As a female soccer player your time on the soccer field may be limited due to unavoidable injury.
This article will inform you of three injuries you need to be aware of that may occur in either a soccer game or training.
First an anterior cruciate ligament (Acl) tear is the most devastating soft tissue injury in girls soccer.
This ligament is located inside the knee joint and prevents over rotation at the knee.
You will most likely be out for the rest of season and longer depending on the route you take.
This injury is usually the result of a twisting action in which the foot stays planted on the ground and he thigh continues to rotate.
This usually occurs with some change of direction motion.
The degree of an Acl tear will decide whether or not an Acl repair is necessary.
Rehabilitation for an Acl repair is any where from six to nine months.
Unfortunately female soccer players as young as twelve can get an Acl tear.
To minimize the chance of an Acl tear you need to be on a strength and conditioning program that includes single leg exercises, agility exercises, jump training, acceleration and deceleration training.
The next injury is known as patella femoral syndrome.
This type of knee injury is more of an overuse or muscle imbalance injury.
The typical symptoms of this injury is pain below the knee cap on the tendon that joins the keep cap to the lower leg, pain under the knee cap and pain walking up or down stairs.
It is common to find this in girls soccer during adolescence when their are changes in your body.
From my experience I have found that this type of injury occurs in girls soccer with players who also train for cross country.
This type of knee injury is very correctable with introducing proper training and conditioning routines.
You must find the cause and then eliminate the cause of the problem.
Finally the rolled or twisted ankle injury for a young female playing girls soccer can be quite traumatic.
Generally you are looking at a four to six week recovery period for this soccer injury.
This injury occurs because the soccer player lacks balance and stability from landing on one foot as well as the strength to stop and change direction.
For you to decrease the opportunity for this ankle injury to occur you must do both strength and agility training.
This type of training prepares you for the movements in a soccer game.
There is opportunity to reduce the risk for these knee injuries and ankle injury.
It is just as important for female soccer players to be on a strength and conditioning program as males.