Football is a game of athleticism, strategy, and overall skill. However, as with any other contact sport, football is also a game of injury and avoiding injury. As Super Bowl Sunday approaches, National Football League (NFL) fans are increasingly concerned about the mounting injuries plaguing their favorite teams and wondering if players will ever recover.
The challenges faced by injured NFL players highlight the importance of injury prevention and early intervention for young athletes aspiring to play at the professional level. By learning from these experiences, young players can make informed decisions about injuries and take sports physical therapy, recovery, and rehabilitation seriously. Early intervention of physical ailments in younger athletes allows them to improve their form and break bad habits, preventing future injuries as an adult athlete. Here, we will explore some of the most common football injuries, their impact on players, and how physical therapy helps players return to the gridiron.
Common Football Injuries
Football is a high-impact sport that puts immense strain on the body. Tackles, collisions, quick changes in direction, and repetitive movements can lead to various injuries for players of all ages, including professionals. Over time, the impacts of football can lead to prolonged injuries if not treated quickly and effectively. Therefore, it is essential to identify the injury and address it with a physical therapist as soon as possible.
Concussions and Neck Injuries
Commonly seen in cornerbacks, wide receivers, and linemen, concussions have garnered significant attention in recent years due to their long-term consequences. When the brain is violently jolted from a hard tackle or collision, it bounces against the skull walls, damaging brain cells. These concussive impacts can result in intense headaches, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and stiffness in the neck and shoulders.
While physical therapy cannot directly assist with the brain’s recovery and cellular processes, it can help address instances of whiplash and neck injury from concussive impacts. Techniques such as deep tissue massage and targeted exercises can help athletes restore their neck mobility and alleviate stiffness, discomfort, and pain following a concussion.
Knee Injuries
Second to concussions, knee injuries are one of the most common injuries experienced by football players, regardless of field position. Rapid changes in direction, sudden movements, and impact can cause tendons and ligaments in the knee to overstrain, tear, or even break. As a complex joint, knee injuries often take form in these instances:
Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) and Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL) Tears: The ACL and MCL are ligaments in the knee that stabilize the knee joints and help players maintain balance and stability while moving or standing. Sudden changes in direction or twisting at the knee joint or direct blows to the knee can cause the ACL and MCL to tear or sprain, creating a severe injury often requiring surgical intervention.
Meniscus Tears: The meniscus is a cartilage disc that acts as a shock absorber in the knee. Players who experience heavy impact from twisting, cutting in and out of formations, or hurdling often experience issues with meniscus tears, which can lead to knee pain and swelling.
Shoulder Injuries
For many quarterbacks, shoulder injuries are common, causing pain, inflammation, and an inability to throw the ball. Impacts from forceful throwing, twisting, or blunt force can often cause shoulder injuries to occur, such as:
Rotator Cuff Tear: The rotator cuff is a group of muscles and tendons that stabilize the shoulder joint and allow for rotation of the shoulder and arms. As quarterbacks throw the ball with force, repetitive overhead motions can cause the rotator cuff to tear.
Shoulder Dislocation: When a player experiences force to the shoulder area, dislocation can occur. As the ball of the shoulder joint pops out of its socket, it can cause intense pain as nerves in the shoulder become compressed.
How Physical Therapists Treat Football Injuries
Physical therapists are highly trained professionals who use various techniques to address the injuries sustained by athletes of all ages. As a crucial component of any athlete’s wellness regimen, physical therapists help athletes regain strength, flexibility, balance, and coordination to get back to playing. Some of the ways physical therapists help athletes are:
Pain management: Physical therapists can use different modalities to address pain, such as ice, heat, and electrical stimulation. These modalities help patients feel comfortable about their injuries while allowing them to participate in physical therapy exercises comfortably.
Range of Motion Improvement: Gradual stretching exercises and manual therapy can be done to athletes by physical therapists to improve the range of motion of injured joints and relieve tightness or locking.
Strength Training: Targeted strengthening exercises can help improve muscle strength and stability, reducing the risk of re-injury. Physical therapists often have football players gradually increase weight demands on injured areas until they are restored to their typical function.
Balance and Coordination Training: As many injuries result from twisting or falling, balance and coordination training helps athletes improve proprioception and reduce the risk of future injuries. Physical therapists aid athletes through a series of balance exercises, using equipment such as yoga blocks, rubber bands, and bosu balls to rebuild strength and balance.
Functional Training: An essential mode of physical therapy for many football players, functional training focuses on exercises that mimic the movements and demands of football. Physical therapists may have quarterbacks throw smaller or lighter balls, such as a tennis ball, before building them back up to throw a football again. This training can help players return to their sport safely and effectively while giving physical therapists and coaches insight into their recovery processes.
Injury Prevention: Physical therapists use customized injury prevention programs and strategies to address individual risk factors and weaknesses for the best therapeutic and rehabilitative output.
The Importance of Physical Therapy for Young Athletes
The benefits of physical therapy extend far beyond those of professional athletes. Young football players can benefit from physical therapy to improve their performance, reduce their risk of injury, and enhance their athletic development as they strive to play professionally.
Physical therapists can assess young athletes’ movement patterns early on, recommending suggestions for proper form and fostering the development of healthy physical habits. By working with a physical therapist, younger athletes can identify imbalances or weaknesses that may impact their success as older athletes.
Protect Your Future With Total Physical Therapy
Football injuries are a complex issue with significant implications for players at all levels. While safety measures have helped reduce the number of injuries we see in professional sports today, the risk remains prevalent. By addressing injury early on and working with a physical therapist to assess and rehabilitate injury instances, football players can optimize their performance, minimize further injury, and prepare their bodies for a long and healthy sports career.
From sports injuries to post-surgical care, Total Physical Therapy serves patients of all ages and athletic backgrounds. Using advanced, evidence-based therapy techniques, our therapists aim to heal muscle and joint injuries and speed up recovery time so that you can get back to the sport that you love. For more information or to schedule an appointment, visit our website or call us at (303) 758-5060.