Common injuries in football and how to treat them - Part B

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Classification of  football and sport injuries
When you do receive an injury (and you will), there is a template to use to ascertain the severity of that injury. A sports therapist will often discuss the severity using the following terms.  
 
1st degree sprain or strain is a minor disruption.  This may occur when you roll your ankle or pull a muscle.  There will be pain and discomfort with potentially some bruising.  You will be able to use the limb, but not to its full effectiveness for a few days.
 
2nd degree sprain or strain is when you strain or partially tear muscle fibres, ligaments or tendons.  There will be some disruption to your mobility, and you will have pain, swelling, heat and discolouration at the site of the injury.  The injury gets noticeably worse the more you use that limb.
 
3rd degree sprain or strain is when you significantly tear the ligament, tendon or fibres so much that this causes sever disruption to your mobility.  You will have a lot of pain, swelling and will be unable to move that limb. This type of injury would require you to seek medical advice immediately.
 
How to treat an Injury 
Once you have identified the type of injury, it is crucial to your recovery to treat the injury immediately. Regardless of the severity you need to STOP playing. Put some ice on the injury for 20 minutes every two hours and if possible, elevate it. You can also compress the swelling by using a bandage if you need to move around.  Try and rest and ice the injury as much as you can for the first 48 hours. Then, once the swelling has started to decrease, you can use contrast bathing to aid recovery.  Follow the chart below to support the healing process.


Day 1 and 2

Days 3 and 4 

Days 5 - 6 

 Days 7 - 8 

Keep limb in cold for 

20 min (every 2 hours)

4 mins 

2 mins 

1 min 

Keep limb in hot for 

0 min

1 min 

2 min 

4 min 

Keep limb in cold for 

20 min (every 2 hours)

4 min 

2 min 

1 min 

Keep limb in hot for 

0 min

1 min 

2 min 

4 min 

Keep limb in cold for 

20 min (every 2 hours)

4 min 

2 min 

1 min 

Keep limb in hot for 

0 min

1 min 

 

 

Finish on: 

20 min cold

Cold for 4 min 

Hot for 2 min 

Hot for 4 min 

At some point in your playing career an injury will occur. You can save time and energy by trying these methods first as they can support you with minor injuries.  However, if you have a severe injury or something is not quite right, trust your instincts and seek medical advice immediately.

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