthens.
Consider the following when performing eccentric strength exercises:
- It is utilised to increase muscle and tendon strength
- Perform 1-2 sets of 6-8 repetitions per muscle group, with slow controlled movement
- Do not use on recovery days or close to match day
- Recommended during pre-season
Hamstrings
The hamstrings are made up of three muscles: biceps femoris, semitendinosus and semimembranosus. These muscles run along the back of the thigh.
The most common hamstring injury is a strain or partial tear but it is possible to tear them completely at which point they need immediate medical help since if not treated properly it could result in permanent weakness.
The feeling of a hamstring injury is a sharp pulling pain behind the thigh. This usually happens during a motion that combines hip flexion with knee extension, such as when sprinting or during a kicking action.
Example:
- Have someone hold the ankles so that they do ot lift up
- Lean forward and for 5 seconds seconds
- Gently let your body down to the floor
Quadriceps
The quadriceps are a group of four muscles that are located at the front of the thigh. The main function of these muscles is to straighten the knee and in doing this they contribute towards moving your body forward and backwards, sideways and rotationally.
The anterior portion of this muscle group is called the rectus femoris. It originates at the symphysis pubis and extends all the way to the tibial tuberosity. The rectus femoris is a two-joint muscle, being both a hip flexor (bringing the thigh towards the abdomen) as well as knee extensor (straightening the knee).
It is useful to note that this muscle group is used quite a lot when kicking a ball and the more you do it, the stronger your quadriceps will become. Strong quads are vital for helping to prevent knee injuries such as ACL tears (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) and meniscus injuries.
Calf Muscle
Calf muscle injury is one of the most common soccer muscle injuries. It is caused by a torn muscle or tendon which can be mild or severe depending on the severity of the tear. There is a higher likelihood of this type of injury to the inner part of the calf muscles (medial gastrocnemius) rather than to the outer parts (lateral gastrocnemius).
Calf muscle injuries often occur as a result of jumping, landing or sprinting. Pain is felt in the back of the lower leg and usually extends to the ankle or knee. It may be difficult to touch the toes after such an injury and acute calf muscle injury may be accompanied by a snapping sound when the person is walking or running. As with most injuries, a calf muscle injury can heal itself within 2-3 weeks as long as you give it the time and support necessary to do so.
Joint flexibility of the lowerbody
Lower body joint flexibility is a vital component for all football players because it allows a greater range of movement, thereby potentially reducing the risk of injury.
The ankle, knee and hip joints are particularly important, as they are considered the most common sites of football injuries.
Lower body joint flexibility should be trained regularly and appropriately, as can be seen in the example given below for ankle strength and mobility.
Example: Ankle
Using a fitness elastic band / resistance band, simply move the ankle inwards, outwards, towards the body and away from the body (in opposition to the band).
Compensation: core / abdominals
Core / abdominal and lower back training is another component that should be focused on in order to reduce the risk of injury. There are two main reasons why this may be the case. The first is because the greater your core strength the more stable you will be. The second reason is because if you have a strong abdominal and lower back muscle group it increases dynamic stability in relation to your joints. This can then allow for faster movements or an increase in speed without increasing the likelihood of injuring yourself.
Example: Lower back
Proprioception
Proprioception is another component that may need to be trained to help prevent injuries. Proprioception includes all of the necessary information from your senses related to movement within your joints and muscles, which is then processed by the brain as commands for control of body movements. The more you move around with good proprioceptive ability, the greater your awareness of the position in which your body is at any given moment, thus allowing you to control it better.
Example:
If one of your players suffers from frequent muscle injuries it’s important that you see a doctor to rule out an underlying medical condition that may be causing these problems.
When to implement injury prevention exercises into the training week
It would be ideal to incorporate injury prevention into the training week during its own specific sessions. However, due to not being professional, you might have time constraints or lack of resources that make it impossible. For those who are short on time, you can implement them during a session you already have scheduled for your team or club. An example being your warm up at the beginning of practice.
If the warm-up period is not suitable then an alternative is for the coach to create a list of exercises that are easy-to-follow so that the players can do them at home.
What evidence is there that an injury prevention program is beneficial?
It was back in the 1980’s when the first major research into soccer injury prevention took place and found a 75% decrease in Injuries.
Evidence has also been found that a structured warm-up program can contribute to a reduction of injury rates by around 30%
Thank you for reading this blog and I hope it gave you some useful information.