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Dr. Erin A. White
B.Sc. (H.K.), C.K., D.C.
Chiropractor, Certified Kinesiologist
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HARE CHIROPRACTIC AND
NATURAL HEALTH CENTRE
Family Wellness & Sports Injury Centre
Soccer and Spring
By
Dr Erin White
Finally, spring is in the air. Scraping our
ice-covered car windows, “cocooning” in our
house every night, bundling up in four layers of
clothes just to stay warm outside is history.
With warmer temperatures arriving, a rite of
passage for many of us is to get active by
playing golf, tennis, jogging or gardening after
sitting on the couch all winter watching CSI or
Dancing with the Stars. This is a huge problem
that often results in injury and more inactivity
or couch-sitting.
One of the most popular fair weather sports in
Canada is soccer, the most popular sport
worldwide. Like any other sport or activity, no
matter the age or skill level, there are tips
and suggestions to be aware of to avoid or at
least minimize risk of injury and a premature
end to your season.
Many injuries, including soccer injuries, are
generally classified as either overuse or
traumatic. Overuse injuries occur over time,
accumulate, causing stress to muscles, joints
and soft tissues without appropriate time for
healing. These injuries begin as minor, nagging
aches and pains, and deteriorate into a more
painful, debilitating injury if they are not
treated early.
Traumatic injuries are a result of a sudden
force or impact to the body and can range from
very subtle to very damaging.
For soccer, the number of severe injuries is
very low, but the number of general injuries is
quite high. The practice injury rate in soccer
is around 3-4 injuries per 100 hours of play.
Game injury rate is much higher. Game injury
rates per 100 hours of play for comparison, of
other sports include rugby and lacrosse 3,
running 1.1, basketball 1.4, tennis 0.5, walking
0.2. Rates above 0.5 are considered high.
If you have played soccer, chances are you have
had injury. Common soccer injuries include:
* Ankle sprains – most common, is a result of
stretching or tearing of ligaments surrounding
the ankle.
* Achilles tendonitis – overuse injury resulting
in inflammation of Achilles tendon (in the back
of the ankle).
* Concussion – result of a sudden impact or blow
to the head or quick movement of the head.
* Groin pull – strain or overstretching of the
adductor (inner thigh) muscles.
* Patellafemoral Pain Syndrome – pain under or
around the patella (knee cap).
* Shin splints – generalized pain in the front
or side of the lower leg due to accumulative
physical stresses.
* Low Back Pain – sudden or accumulative
physical stresses resulting in low back muscle
and/or joint pain.
* Knee Ligament/Cartilage Injury – usually
sudden force or sudden stopping/starting or
quickly changing directions causes tear or
excessive stretching.
Injury prevention is your best bet to minimize
your risk of injury and pain. Avoiding the
“weekend warrior” syndrome or training too often
because you realized you were a couch potato all
winter is important to understand.
Other helpful tips include:
* wear and use proper sports equipment i.e.
soccer shoes, shinguards and maybe even a
mouthguard.
* proper warm up.
* listen to your body; pain is a warning sign.
* train for your sport.
* cross train for overall conditioning.
Treatment for an acute injury (an injury that is
less than one week old) should follow the
P.R.I.C.E. principle. Prevent painful movement
of the injured area, Rest, Ice, Compression and
Elevation. Rest will prevent further injury, Ice
will stop swelling/inflammation, Compression
will limit swelling and support the injured area
and Elevation will reduce swelling by using
gravity to reduce excessive blood flow to the
injured area. PRICE is very important to
initiate as soon as possible following an
injury.
Recently in Sports Illustrated (April 13, 2009),
an article discussed the concern about kids and
exercise. Everyone is aware of the level of
inactivity in today’s society, but this article
also warned about the increasing concern of
overtraining. More and more injuries are
occurring because of year-round training,
parents pushing their children too much and not
adding variety to a kid’s activity/sports
calendar.
“By introducing moderation, variety and rest
into an everyday sports routine, a child’s risk
can be cut to nearly zero.” A lot of the problem
falls on the parents. Children need someone to
look out for them, because they don’t often
understand the situation and can’t always look
out for themselves.
Whether an injury is acute or chronic, get
checked out by a health care provider
experienced with sports injuries. Appropriate
options include a chiropractor, physiotherapist
or sports physician. A recent journal article
(Chiropractic and Osteopathy, 2009;17:3)
suggested the following criteria and principles
should be demonstrated by a chiropractor (and by
extension any health care provider) when
deciding who is suitable for managing athletic
injuries:
* minimum treatment time 15-20 minutes
* treatment is multimodal in nature
* treatment should contain active (exercises)
and passive components
* no mandatory X-rays required for treatment
* no predetermined treatment schedules or
prepaid contracts of care
* use of medical terminology and diagnosis
When trying to select or find someone to refer
to, ask questions!
Good luck, have fun and play hard and safe!
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