Soccer Therapy by Occupational Therapists

The demands of soccer can lead to various injuries to ankles, knees and hips, such as sprains, ligament damage and muscle tightness. A recent study recorded a total of 63,258 injuries from 2005 – 2014 in a specific cohort with sprains and strains attributing to 34% of the total (Kerr et al., 2017).

Soft Tissue Therapy conducted by our Occupational Therapists can help benefit athletes by releasing muscular tension causing joint pain. Foam rolling is a form a soft tissue therapy which has been shown to significantly improve knee and hip range of motion (Markovic, 2015). Furthermore, soft tissue treatment has been known to decrease the healing time required for groin related injuries (Yuill, Pajaczkowski and Howitt, 2012).

Following this, our Occupational Therapists can then observe posture abnormalities which may be ultimately affecting your functional ability and increasing your chance of injury. In conjunction with soft tissue therapy, athletes can be referred to our skilled physiotherapist and chiropractors when requiring dry needling or spinal adjustments.

Seek treatment now, Injury prevention is always the first step. Contact us today.

Article by Occupational Therapist, Zac Scampoli

Sources

Markovic, G. (2015). Acute effects of instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization vs. foam rolling on knee and hip range of motion in soccer players. Journal of bodywork and movement therapies, 19(4), 690-696.

Kerr, Z. Y., Pierpoint, L. A., Currie, D. W., Wasserman, E. B., & Comstock, R. D. (2017). Epidemiologic comparisons of soccer-related injuries presenting to emergency departments and reported within high school and collegiate settings. Injury epidemiology, 4(1), 19. doi:10.1186/s40621-017-0116-9

Yuill, E. A., Pajaczkowski, J. A., & Howitt, S. D. (2012). Conservative care of sports hernias within soccer players: a case series. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, 16(4), 540-548.