Preventing Soccer Injuries with Effective
Insoles and Smart Shoe Selection
"Injuries can also occur after bodily contact
or heading the ball (concussions), but cleat
selection doesn't factor into prevention. For
acute injuries to the lower extremities, however,
proper footwear can be key."
traumatic injuries as "sudden, damaging events
such as strains and lacerations." These can
include acute breaks, sprains, and muscle pulls
or tears. Because soccer involves sprinting,
stopping, cutting (a sudden change of direction),
and pivoting, acute injuries are common. Acute
injuries include:
Lateral ankle sprains – With all the quick
movements and side-to-side dribbling, it is easy
to sprain the outside of the ankle.
Groin pull – Also called an adductor pull,
this occurs when your inner thigh muscle is
stretched beyond normal limits.
Hamstring pull or tear – Soccer players often
pull or even tear their hamstring. A tear is
exactly what it sounds like, a laceration to the
hamstring muscle.
Traumatic knee injuries – Tearing your ACL
(anterior cruciate ligament), PCL (posterior
cruciate ligament), or miniscus occurs
when the velocity and
force of the movement on the knee go beyond
normal limits, often the case when rapidly
pivoting or changing directions with the ball.
Injuries can also occur after bodily contact
or heading the ball (concussions), but cleat
selection doesn't factor into prevention. For
acute injuries to the lower extremities, however,
proper footwear can be key.
Traction and Injury on the Soccer Field
Before picking a pair of cleats, you must
understand that they serve dual purposes:
structured support for running and eff icient
traction. Soccer's sprinting and abrupt shifts in
direction require footwear with excellent grip.
Soccer cleats provide two types of traction:
forward-related and rotational. Forward-related
traction helps you move forward. As your cleats
penetrate the turf, you push off a stable base
and increase speed. Rotational traction helps
you move side-to-side or switch directions
quickly.
Current Pedorthics | May/June 2018
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