Common Injuries In Soccer Players

Jesse Klein
Mar 22, 2021
3 min read

Updated: Jan 3, 2022

Soccer is the most popular team sport in the world, with hundreds of millions of players worldwide. Participation has continued to rise in the past few decades with the increase of organized sports leagues and normalization of female athletics. It is an unfortunate consequence that participation in sports leads to increased risk of injury. A further consequence is that injury often leads to costs. With an estimated cost of tens of billions of dollars worldwide, annually. (1)

So it benefits the sports medicine community to know how common injuries are in sport, what are the most common injuries, and can these injuries be prevented or mitigated?

Giza and Micheli found in their 2005 literature review that youth soccer is a relatively safe sport overall; with an injury incidence ranging from 2.3 per 1,000 practice hours to 14.8 per 1,000 game hours. Most injuries occurred in the lower extremities, specifically the knee and ankle (which is similar to findings in adult soccer injuries). Simple contusions are the most common injury; minor-moderate injuries comprise the high majority of injuries. Head injuries in youth soccer are low and almost never occur from head to ball contact.

Injury Onset: 18% of injuries were overuse injuries (meaning most are acutely occurring)

Location: approximately 60% of injuries involved the legs, with knees and ankles being the most common (that’s also true for adults). Arm injuries account for 20% (this is higher than for adults)

Injury Type: contusions represent (25-47%), sprains (which includes all grades, I-III with III being a complete ligamentous tear) represent (20-35%), muscular strains (8-25%), and fractures/dislocations are less common (3-12%).

Knee injuries: account for up to 25% of all injuries. There is an alarmingly high rate of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries in young female soccer players. Female soccer players have been found to have a 4-8x higher rate of ACL injuries than their male counterparts (see ACL injury prevention post)

Ankle injuries: account for 15-30% of all injuries depending on the study you reference. (see ankle injury prevention post)

WELL BOOOOOOOOOO

What can be done??

Preseason Conditioning: preseason neuromuscular training and plyometrics can decrease knee injuries rates in female soccer players (this has also been researched and found affected in high school soccer, basketball, and volleyball players). Another study of 12 year old male soccer players found that a 10 week program of specific plyometric training improved jump, running, and sprint performance- even two months after finishing with the training program.

A second group of researchers in 2013 also researched the common injuries in youth soccer players.. I’ll save you the tedium of more stats and reading- as they essentially found the same things in terms of rates of injury, distribution of injury locations, and concluding that preventative training can assist in decreasing risk of injuries. (2)

So All hope is not lost! It is clear from research that, though there are common trends with soccer related injuries, there is also training to be done to help decrease risk. Take advantage of pre-season training to prevent in-season injuries. Contact us below to discuss how this can work for you or your child.

1) Giza E, Micheli LJ. Soccer injuries. Med Sport Sci. 2005;49:140-169. doi: 10.1159/000085395. PMID: 16247265.

2) Faude O, Rößler R, Junge A. Football injuries in children and adolescent players: are there clues for prevention? Sports Med. 2013 Sep;43(9):819-37. doi: 10.1007/s40279-013-0061-x. PMID: 23723046.

See All

Recovery Sessions: for that "it's not bad enough" stuff.

ACL Tears- Soccer Players’ Nemesis

TREATING COMMON INJURIES IN RUNNERS

Comments

A seamless transition from PT to strength training

I worked with Dr. Mariel Hammond who helped relieve my pain from an acute injury and identified the underlying cause. She worked with me to develop a longitudinal plan to prevent this injury from happening again. She was professional, supportive, and positive, and helped provide a seamless transition from physical therapy to a tailored strength training program. The whole Zenith team is great to work with—communication and scheduling is easy, they are friendly, and work with my schedule and individual needs. After graduating from physical therapy, I now participate in strength training sessions with Josh Harper and am happy with my progress. Thanks to Dr. Hammond, Josh Harper, and the whole Zenith team for providing excellent physical therapy care with a smooth transition to a tailored strength training program. If you’re looking for physical therapy, personal or group training in a supportive and respectful environment, Zenith is the place to go.

Christina M

Had me walking pain-free in just a week

An absolutely amazing experience! As I trained for my first marathon, the Eugene Marathon, I unfortunately overdid it and ended up injuring myself just 18 days before the race. Fortunately, Jesse, one of the owners of Zenith, overheard my conversation about the pain I was experiencing and recommended this place to me. I met with Mike Robinson, who quickly identified the issue and had me walking pain-free in just a week. With only a week and a half left before the marathon, I had three more sessions here—each boosting my confidence and ensuring I could run without pain. This place is incredible! I highly recommend it to anyone facing a potential setback due to injury. The team's communication, attention to detail, and dedication to their clients are truly exceptional. Five stars without a doubt!

Julian C

Zenith saw an opportunity no doctor had

After a year and a half of uncertainty regarding a lower leg injury I developed my freshman year, working with Jesse Klein is the only reason I can play pain free. After 4 MRIs, a compartment syndrome test, multiple X-rays, and people telling me it was time to give up my sport, Jesse saw an opportunity and brought to the table new knowledge and possibilities to my injury that none of the 3 doctors had mentioned to me. I am so thankful for this company and all they do for my team—but most importantly, huge thank you to Jesse for beating the odds and taking a new approach to heal me. After playing multiple sports my whole life, I knew something was wrong with my leg freshman year (2022). About two weeks into fall camp, I started experiencing swelling to almost double the size of my calf and leg spasms/cramps that would often keep me up at night. I attempted to push through and unfortunately ended up being diagnosed with bilateral tibial stress fractures and placed in a walking boot on my left side and an air cast on my right side for 2½ months, taking away my full freshman season. I went through about 3–4 months of physical therapy and attempted to return in March (2023) of my freshman season, but the pain wouldn't go away. I played through pain for about a month, but the swelling got to the point where I was having a hard time walking, and ultimately led me back to the boot from April to May. From June–August I was on a strict rehab schedule to get me back, which included no explosive or impact movement for the full time. I thought I was healed. I came back in August (2023) and the pain wouldn’t stop. At this point, I reached out to a new company and they wanted to discuss compartment syndrome testing, which ultimately took place in January—one of the doctors told me I should give it up if I wasn't reliant on scholarship. I went on break worried about what to do—and that’s when I met Jesse Klein. My coach introduced me to Jesse in January and told me he had a couple ideas on my injury. At this point I was looking for a miracle. I worked with Jesse from January to May (2024) and I plan to work with him in the future. We did weekly appointments and I followed his program that allowed me to begin play in moderation and keep up with exercises daily. Jesse brings a new view and unique take to PT and I would honestly recommend him to anyone. Because of him I am now pain free and can finally play the sport that I love. I played the whole 3 months of spring season with no pain and I can’t wait to come back and play in the fall. Without Jesse I don't know if I would be able to play anymore—he's made this experience efficient and comfortable, and my coach and I are eternally grateful.

Jessie M