Stay of the Sidelines

This post will outline how to avoid some of the most common football injuries and give you specific exercises that should help to lessen your risk of injury for the rest of the season.

On average professional footballers suffer tow injuries a season that can lead to them being out of action for a few days to many months. A teams injurt list can truly mean the difference between success and failure for the entire season so hopefully after reading these tips you'll be able to help your team succeed.

1. THIGH INJURIES:
Thigh injuries account for around 23% of all injuries. most of them are caused by strenght imbalances between the quads and hamstrings, leading to joints being pulled out of alignment causing excess muscle straign.
Tips: for most men the hamstrings are the weaker muscle group so try doing more lunges, and hamstring curls to build them up.

2. KNEE INJURIES:
These account for 18% and are usually caused by late / high tackles or when the studds get caught in the turf but the leg keeps turning, leading to a pressure build up.
Tips: Best ways to strenghten the knee joint is to perform free weight exercises such as squatts and lunges. These force the knee stabilising muscles and tendons to grow and help to abosorb excess stress in the joint.

3. ANKLE INJURIES:
These account for 14% of all football injuries, and are typically down to weak ligaments and poor flexability in the ankle.
Tips: Strengthening the ligaments around the ankle can improve its stability. Imporvign your flexibility can give your ankles a greater range of motion to help cope with late tackles. Try doing bosu squatts and again lunges to improve on both areas.

4. GROIN INJURIES:
These also account for 14% of all football injuries. Poor core strength and imbalances in the muscles attaching to the pelvis are to blame for this major sporting injury.
Tips: Try strengthening your inner thigh muscles such as side lunges to help reduce your chance of injury. Also try building up your overall core strength to assits the pelvis.

5. ACHILLES TEDON INJURIES:
These lower leg injuries make up 11% of football injuries and are down to a weak ahillies tendon and poor calf strength.
Tips: Calf presses or other calf exercise can help this. If you've never had this injury before then box jumps, with their explosive power can help reduce the risk of injury.

Special thanks to: Mens Fitness Magazine and Liverpool FC's fitness coach Darren Burgess