While not a collision sport like American football, soccer provides enough contact to create the potential for injury. And players may sustain non-contact injuries by stepping the wrong way on a lumpy field or twisting too quickly. Hospitals, clinics and doctors' offices treat more than 450,000 soccer injuries each year, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons states. You can work to prevent common soccer injuries, including a pulled groin muscle, which can occur as a result of soccer's demands for change of direction and rapid acceleration.
Step 1
Obtain a pre-sports physical for yourself or your child from a qualified primary care physician or a sports doctor with qualifications from the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine or American College of Sports Medicine. The exam should look for problems such as flat feet, knock knees or a lack of flexibility in the hamstrings or low back, the Division of Sports Medicine at the Children's Hospital Boston recommends.
Step 2
Warm up the muscles with a slow jog around the perimeter of the field or, alternatively, do jumping jacks or a simple passing drill. Stretch the quadriceps, glutes and calves with static stretches or dynamic ones involving skipping, high knee raises and cariocas.
Step 3
Perform the butterfly stretch to avoid groin pulls, common in sports that involve kicking such as soccer. Sit on the ground with soles of the feet pressed together, and use your forearms to gently press your knees down. Perform lunges as well to stretch the hip flexors. Groin compression may be called for in the event of an injury; apply a neoprene sleeve or bandage wrap to the area and wear compression shorts during recovery to supply support and warmth to the area, recommend the authors of "ACSM's Primary Care Sports Medicine."
Step 4
Don shinguards to protect the lower legs from bruises. Wear gloves with good padding in the palms if you are taking goalkeeper duties. Wear shoes with appropriate cleats for the surface. Put on turf shoes with a low-profile nubby sole for artificial turf and regular molded cleats for grassy fields. Retire old or worn-out soccer cleats, the Children's Hospital Boston recommends.
Step 5
Tape your ankles or wear a lace-up brace if you have a previous sprain to prevent re-injury, FIFA.com advises. Taping can be adjusted to your needs on the soccer field and may allow you improved contact with the soccer ball, while braces offer the advantages of being adjustable and reusable, write the authors of "Sports Injury Prevention."
Step 6
Practice caution when slide tackling and during the final minutes of each half, especially if you are a female player. Slide tackling is linked to injury on the part of both the tackling player and the one in control of the ball, writes Don Kirkendall of the FIFA Medical Assessment and Research Centre, and the lowest injury rates are in the first 15 minutes of each half.
References
- American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons: Soccer Injury Prevention
- Children's Hospital Boston Division of Sports Medicine; Preventing Soccer Injuries; Lyle Micheli; 2007
- "ACSM's Primary Care Sports Medicine"; Douglas B. McKeag, et al.; 2007
- FIFA.com: How You Can Prevent Injuries
- "Sports Injury Prevention"; Roald Bahr, et al.; 2009
- FIFA.com; Health and Fitness for the Female Football Player; Don Kirkendall; 2007
