Football regularly features head-to-head physical contact. The running, jumping and collisions experienced by a football player increases the risk of hip injury. The risk of hip injury is magnified in adolescent football players because their bodies are still growing.
Adolescence
A German research team that studied the prevalence of hip pain in adolescents published a study in 2005 that concluded that hip pain in adolescents seemed to be mostly caused by functional disorders, and a possible association was also reported between adolescent hip pain and psychological stress. Other factors shown to affect adolescent hip pain were the consumption of tobacco and some other legal drugs. Gender also affected adolescent hip pain, with females being significantly more at risk.
Hip Pain
Hip pain in adolescents and young adults was studied by Dr. Samuel Adkins and Dr. Richard Figler of East Carolina University. Adkins and Figler stated that adolescents and young adults are at particular risk for various apophyseal and epiphyseal injuries because of the lack of ossification of these cartilaginous growth plates. The study stated that any athlete is at risk for hip injury or trauma, but a sport such as football with its constant physical collisions poses increased risks of injury.
Acute
Adolescent football players are at risk of acute hip injury with every down they play. Running with the ball into tacklers, tackling, or blocking can all result in bruising of the adolescent hip joint or a strain or fracture. Acute hip pain should be treated by a medical professional. A period of rest and rehabilitation might be required by an adolescent football player after an acute hip injury.
Chronic
The physical strain of a football season can lead to chronic hip injury in an adolescent player. Dr. Jeffrey Rosenburg states that hip overuse injuries, such as tendinitis and bursitis, occur commonly in active individuals who participate in running and cutting sports such as football. Acute iliopsas trauma, usually caused by a sudden hyperextension, can occur in football players, and is common in young adults.
Treatment
Acute hip injuries should be treated and be followed by a period of rest and rehabilitation before returning to football. Chronic hip injuries are often treated with a rehabilitation program that involves strengthening the muscles that surround and support the weakened hip joint. Swimming, rowing, and resistance training are all forms of exercise used in hip injury rehabilitation. Ultrasound can also increase blood flow to the injured hip area and accelerate the healing process.
