Football is a highly physical game. As a high-impact sport, injuries make a regular feature of this sport. A footballer could escape a game unharmed, but not a whole season. Professional athletes who’ve decided to play football almost full-time accept this reality, settling for a career punctuated by health hazards.
The NFL, on its part, has always shown an increased willingness to protect players’ safety. You’ll agree with this position after a quick preview of the history of the league’s rules. For context, players couldn’t use a flying wedge in regular play in the late 19th Century. Then, in 2009, the league banned all wedge formations.
Interestingly, some observers and pundits, including those who wager on NFL player props, think that the NFL should reduce the level of protective support it gives the athletes. One of them is the Hall of Fame quarterback and three-time Super Bowl champion, Troy Aikman. Aikman had suggested that the league should ban the use of helmets, attracting intense accusations from many. However, what if Aikman and his supporters are right?
Rugby players don’t wear any pads at all. Yet, stats show that NFL registers a far greater number of injuries than rugby. Someone said the most harmful boxing props are the gloves. The rationale is that giving players a feeling of invulnerability with props spurs carelessness. At least, no one would fly at full speed without any body armor.
Six athletes die annually while playing football. While tennis and soccer record more fatal situations, the deaths in those sports are almost always due to heart conditions. Impact-driven football causes more dramatic deaths and fatalities. That’s because every part of an active NFL player is vulnerable to harm. To minimize the sport’s risk, the NFL has ordered all teams to report their players’ status on a set schedule.
This article will focus on some of the most common causes of injuries in football and how to prevent them. Let’s start with the most common injuries. They are:
Hamstring Strains
First on our list are injuries relating to a muscle type called ‘hamstrings.’ Hamstrings run through the buttocks’ bottom to the back of the knees. When an athlete has a hamstring strain, they’d often experience a sudden sharp pain behind their thigh when running, stretching, or doing a high kick.
Muscle Strain
NFL footballers are no strangers to muscle strains. Sometimes, a strained muscle is called a torn or pulled muscle. The quadriceps in the front of the thigh and the hamstring muscles suffer the most strains during the high-impact game.
Rotator Cuff Strains
A rotator cuff is a group of muscles that support the arm against the torso. These muscles assist you in stabilizing the shoulder joint. Four shoulder muscles make up the rotator cuff and could receive intense hits during a football game.
When a player experiences a rotator cuff strain, they’d often feel sudden pain in their shoulder. In most cases, the pain is severe and radiates down the player’s arm. Other times, victims of a rotator cuff strain will have a tearing feel.
Shin Splints
Shin splints harm the front of a player’s lower leg. Sports doctors also call shin splints the tibial stress syndrome. When players experience shin splints, there’s inflammation of the muscles, tendons, and swaths of bone tissue around the tibia or shinbone. Pain is the result.
Granted, the injury usually isn’t severe. But if an injured athlete isn’t well treated, they could experience more disabling pain and further serious complications. Wearing improper footwear, having flat feet, excessive running, or rapidly changing actions could result in shin splints. Treating methods include applying ice to the shin and allowing the player to stretch or rest.
Metatarsal Stress Fractures
When a footballer has a fine break in one of their foot bones, they have a metatarsal stress fracture. Your metatarsal bones are the slender and long bones that connect your feet to their toes. When you walk, your body transfers weight from the toes to your metatarsal bones. The metatarsal bones assist in giving your foot a characteristic arch.
The major sign of a metatarsal stress fracture is pain in the foot. The gradually developing pain could result from a tackle, excessive rotation, or overuse of feet. The metatarsal bone is the most commonly broken of all the bones in the foot. That’s because the bones have very little protective soft tissue atop the foot.
Jumper’s Knee
Also called patellar tendonitis, a jumper’s knee hurts the tendon between the shinbone and the kneecap. Victims often suffer repetitive pain. A jumper’s knee often results from overuse.
Achilles Tendonitis
Symptoms of Achilles tendonitis include inflammation, pain, and possible degeneration of the Achilles tendon behind the ankle. Sometimes, the symptoms are acute and are resolved within a few weeks. Other times, they could be chronic and long-lasting.
Usually, players who experience heightened pain from acute Achilles tendonitis often can’t make it to the pitch. Non-chronic Achilles tendonitis may permit a player to feature in the game, but the condition could lead to discomfort and possibly affect the player’s performance.
Ankle Sprain
If you’re familiar with any sport, not just football, you probably already know what an ankle strain is. Players suffering from ankle strains may experience mild or severe symptoms.
While mild symptoms might allow a footballer to continue with training or playing in a match, a severe injury means the player should stay off-pitch. Playing with a severe ankle sprain could further hurt the ankle or significantly slow down recovery from the sprain.
Knee Alignment Injuries
Although most sports are familiar with ankle sprains, knee alignment injuries aren’t as common. However, NFL athletes are prone to these injuries, and a fatality could take them off the pitch till they recover.
The ligaments are tissues that join the bones. There are four of these tissues that join the shinbone to the thigh bone. They include:
- The posterior cruciate ligament (PCL): The PCL, which sits at the knee’s center, prevents the shin from sliding backwards.
- Medial collateral ligament (MCL): This ligament is located inside the knee and provides stability to the interior areas of the joint.
- An anterior cruciate ligament (ACL): The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) sits at the knee center. The ligament controls forward movements and shinbone rotator movements.
- Lateral collateral ligament (LCL): This ligament stays outside the knee. It provides stability to the outer knee whether or not a player is making a move.
When these ligaments get harmed, athletes can’t properly bend their knees. Players often get knee alignment injuries from suddenly changing directions while running. Also, receiving direct blows to the knees could result in knee ligament injuries.
Concussions
No sport experiences the risk of concussions as football. Stats say that all footballers – high school, college, and professional athletes – have a 75% chance of suffering a concussion. The National Collegiate Athletic Association also credits approximately 7% of injuries in college footballers to concussions.
When athletes tackle themselves, snap the head and strike the ground, concussions result. A concussion is a severely traumatizing injury that impairs how the brain functions. Common symptoms of concussions include headaches, memory problems, judgment, balance, concentration, and coordination impairment.
Preventing Football Injury
Wearing appropriate gear and equipment to support the player’s movements is a good place to begin preparing to prevent an injury on the football pitch. Players should prepare to avoid injuries during the pre-season period. Players’ pre-season preparation against harm includes enrolling in the proper training and conditioning program.
Also, the athlete should concentrate on increasing and keeping their strength, flexibility, and endurance. To achieve this, endurance drills, aerobic exercises, and strength-building activities can be helpful.
Hydrating before, during, and after every game is good practice. Players also want to keep up with nutrition high in carbohydrates, protein, vitamins, and minerals. Such nutrition will provide the athletes with the needed energy for the game.
It’s always vital that footballers pay close attention to their physical health. If an athlete sustains any injury on the field, seeking immediate medical attention or assessment is the right thing to do. Footballers want to follow the care instructions of the doctor, physiotherapist, or athletic trainer. A helpful method for handling sports injuries is the RICE method. RICE stands for Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation.
Conclusion
Football is one of the most dangerous sports globally due to its combative nature. Yes, the game has grown so common it’s hard to see how dangerous it could be. But a toll of NFL casualties in history gives you a better picture.
Protective gear was basic. Most casualties came from head-to-head collisions. Even today, neck injuries, broken bones, head injuries, and several other concussions plague America’s favourite sport.
