Preventing Knee Injuries in Soccer
By Learning Center·
Preventing Knee Injuries in Soccer
Recent times have seen a rapid rise in the number of young participants in soccer matches as a result, parents are finding more time to spend around the sport in a hunt to become familiar with the injuries associated with the game. It is common to have soccer players with injuries on the lower extremities, especially on the knee and ankles. Despite the fact that soccer has been reported to cause very few injuries when compared to other youth's sports, there is current evidence that suggests the lower limb, especially ankles and knees, are the parts of the body most affected by soccer injuries.
The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of the major ligaments in the human knee. Common ACL injuries occur even without the slightest of contact with other players. According to research, the knee has nearly a six-fold higher risk of being reinjured with a previous injury while the ankle has a four-fold higher risk of being reinjured from a previous injury. When it comes to matters to do with knee injuries, prior history with ACL injuries is the best predictor of similar injuries in the future. Furthermore, injuries to the opposite knee are more likely to occur than the likelihood of reinjuring the initial knee.
Causes of Knee Injuries
Knee injuries are very common in soccer since this is a sport that usually involves sudden and sometimes very vigorous changes in a player's direction. Most of these injuries are non-contact, and they occur during these sudden twisting motions that players make on the field of play or when landing from a high leap.
Numerous researches have been conducted and many suggest that the differences in hormonal levels on strength and stiffness of ligaments, biomechanics of the lower limb, neuromuscular control, and fatigue as well as ligament strength, are huge contributors to the differences in risk of occurrences of knee injuries in men and women. For example, there are differences between men and women with respect to neuromuscular control, when it comes to landing from jumps – women tend to have less flexion in the knees and hips than men.
How to Prevent Knee Injuries
Soccer players can reduce the risk of suffering from knee injuries by undertaking training drills that call for balance and, power as well as agility. These include plyometric exercises like jumping and balance drills. This plays a great role in improving the neuromuscular conditioning and muscle reactions which in turn helps reduce the risk of suffering knee injuries. To further decrease the risks of suffering from a knee injury, team doctors routinely recommend players to have ACL conditioning programs, especially with female players. Usually, this program will include balance, performance and agility drills in the warm up stages of practice and\or training. These are very essential when it comes to staying free of knee injuries in soccer.