Football Training Camp Injuries

Knowing the risks commonly associated with football can enable you to better exhibit cautious playing and prevent serious injuries.

There’s no doubt about it: football is one of America’s favorite pastimes. Whether playing on a high school team or playing pickup neighborhood games, football holds an indelible place in many of our lives - and our entire culture.

But football isn’t all team spirit and Friday night lights. One only has to look at the 2016 NFL injury report to understand that football has a much more dangerous side. The NFL injury report includes many serious injuries, as well as numerous NFL suspensions and NFL players out for the season.

And these are the players who have the best training, equipment, and injury care available.

The injuries experienced by non-professional players are serious. In fact, without professional-grade equipment, skills, and resources, amateur injuries are often much more serious. As student and amateur players head to football camp, it’s important to exercise extra care and caution to prevent football training camp injuries.

The experts at Rothman Orthopaedics are familiar with diagnosing and treating injuries that have occur on the football field. That’s why we’ve compiled this list of common football training camp injuries; we hope you find it helpful. More importantly, we hope it helps you to stay safe.

Four Common Football Training Camp Injuries

One of the best resources to keep you safe during football training camp is knowledge. This list of football training camp injuries will help you familiarize yourself with the dangers and risks associated with football. And that means you’ll be better prepared to exhibit caution and prevent these injuries from occurring.

1. Concussions
   Concussions are the most infamous--and one of the most common--football injuries. The long-term brain damage accrued by repeated concussions has been at the center of a national debate over football safety. The reality is that the risks of football concussions are considerable; 7.4% of football injuries are concussions--and injury rates are higher during preseason, making concussions the most common football training camp injuries. Concussions are caused by a blow to the head that causes jarring of the brain within the skull. Signs that a concussion has occurred include headaches, dizziness, blurred vision, numbness, tingling sensations, drowsiness, reduced balance, and inability to concentrate.

2. Acute Traumatic Injuries
   Acute injuries result from sudden traumatic impact, such as impactful collisions with obstacles of other players. The most common traumatic football training camp injuries are knee injuries; in particular, anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), medial collateral ligament (MCL), and cartilage injuries. Shoulder injuries are similarly typical, including labrum and acromioclavicular joint injuries. Young players at football training camps are especially susceptible to bruises, strains, sprains, ligament tears, and fractures.

3. Overuse Injuries
   While many football injuries are suffered due to a sudden, traumatic impact, others result from gradual overuse and repetitive activity. Injuries from overuse include back pains, tendinitis in the knee, and fatigue from overtraining. For young players, stress fractures are especially common. As young bones remodel during the growth process, the bone can be weakened and more susceptible to stress fractures in areas such as the feet or shins.

4. Growth Plate Injuries
   The young players that fill football fields during training camp are not only more at risk of stress fractures and certain acute injuries--they also are at risk of growth plate injuries. Growth plates are areas of developing cartilage at the ends of bones. Because it is still developing, growth plate tissue is susceptible to injury in contact sports. These injuries may result in bone disturbances or deformity.

At Rothman Orthopaedics, we understand that no amount of preparedness and caution will completely prevent all football training camp injuries. We hope that the above information helps you to understand the risks as you prepare for football camp. However, if an injury does occur, the experts at Rothman Orthopaedics can provide you with the best sports medicine treatment available. To speak with a specialist or schedule a meeting, visit us hereor contact us at 1-800-321-9999