How sports physiotherapy protects, recovers and elevates football players

Football is a physically demanding sport that requires sprinting, kicking, quick changes of direction, tackling, jumping and heading – all movements that put significant stress on the body.

Currently not one English Premier League team is without one or more players on the injury list. But by no means are serious football injuries limited to professionals.

When Ultra Sports Clinic Senior Physiotherapist Suren Vata worked in academy football, he encountered many youngsters between the ages of nine and 16 experiencing growth-related injuries.

“During these years, bones tend to grow quicker than muscles and tendons can adapt, which creates extra tension around joints and growth plates,” Suren explains.

He often came across cases of Sever’s Disease, which causes pain at the back of the heel. This is linked to frequent running and jumping, putting stress on the heel bone’s growth plate.

Hip Apophysitis, which occurs when the muscles that attach around the hip area are overworked from sprinting or kicking, and Pars stress injuries, which stem from repeated back extension and twisting sprinting, are also common.

Suren says these injuries can mostly be put down to a mix of rapid growth, training load and body mechanics.

Regardless of the level footballers are players at, sports physiotherapists play a crucial in protecting them, helping them recover and ultimately elevating their performance.

Protection comes in various forms, including screening and assessment that

helps identify any risk factors, muscle imbalances or previous injuries that might increase susceptibility to future problems.

Prehabilitation exercises like Nordic hamstring curls and Romanian deadlifts help reduce hamstring injuries, while balance and proprioception training can lower the risk of ankle sprains and neck strengthening can decrease concussion risk.

“Teaching proper movement mechanics, the importance of warm-ups and cool-downs, and how to recognise early signs of fatigue or pain is crucial.”

On the recovery front, he says strategies should focus on reducing muscle soreness and promoting healing. This can include manual techniques to reduce pain, joint mobilisation for stiffness and soft tissue release to enhance recovery.

Healing timelines should factor in strength, conditioning and sport-specific demands.

On-field rehabilitation is often broken down into clear stages, such as a return to running, high-speed running, sprinting and change of direction, and training/play. This step-by-step process ensures recovery speed is balanced with safety.

Finally, elevating player performance usually takes place in collaboration with sports science or strength and conditioning teams.

“Performance screening may include assessments of SAQ (speed, agility, quickness), endurance and movement optimisation through screening tools. These help improve movement efficiency and identify functional limitations or asymmetries.”

He adds that interval-type training is highly effective for endurance, as it mirrors the stop-start nature of the game.

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