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There is a team-building magic to football that cannot be touched by other sports, a communion of players with common jerseys and a single goal, to win. Boys go from barely being able to throw a pass to quickly mastering a quarterback's tell-tale spiral. For a few football princes turned kings, the future brings fame and, perhaps, fortune. Across the nation, some 11 million people played anonymous touch football last year, sprinting toward end zones with only hard slaps as threats. Another 8.7 million Americans seven and older upped the physical ante and played tackle football at least once in 1999.
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Click here for an FAQ that, at a glance, explains what the parent of a budding gridiron star should know -- from the most common injuries related to football, which equipment can help protect your son and a dose of truth to combat a lingering folk tale about ankle sprains
Click here for our Frequently Asked Questions section.
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The physical demands of football require the athlete to be committed to year round training. The training needs to include total body or multi-joint exercises that are dynamic in their movements. Explosive power is required by all positions in order to perform at peak levels. Multi-joint exercises not only increase peak power but also provide joint integrity to help prevent injuries.
Click here for more information on training for this activity.
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They call it a gridiron, but those bold white 10, 20 and 50's against an emerald background could as easily be a probability chart of possible sprains and strains and sudden pains at the snap of the pass. The crack of contact. The pop of a torn knee. Playing football can open a Pandora's Box of potential injuries. Fall on an outstretched hand and you can sprain a wrist. Simply turning your foot inward can cause an ankle sprain. One sudden twist and you've strained a knee. Collide with another player during a tackle and a silently sinister concussion may follow.
Although researchers report that organized strength training reduces the risk of injury, nearly a half million such football-related injuries among children 15 and younger require medical attention each year. In 1998, nearly 160,000 of those injuries required emergency medical treatment.
Among the most common football injuries:
Anterior Cruciate Ligament Rupture:
A direct blow to your knee, a sudden twist of the knee one way while your foot is planted another way, can tear your Anterior Cruciate Ligament. Wearing cleats, such as some football leagues require, leaves you more vulnerable to ACL injuries. Your surgeon may reconstruct a new ACL, using a piece of healthy ligament from elsewhere in your body for an autograft or may use ligament from a cadaver for an allograft. Expect to participate in an exercise/special rehabilitation program for four to six months after surgery. While 90 percent of patients return to an active lifestyle, one study found knee instability in the long term. Swedish researchers followed up with ACL reconstruction patients after 12 years and again, after 20 years. Nearly half had had at least one re-operation, mostly for meniscal problems. Weightbearing radiographs showed slight-to-moderate changes equivalent to osteoarthritis in 84 percent of patients.
Collateral Ligament Knee Injuries:
The lateral collateral ligament and the medial collateral ligament (strong, elastic bands of tissue) connect bone to bone and provide stability to the knee. The medial collateral ligament, which stabilizes the inner knee (medial), is more vulnerable to injury than the lateral collateral ligament, which stabilizes the outer knee (lateral). You can tear the collateral ligaments by subjecting them to forces beyond their inherent strength such as a blow to the outer knee in contact sports such as football. If you sprain the collateral ligament, you'll be asked to follow the injury with an exercise program during the two to four week healing period. You'll also be directed to ice your knee to reduce pain and swelling and, perhaps, to wear a brace to stabilize and protect your knee as it heals.
Meniscal Injuries:
The knee, the body's largest joint and among its most easily injured, is the intersection of three bones, the femur, tibia and the patella. Menisci (crescent-shaped pads of connective tissue) separate the bones and act as shock absorbers. The two pads can easily be injured by the force of rotating your knee during a weight-bearing activity. If you quickly twist or rotate your upper leg while your foot stays still (a maneuver as frequent as tackles in football) you may tear the meniscus. A tiny tear will leave the meniscus connected to the knee. A major tear can leave the meniscus hanging by a thread of cartilage. An untreated meniscus tear (betrayed by a clicking, knocking or weak knee) can flare with pain years later with a second injury.
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| Anterior Cruciate Ligament Tear | | Acromioclavicular (AC) Separation | | Lateral Collateral Ligament Injury | | Posterior Cruciate Ligament Tear | | Meniscal Tear | | Achilles Tendon |
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Knee: Support
A knee support is a sleeve-like support that fits firmly around the knee. The support is used to reinforce the joint during motion
and provide compression to aid healing and reduce pain and swelling.
Patients suffering from knee strains or inflammation will usually be
directed to use a support during daily activities.
The thin and flexible construction of the support allows for normal
movement of the knee and also allows the support to be worn under
loose fitting clothing. To prevent harmful pressure to certain
structures, the support applies differing compression around the
knee. The sides of the joint receive intermittent pressure to help
stimulate blood flow while the rear of the support fits relatively
loose to prevent constriction of circulation. The kneecap is aided
in positioning, but remains free of compression to allow its natural
movement.
Knee supports can be used to treat:
Strains
Sprains
Inflammation
Chondromalacia patella
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Ankle: Braces
Ankle braces are often prescribed for ligament instability, tears, or sprains. The brace provides increased stability and may be used by patients suffering from ankle injuries or other chronic conditions. While walking or during other daily activity, the brace allows for normal movement of the ankle and foot. During athletic activity, the brace can also be worn to provide additional stability for the ankle, and can be comfortably worn with most varieties of shoes.
The brace is typically sized to correspond to shoe size, yet some varieties fit to small, medium, or large dimensions. The two general types of braces are slip-on, or lace-up, although there are also numerous sub-categories of braces that are prescribed depending upon the underlying condition, the amount of stability desired or the intended use of the brace.
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Ankle Sprains
Ankle sprains commonly occur during sports and other daily activities. Why? When we walk... | Benefits of Strength Training
Physiologically, the benefits of consistent strength training include an increase in muscle size and tone, increased muscle strength and increases in tendon, bone and ligament strength... | Safety Precautions and Basic Gym Safety
This article's main purpose is to assure your safety, so that you get the most out of your workouts while avoiding injuries... |
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About the Clinical Review Team
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