Upper arm injury | Injury in soccer

Upper arm injury

Shoulder and upper arm fractures are very rare injuries. In the case of very severe impact trauma, a fracture of the shoulder blade (scapula) may occur. Fractures of the humerus can affect the head of the humerus, the humeral shaft and the humeral rolls (condyles). Surgical treatment is usually necessary.

Forearm injury

A radius fracture (spoke fracture) at a typical location (loco typico) typically occurs when the player tries to cushion a fall with his arm. Depending on the position of the wrist at impact, different fracture forms result. A shot against the bent wrist can also cause a wrist fracture. If a wrist fracture is suspected, it should be cooled and the wrist immobilized. Surgical treatment will often be necessary.

Possibilities of injury to the lower extremity

Injuries to the lower extremity occur most frequently in soccer. On the one hand, it is an intensive running sport, on the other hand the playing equipment is transported by the leg and foot activity. While in the area of the upper extremity it was mainly the traumatic falls that led to the injury, in the area of the lower extremity there are also other causes of injury than falls.

Contusion and bruising: Among the rather minor injuries of the lower extremity is the bruise, which is characterized by local swelling and painful bruising. This injury, popularly known as “horse kiss“, is caused by external force, such as a hard kick to the thigh, knee or calf. Muscle injuries: Strains and torn muscle fibers are probably the most common injuries in soccer and cause the game to be stopped immediately.

Cold or tired muscles are particularly at risk of injury, but also muscles that are not very stretchy. As a result, the footballer typically suffers his strains or torn muscle fibers at the beginning of the game, when he is poorly warmed up muscularly, or at the end of the game, when the muscles become tired and the individual movement sequences are less coordinated. A further reason for injury is the lack of flexibility of the tendons and muscles in soccer players, due to a one-sided training of the muscles on the one hand and a shortened musculature on the other.

The back thigh musculature (ischiocrural musculature) is a typical shortened muscle group in footballers. During a fast sprint, this musculature is often torn. The player experiences a sudden, stabbing pain in the back of the thigh, followed by a kind of cramping sensation.

Stretching, like a muscle cramp or heat treatment, should be avoided at all costs. Rather, as with all muscle injuries, the rules of the PECH – scheme ́s apply to the initial treatment (PauseIceCompressionHigh Bearing). Another typical muscle injury is adductor strain, i.e. the muscle group responsible for bringing the leg up to the body.

Injuries of this type occur for example.B. by a strong lateral spreading of the leg, as in the case of slipping, or if the supporting leg suddenly slips away when changing direction. Pain occurs in the area of the inner thigh or in the groin, where the adductors originate.

A muscle injury that occurs during a ball shot is the pulling of the rectus femoris muscle on the front side of the thigh. This muscle, which is well developed in footballers, suddenly becomes tense when shooting. If the muscle is cold and less trained or tired, this can lead to injury.

The pain is located on the front of the thigh. The knee is the footballer’s joint that is most frequently injured. Soccer is a very knee-straining sport with many unphysiological rotational movements under high load.

Classical injury patterns are meniscus rupture, cruciate ligament rupture or a collateral ligament injury. Torn meniscus Torn cruciate ligament The torn cruciate ligament is a severe knee joint injury with long-term consequences for the knee joint. The origin of the injury is similar to the meniscus tear described above.

In fact, injuries of the anterior cruciate ligament and the medial meniscus are often found simultaneously. If the inner ligament is also injured at the same time, this is known as unhappy triad. Predominantly the anterior cruciate ligament tears.

The knee joint almost always swells strongly and is painful under stress. The mobility of the knee joint is limited by the bruise. The typical anterior knee instability cannot usually be detected in the early phase of the injury due to painful muscle tension and effusion formation.

The therapy is surgical. We and most specialists do not share the general opinion that it is not necessary to operate on a torn anterior cruciate ligament with good muscular stabilization. An individual decision must always be made, taking into account all factors involved.

You can find further information under: Sideband injury Sideband injuries can occur in isolation or together with cruciate ligament and meniscus injuries. They are often harmless strains of the collateral ligament, which heal after 3-6 weeks and require no more special treatment than a break from sports. Sideband injuries are caused by lateral stress on the knee joint.

In the case of an inner ligament injury, the stress occurs from the outside, in the case of an outer ligament tear from the inside. An isolated tear of the inner ligament can be treated conservatively in a knee joint orthosis with lateral support, while surgery is more frequently recommended for ruptured outer ligaments.

  • Torn meniscus
  • Meniscus surgery
  • Anterior cruciate ligament rupture
  • Rupture of posterior cruciate ligament
  • Cruciate ligament overstretched

Rupture of the outer ligament An uneven playing field can be the cause of a rupture of the outer ligament (fibular ligament rupture) of the ankle joint, caused by the classic outward twist injury.

Depending on the force applied, the 3 outer ligaments (fibular ligament apparatus) are first stretched, later they rupture. Most frequently, the anterior outer ligament (ligamentum fibulotalare anterius) is affected by a tear. This ligament stretches from the outer ankle (fibula) to the front part of the ankle bone (talus).

In the early phase of the injury, the ankle joint swells considerably. The severity of the injury cannot be estimated with certainty. The initial treatment is again performed according to the PECH scheme.

The therapy is usually conservative in an air-cushion splint for about 6 weeks. Older hobby footballers often suffer a rupture of the Achilles tendon. An accident event is usually not present.

Patients report a sudden calf pain while running, accompanied by a bang that is supposed to resemble a whip lash. A rupture of the calf muscles must also be considered for differential diagnosis. The therapy is usually surgical with suture of the Achilles tendon.

A rather chronic footballer’s disease is the formation of tibial osteophytes (footballer’s ankle joint; footballer’s ankle) at the front of the tibia forming the ankle joint. These are bony edges (attachments, osteophytes), which are the result of microtraumatization of the bone, caused by years of tension shooting. During the rolling movement of the foot, these edges can abut and lead to chronic anterior ankle joint pain. If the symptoms are correspondingly severe, the therapy consists of arthroscopic removal of these edges.