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Indoor Soccer and ACL
December 5, 2008 |
There are dozens of adult and children’s soccer leagues in Southwest Florida. With
the increased popularity also comes the increased risk of injuring your ACL.
Dr. John Mehalick is an orthopedic surgeon. He says, “Specifically soccer players
are a big risk and why are soccer players a big ris? Well, it’s just the entire
nature of playing soccer. You’re running full blast in one direction, planting your
leg and going to try and run in another direction potentially while off balance
or using only one foot and having another player potentially kicking at your legs
at the same time.”
When it comes to preventing ACL injuries you may
be better off kicking around the
soccer ball on real grass. “It’s been well demonstrated that concrete based flooring
covered over by astro-turf increases significantly the incidences of ACL injuries,
so indoor soccer injuries are particularly more prominent,” says Dr. Mehalick
He adds that there are things you can do at any age to get your body properly conditioned
for soccer. The more prepared your body the less likely you
will suffer an injury.
“Improve flexibility, improve strength and coordination of balance, and improve
strength particularly around the muscles around the knee.”
It’s particularly important for female soccer players to condition and strengthen
the area around the knee. That’s
because the incidence of ACL injuries has increased
in the female population. The ACL controls rotational forces in the knee.
If it
is torn, sudden changes in direction become nearly impossible and surgery is almost
always required. |
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