The soccer season is fast approaching and last year we had a lot of injuries related to soccer in clinic. The most common injuries we had last season related to soccer were hamstring injuries and groin/adductor injuries. These ranged from strains to tears, with a lot of players managing to keep playing, but we did have some more severe injuries that meant that they could not keep going.
There are many reasons that people get injuries, and unfortunately we are unable to do things that 100% guarantee no injuries. However, a lot of research does go into trying to reduce injury risk, and here are 2 quick videos with exercises that are widely used in soccer to help prevent injuries.
Part 1: Soccer Hamstring exercises
The most common hamstring exercise to reduce the risk of injury is the Nordic Hamstring Curl. These are very challenging so we have also included an alternative if it is too hard, or you are unable to set it up.
Part 2: Soccer groin/adductor exercises
This combination of adductor squeeze exercises is widely used in soccer. When Matt worked in professional soccer this was a daily exercise all players would use all year round, and the research shows really good reduction in groin injuries.
Disclaimer
There are lots of reasons why injuries happen, and we are unable to guarantee that you won’t get injuries if you do these. We are just sharing our knowledge, experience, and the research behind injury reduction.
We also recommend the following:
- Take it easy. A lot of you will not have been running, sprinting, or changing direction before you get on to the soccer season. Go for some runs, or ease into your soccer season with some practice games/sessions that you can go at a slower pace.
- Go for some runs. Improve your fitness will do a great deal to reduce your injury risk. On your runs practice changing directions, changing speeds, sprinting etc.
- Get previous injuries looked at. If you are having knee issues, back issues, hip issues over the winter and just been getting on with it, please get it looked at by a professional. The biggest risk factor for injury is current and previous injuries. They make you move differently and do different things. Please get them looked at before running around a soccer pitch.
- Warm up. Jog, sprint, squat, jump, move sideways, change direction, pass a ball around before you play. Get your heart rate up and do the movements you will do on the pitch. Its not hard and it helps 🙂
We hope you have a great soccer season, please let us know if you have any issues at all or any questions about the above exercises.