Football injuries and Chiropractors
As nerve-muscle-bone experts, chiropractors can play an important role in Hong Kong in terms of injury prevention in both amateur and professional athletics. Chiropractors frequently see these individuals as health care providers on-and-off the field. Football organizations across the world now recommend that teams collaborate with a qualified health professional to ensure the long term health of their players.
Common football injuries
The most common football player injuries occur below the waist; hips, thigh, knee, ankles and feet. These injuries can take place during practices, games or even in the weight room. The worst of the knee injuries would be to the anterior cruciate ligament or, ACL. ACL injuries typically occur when an athlete lands from a jump, makes a hard cut, or is hit by an opposing player. FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), world football’s governing body, recommends players go through an ACL injury prevention program.
Football injury prevention
The program, FIFA 11+, is a 20 minute program that consisting of 15 exercises, broken into (1) running, (2) strength, plyometrics, and balance and (3) additional running components. FIFA11+ is one of many programs available that will address injury prevention to the lower body.
FIFA research has shown that teams who completed the FIFA11+ warm up had a SIGNIFICANT LOWER RISK OF INJURY than other teams that warmed up as usual. Teams that performed the exercises at least twice per week had 37% FEWER TRAINING INJURIES AND 29% FEWER MATCH INJURIES. SEVERE INJURIES WERE ALSO REDUCED BY ALMOST 50%.
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| — Sample exercises from the FIFA11+ Program |
Has your team or organization implemented this program?
In order to accomplish this, FIFA also recommended that teams should work with medical staff such as Chiropractors, to help implement the program and address the physical health of their players.
Speak with your Chiropractor or Coach regarding the implementation of the program or check out http://f-marc.com/11plus/home/ for more information regarding FIFA11+.
Play Safe!