Top Injuries in Football
Surprisingly concussions are not the number one injury in football; over 50% of all football injuries occur in the lower extremities of the legs, ankles, and feet. However, that’s not to say that injuries don’t happen all over these rugged and muscular players. According to the NCAA, the arms and shoulders are next most probable place to get hurt, followed by the lower back. Fortunately for all of those that engage in these beloved American past time, BraceAbility is there to save the day. Here are the most common football injuries and some solutions whatever issue you or your loved ones may have:
Leg Injuries
The leg has four areas of possible injuries just in itself: the knee, ankle, calf, and hamstring. Let’s break this down by each body part one more time:
The Knee
The knee is an extremely vulnerable part of the body in American football. The ACL and MCL are the most common issues football players run into (literally). If you have an ACL injury or MCL Injury, we recommend the functional knee brace for ligament tears. This is great brace if you’re on a budget, but still, want to get that support to limit your knee from wobbling side to side. This functional brace will help immobilize your knee so that you can let the excess fluid drain, and the ligaments to heal.
The Calf
If you have calf pain it is most likely a calf strain. You probably got it from jumping, landing, or pushing off and running (making all football players especially susceptible to a pulled calf muscle. These can take anywhere from 7 days to eight weeks to heal depending on the degree of injury you have inflicted. The pain can feel like a pain in the back of the leg and feels like you have been kicked or shot in the back of the leg. This can be worn during practicing and will also be moisture wicking as well. The compression isn’t severe enough to cut off circulation, but it certainly will keep all your muscles from hyperextending or overexerting themselves.
The Hamstring
If you have pulled the dreaded hammy, you’re probably in a world of hurt. However, we have just the thing for you: the groin support shorts with a hamstring wrap is the best bang for your buck while maintaining a high integrity of support. Not only will this help with your hamstring, but it can also protect against hernias as well. The compression the straps apply on the hamstring will keep the muscles from overstretching, which is usually how a hammy gets pulled.
Arm Injuries
While arm injuries are less common they are still the second most common football injury. They include the shoulder, elbow, and wrist which are easily compromised since they come into contact with other players the most.
The Shoulder
Let’s start at the top of the arm: the shoulder. Unfortunately, the most common shoulder injuries of football players are dislocations, rotator cuff tear, and separations. Ouch! Anything for the TD though right? Shoulder dislocations occur when the humerus ball disassociates from the scapular socket. Using cold therapy to rehabilitate your shoulder is a common practice among many athletes. For this reason, we recommend the shoulder compression ice wrap. This has an air-based compression system with insertable ice packs for cold therapy.
A rotator cuff can turn into a serious long-lasting injury if not treated properly and soon. However, this is probably the least serious of the other two shoulder injuries that athletes have. A shoulder wrap will compress your arm and shoulder while wrapping around your flanking shoulder and abdominal. This will keep your shoulder from unnecessary excess movement’s and keep it close to your body.
A shoulder separation though happens when the ligaments attached to the collarbone partially or completely tear away from the shoulder blade. As this isn’t as serious as an entire dislocation, we still recommend a brace that can apply heat/cold therapy. For this, the cold or heated shoulder wrap is your perfect fit for both rehabilitation and a budget. This functions somewhat the same as the Pneumatic Shoulder Compression Brace, but there is no need for the pneumatic system with this sort of injury.
The Elbow
Elbow injuries usually happen from a hyperextension; from throwing the football to hard or the elbow landing/ bending into a harmful position. The material will not bunch up, or restrict the joint motion meaning you can shoot and throw still (just not to the point of hyperextension. Wear this elbow sleeve when practicing as well because it is moisture wicking!
The Wrist
Whether you took an unfortunate fall or having wrist pain from throwing the ball too much. For either of these reasons, we recommend a wrist compression sleeve. More than likely you’re still going to be practicing, and this lets you meet the best of both worlds. Even better, it’s at a smart price for all of the benefits you’ll be getting.
Lower Back Strains
The lower back is the most vulnerable part of the back to get hurt since the pads don’t cover it. In addition, all the bending and stretching can leave the back with some wear and tear. For this, we want to recommend an effective, sleek, and aesthetic lower back brace that helps with circulatory issues due to swelling or any injury causing low back pain.