1. INJURIES IN SOCCER: PREVENTION
Soccer is the most popular sport in the world with more than 50 million participants. As its
popularity grows the soccer injuries have increased. The essence of sports medicine is the
prevention of injuries. To prevent occurrence of injuries, it is necessary to be sports specific,
analyze the incidence, type and localization of injuries as well as the mechanism behind the
injuries.
This injury may be defined as injury occurring during the scheduled games or practice session
and causing the player to miss the next game or the practice session.
The lower extremity accounts for most number of injuries 80-85% for eg:
TABLE-1 LOCALIZATION OF INJURIES (IN %)
S/NO TOTAL MINOR MODERATE MAJOR
1 FOOT 12 10 2 0
2 ANKLE 17 11 5 2
3 LEG 12 6 4 2
4 KNEE 20 11 5 4
5 THIGH 14 6 5 2
6 GROIN 13 9 3 1
7 BACK 5 4 1 0
8 OTHERS 7 5 2 0
TORAL 100 62 27 11
TABLE-2 TYPES OF INJURY (%)
S/NO TYPE TOTAL MINOR MODERATE MAJOR
1 SPRAIN 29 16 7 5
2 OVERUSE 23 17 5 2
3 CONTUSION 20 15 5 0
4 STRAIN 18 9 7 2
5 FRACTURE 4 1 1 2
6 DISLOCATION 2 0 2 0
7 OTHERS 4 4 0 0
TOTAL 100 62 27 11
The cause of soccer injury is always multifactorial and to access it, is to prevent the injuries.

2. TABLE-3 CAUSE OF INJURY (%)
1) PLAYER FACTOR 42
a. JOINT INSTABILITY 12
b. MUSCLE TIGHTNESS 11
c. IMADEQUATE REHABILITATION 17
d. NON-TRAINING 02
2) EQUIPMENT 17
a. SHOES 13
b. SHIN GAURDS 04
3) PLAYING SURFACE 24
4) RULES 12
5) OTHER FACTORS 29
PREVENTION OF INJURIES:-
1) PRE- SEASON EXAMINATION-
Preseason examination and testing of soccer players are valuable to present injury.
Incorrect training and individual player factor such as muscle tightness, misalignment,
muscle weakness and joint instability leads to injuries and this examination leads to
correction of pre disposing factors of the injury.
For this physical examination is a must to evaluate the past injuries. This requires test of
ankle (mechanical instability and functional instability), test for knee joint (range of
motion and instability), test for hip joint misalignment test and measurement of muscle
strength.
2) CORRECTION OF TRAINING, WARM UP, COOL DOWN AND STRETCHING TECHNIQUES-
Soccer players are less flexible than new soccer players. The muscle tightness seen is
related to training. Since 90% of the injuries are of lower part, stretching exercises for
leg muscles( adductors, hamstrings, quadriceps, iliopsoas) should be included in warm
up and cool down exercises, for e.g.: shooting at the goal without warm up may lead to
straining of the lower limb muscles.

3. 3) ANKLE TAPING, TRACING AND ANKLE DISC TRAINING-
Ankle sprains are common in soccer and muscle taping prevents this injury. This is
because the external supports restricts the motion and stabilize the ligaments. Ankle
bracing can be an alternative. If at all an ankle sprain has occurred than ankle disc
training is a must to correct the instability of the ankle.
4) EQUIPMENT AND PLAYING SURFACE –
The optimum equipment is necessary to prevent injuries. Shin guards, shoes and inner
soles are important in soccer. Like good anatomically shaped shin guards cover a wide
area of the shin and can prevent shin injuries for the footwear or shoes, it should be
seen that there is interaction between the foot and the playing surface.
High friction between the shoe and the surface may produce excessive force on the
knees and ankles and little friction may be a reason for slipping down predisposing to
injuries.
On the other hand hard surfaces are associated with injuries than soft cushioned
surfaces.
5) REHABILATATION-
It also plays a major part, as incomplete rehabilitation is the cause of recurrent injuries.
A rehabilitation programme should be sports specific, gradually increasing the stress on
the injured leg and step by step adaptation of the injured player to return to play.
Lastly the players should be advised by the coaches and referees the importance of
disciplined play and risk of serious own foul injuries, the increased incidence of injuries
at training camps and how to avoid it and the importance of use of protective
equipments and other individual protective measures.
Dr Sahir Pall,
Consultant Sports Medicine,
Member Medical Commission (IABF).