Simple Ways To Avoid Injury During Soccer Season

Summer is winding down, fall is winding up, and awesome sports are underway!

With summer coming to an end and fall rolling around the corner, the start of soccer season is here. Soccer is the world’s most popular sport with a significant number of players being younger than 18 years of age. With the FIFA Women’s World Cup wrapped up, and the United States Women’s National team winning the gold medal, the popularity of high school soccer in the US is at an all-time high. According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, there were over 808,000 high school students who played soccer in the US in 2014-15!

Along with this growth in popularity comes the increased risk for injury. High School soccer athletes sustained more than 339,000 injuries in 2012-13. Of these Injuries, 58% were to the lower extremities, 35% were to the head/face/neck/trunk, and 4% were to the upper extremities; and roughly 94% did NOT require surgery. The most common injuries are as follows:

Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Injury
Ankle injuries including sprains
Wrist sprains and fractures from falling on an outstretched arm
Concussions

How can I prevent and treat these injuries?

Have a pre-season physical examination
Minimize overuse injuries by getting proper rest
Hydrate adequately
See a medical professional if you suffer an injury
Obtain/maintain proper strength, and flexibility

Here are a few exercises to do at home that may help prevent some major leg injuries:

Clam Shells

Lie on your side with your hips and knees bent 45 degrees, legs stacked. Keeping your feet in contact with each other, raise your upper knee as high as you can without moving your pelvis. Don’t allow your lower leg to move off the floor. Pause, then return to the starting position. Do 20 reps on one side and then repeat with the other leg on top.

Squats

Stand with feet a little wider than shoulder-width apart, hips stacked over knees, and knees over ankles.

Initiate the movement by engaging the core, unlocking the hips, and slightly bringing them back. Keep sending hips backward as the knees begin to bend.
While the butt starts to stick out, make sure the chest and shoulders stay upright, the back stays straight, and knees stay inline or outside of the ankles (when looking from the front). Keep the head facing forward and eyes straight ahead for a neutral spine.
While keeping bodyweight in the heels, slowly lower to a comfortable pain-free depth, and return back up to standing, driving through heels, and locking out the hips and knees. Imagine the feet are spreading the floor (left foot to the left, right foot to the right) without actually moving the feet.

Eccentric Hamstring Lowers

Start position; a partner holds around the player’s ankles.
The athlete falls slowly forwards, using hamstrings to resist the fall against the floor and descend as slowly as possible (try to keep the hips as straight as possible and only lower from the knees).
Repeat for 10-15 repetitions.