Top 3 Soccer Injuries You Can Treat at an Emergency Room
Soccer as a sport has been growing in popularity in the U.S. for years now and it is now a game that is played all across the country by both the young and old, at a professional and an amateur level in the parks for fun. It is one of the most fun games to play and it is no surprise to find people enjoying the sport in parks, backyards at home and recreation facilities all across the country especially during the weekends. While it is generally safe as a sport, with foul play heavily governed by referees and frowned upon, it is still a contact sport and as such injuries are bound to happen. Given its physically taxing nature, it exerts a substantial toll on the body, especially on the muscles, tendons and ligaments and as such injury can happen even without contact, from say a jarring movement among others. As per the experts over at frontlineer.com, while soccer players don’t experience injuries at the rate of their counterparts playing football, a number of soccer related injuries are still treated at emergency rooms each year and this article will look to highlight the top 3.
One of the most common injuries as far as soccer is concerned, which leads to lots of visits to the emergency room are knee injuries. The nature of soccer means that it can get quite taxing on the legs, especially the knees and it is no surprise that strains and sprains of the knee are some of the most common injuries here. As per frontlineer.com, most of these are not emergencies and don’t warrant a trip to an emergency room. However, there are more serious injuries as far as the knee is concerned that definitely require a visit to an emergency room. This include torn anterior cruciate ligaments, ACL, as well as torn meniscus. When you tear a ligament, some of the symptoms you will experience that will let you know you have include, a loud ‘pop’ sound, severe pain on the affected knee, difficulty putting weight on the knee or bending and using it, extreme swelling as well as tenderness. You should go to an emergency room if you exhibit such symptoms as far as the knee is concerned. If you also see clear deformity on the knee or if the area around it starts to change color, you should also head over to an emergency room for treatment.
Another common soccer injury that has folks being taken to an emergency room is an injury to the ankle. Soccer players can injure the ankle by twisting it when running or dribbling or if they are on the end of a bad tackle to the ankle. It is therefore no surprise that ankle injuries rank highly among those injuries that have soccer players heading over to emergency rooms. Minor cases of ankle injuries like minor sprains and strains don’t require a visit to an emergency room, however the more serious cases like damaged ankle ligaments and a broken ankle should be taken to an emergency room pronto as is discussed over at frontlineer.com. Some of the symptoms that will alert you that you may have seriously damaged your ankle and need to head over to an ER include severe pain on the affected ankle, deformity of said ankle, inability to put weight or even move the ankle, numbness and tingling sensation on the ankle as well as tenderness and severe swelling. It is recommended that if you suffer a serious ankle injury, you should immobilize it and ensure you don’t move it until you get looked at an ER to prevent further damage.
Another injury as far as soccer is concerned that can be treated at an emergency room is a concussion. These have been on the rise as far as soccer is concerned, which has necessitated a change in concussion protocols in the professional side of the game. One can get a concussion when playing soccer when they collide with another player, through a clash of heads when going for an aerial ball or getting caught by a flailing arm or elbow. While grade 1 and 2 don’t need to be taken to an emergency room, grade 3 concussions which are the most serious require one to head over to an ER pronto as per frontlineer.com. Some of the symptoms to look out for include loss of consciousness even if it is only for a moment, confusion and disorientation, slurred speech, nausea and vomiting, problems with balance, problems with vision such as blurred vision, personality changes, memory loss, ringing in the ears, sensitivity to noise among others. If you experience such, after a knock to the head, then you definitely have to head over to an emergency room as soon as you can for treatment.
The above are some of the common soccer injuries that can be treated at an emergency room with more on this and other topics to be found over at frontlineer.com.
