Like with any sport, playing soccer can lead to a wide variety of injuries. But you don’t have to let that stop you or your loved ones from playing! Soccer can also have enormous health benefits for players of all ages.
If you, your child, or your spouse plays soccer, one of the most important things you can do is stay aware of the most common types of injuries, and the signs and symptoms of each. That way, if an injury does occur, you’ll be better prepared to seek out the right treatment and prevent risk of more serious reinjuries.
At Rush Chiropractic and Rehab, we treat many different soccer injuries — often eliminating the need for surgery or pain medications. Here are some of the common injuries that may benefit from a visit to a Pembroke Pines chiropractor.
What Should Athletes Know About Soccer Injuries?
When thinking about soccer injuries — or injuries from any other sport, for that matter — it’s important to keep in mind that pain you’re experiencing from wear and tear can be just as serious as pain after a dramatic fall or collision. And with both types of pain, it’s possible that you could make your condition worse over time if you try to ignore it or wait for it to go away.
You should also keep in mind that many of the most common soccer injuries have similar symptoms. While you can use this article to help narrow down the list of possible injuries that might be causing your pain, only a medical professional can accurately diagnose your injury and build a treatment plan accordingly.
Chiropractors are trained to understand a wide variety of injuries throughout the body — not just in the spine. We also have an extensive toolkit of different treatments we can use to help you heal faster, reduce your risk of future injury, and get back on the field sooner.
3 Common Soccer Injuries
- Muscle, Ligament, and Tendon Sprains and Strains
If you play soccer long enough, you’re likely to experience a strain or a sprain. In fact, one study found that these two conditions make up 41.4% of all sports injuries.
Because sprains and strains are so common — and because they sometimes present with mild symptoms at first — it can be tempting to brush them off as muscle soreness or keep playing through the pain.
However, sprains and strains typically have similar symptoms as more serious injuries like a tear, so it’s important to get an expert opinion.
A strain happens when a muscle or a tendon (the tissue connecting a muscle to bone) is stretched or begins to tear. A sprain is when that stretching or tearing happens to a ligament (the tissue connecting two bones together).
Maybe you twisted your ankle while turning to chase an opponent who stole the ball. Or maybe you just forgot to stretch before the game, and you strain your hamstring when you take your first shot.
Whatever the case may be, a chiropractor can help you eliminate more serious concerns, figure out how soon you can safely take the field again, and in many cases, heal faster with the help of chiropractic treatments.
- Muscle, Tendon, and Ligament Tears
Sometimes a muscle, tendon, or ligament will fully tear. This destabilizes the joint or bone that tissue is attached to, which can cause intense pain and difficulty moving or putting weight on that part of the body.
Sometimes you might hear a popping sound when the injury occurs, but sometimes, it might just feel like a sprain or a strain. Unlike a sprain or strain, however, a tear will often require medical care, whether that’s physical therapy and chiropractic to help the tear heal naturally, or even surgery in more severe cases.
By visiting a chiropractor, you can find out what type of injury you’re experiencing faster, and then plan accordingly. Great chiropractors are able to treat a wide variety of injuries without needing surgery or medication, but we’re always willing to make referrals if other forms of treatment are necessary.
- Tendonitis
Tendonitis usually happens because of wear and tear caused by repeating a similar motion over and over. This motion causes the tendon — which connects a muscle to a bone — to become irritated and inflamed.
Sometimes that pain starts gradually, but other times it begins all at once. Symptoms may include soreness, stiffness, swelling, and a burning or grating sensation.
Because of the large amount of running required for an average soccer game or practice, soccer players are typically most susceptible to patella tendonitis (tendonitis in the knee) and Achilles tendonitis (tendonitis in the back of the calf and heel).
Tendonitis will often get worse if you ignore it and keep playing as usual, so it’s important to visit a chiropractor as soon as you start noticing the symptoms.
Chiropractic Care for Soccer Injuries
If you’re a soccer player experiencing pain, know that you don’t have to “tough it out” and wait for things to get better.
Making an appointment with a chiropractor isn’t just about finding pain relief — though that’s certainly important, too. When you work with a chiropractor, we can help you heal faster, improve any mobility you may have lost from an injury, and ultimately strengthen your body to reduce the risk of reinjuring yourself in the future.
Depending on the injury you’re experiencing, we may use chiropractic adjustment or joint manipulation to adjust misaligned joints, take pressure off of irritated tissues so they can heal faster, and improve your mobility.
At Rush Chiropractic, we also use treatments including:
- Electrical Muscle Stimulation
- Exercise and Nutritional Advice
- Hot and Cold Therapy
- Massage
If you’re experiencing pain from a soccer injury, give us a call today at 954-432-5006 to find out how we can help.
Dr. Rush is a 1994 graduate of the University of Florida where he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Exercise Sports Science and Wellness.
Dr. Rush earned his Doctor of Chiropractic Degree at Life University in 2000 where he was honored with magna cum laude. Dr. Rush was born and raised in South Florida where he returned after graduation. He currently practices in Pembroke Pines where he owns and operates Rush Chiropractic and Rehab.
