Injuries Defined

Football Injuries

Foot Injuries

Plantar Fasciitis 'Heel Pain'
(Pronounced - PLAN-tar-fashee-EYE-tis)
The Plantar Fascia encapsulates the muscles in the bottom of the foot, supports the arch by acting like a bow string connecting the heel bone to the ball of the foot. Plantar Fasciitis condition is essentially inflammation of this connective tissue.

Defined - Sharp pain, stiffness and aching is very common with the ailment. The origin of the plantar fascia experiences inflammation due to over-stretching of the fascia leading to excess traction and inflammation. Scar tissue develops making the fascia less flexible. This in turn causes further traction in other parts of the foot.

Symptoms - The patient presents with a dull to sharp pain occurring about the plantar calcaneal area when getting out of bed of a morning. The plantar fascia is more inflexible at those times or when arising from a seated position and continuing during the initial periods of weight bearing. Usually the pain subsides within a few minutes, but may re-occur once this sequence is re-established. Many patients report that the pain 'moves around' to different areas of the foot.
The pain is often described by patients as a 'stone bruise'. Pain can be located at the inferior aspect of the heel either medially, laterally or centrally.
Information Source - icbmedical.com

Plantar fasciitis - more
Plantar fasciitis causes pain which occurs on the inner undersurface of the heel. It is classically worse first thing in the morning. Although normally considered a disorder of middle age, it can affect football players, particularly if it results from a partial tear of the plantar fascia.
The lay term for plantar fasciitis is 'heel spur' as a bony spur can sometimes be seen on an X-ray.
Information Source - injuryupdate.com.au

Back Spasms What are back spasms?
Back spasms are a contraction of the back muscles in response to a stress on the spine. Usually, one of the structures of the spine such as a joint or one of the ligaments of the spine is injured. The nerves that supply the sensory information to the injured area -- the nerves that pick up the sensation of pain -- are also connected to the nerves that control the muscles of the back. So the stimulus from an actual spine injury will cause the surrounding muscle of the back to contract that is the spasm. It's really the body's way of protecting an injured area from further damage. The way to think about back spasms is that they are like a fever you get when you have an infection. Just as a fever is symptomatic of an underlying infection, so it is that back spasms are a result of some type of inflammation in the spine. In the same way we use aspirin to reduce the fever but take antibiotics to treat the infection, we might take muscle relaxants to address the spasms but need to use anti-inflammatories to reduce the inflammation. It may not seem very efficient, and it certainly can be painful, but pain, like fever, is an effective warning signal.

They usually are the result of a sudden or extended trauma upon the spine or the muscles supporting the spine. For example, an athlete can change his training regimen or overextend himself, which could lead to a muscle or ligament strain and subsequent spasm. At the other end of the spectrum, you may be on a long airplane flight in a cramped, uncomfortable seat and your muscles could be forced into an unfamiliar position. Once you stand up, those strained muscles can trigger a spasm.

Stress can also be a contributing factor. When you are stressed, you're often unconsciously clenching your shoulders or teeth. This is counterproductive to the normal motion of the joint. The joint is in a position like that of the airline seat and the results, unfortunately, can be similar.

Most spasms affect the paraspinal musculature -- the muscles running from the base of the skull to the pelvis on either side of the backbone. They are the muscles most commonly "thrown out," and often the mere act of sitting up or turning to the side can be excruciatingly painful. - Source: Training Room

Hamstring Injuries
The hamstring muscles are located in the back of the thigh and injuries can be acute or chronic. Sprinting subjects these muscles to high tension loads and sudden tears can occur. The recent Olympic games in Atlanta saw several sprinters go down in agony with acute hamstring injuries.

Chronic hamstring injuries usually arise from an improperly rehabilitated acute injury, but may occur as the result of small amounts of trauma repeated over a long period (i.e., distance running). Poor hamstring flexibility increases the likelihood of small tears, which in turn cause the muscle to shorten and get tighter. A vicious circle can become established. Prompt and appropriate initial treatment can break this spiral.

The initial care of an acute hamstring injury involves the R.I.C.E. regimen. This acronym stands for, rest, ice, compression (e.g., an ace bandage), and elevation.  After 1 - 2 days, the athlete can stop the intermittent application of ice and begin a gentle stretching routine. - Source: Sportsmed

Osteitis Pubis
Osteitis pubis is a painful condition that affects the pubic symphysis and surrounding tendinous attachments. One common cause stems from unusual biomechanical stress to the pelvis. Patients typically have a variety of vague and nonspecific symptoms, which makes accurate diagnosis of this condition difficult, particularly for clinicians not familiar with the disorder. A systematic approach to evaluating these patients is essential because the differential can be quite large and includes isolated muscle tears, lumbar radiculopathy, and stress fractures. Fortunately, once the diagnosis is confirmed, conservative treatment such as rest and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs usually leads to a favorable outcome.
Osteitis pubis, a painful condition involving the pubic symphysis and surrounding tendinous attachments. The true prevalence of this condition has yet to be conclusively determined.
Many consider osteitis pubis a perplexing problem of unclear etiology with a wide array of vague, nonspecific presenting symptoms, and encompassing a vast differential. - Source: Sportsmedicine


AFL Study into Osteitis Pubis
Prevention and treatment of osteitis pubis is likely to be advanced with the AFL's awarding of a grant for further study of the crippling injury. A joint study by the University of Melbourne and the University of Queensland is almost certain to be one of the projects awarded a grant under the AFL medical research and development program next month. Australia's leading role in osteitis pubis diagnosis and treatment has generated interest from the United States' National Football League and several European national soccer leagues. Osteitis pubis, inflammation of the pubic bone, is the underlying condition behind many chronic groin injuries among AFL players. If not picked up early, it can be a crippling injury requiring up to 12 months or more out of the game. - Source: The Age By Len Johnson

Groin (Adductor) Injuries

What Is A Groin (Adductor) Injury?
The adductors are fan-like muscles in the upper thigh that pull the legs together when they contract. The adductors attach the lower inner aspect of the pelvis to the inner aspect of the femur bone. Some adductors attach as far down as the knee. The adductors also help stabilize the hip joint. The most common cause of groin pain is a muscle strain. A strained adductor muscle causes localized pain in the inner thigh, or over the pubis. A severe tear is causes a sudden, acute pain and often occurs during a sudden change of direction while running. It may be accompanied by swelling and sometimes bruises.


What Causes A Groin Pull?
The most common cause of a groin strain occurs when a muscle is stretched too far or meets an unexpected opposing force. This can result from the quick starts and stops of kicking and running sports. These injuries are especially common in soccer but are also seen in racket sports, basketball, hockey, volleyball, and football. Common symptoms are acute pain, swelling, and, occasionally, bruising of the inner thigh. There is also pain to the touch, pain with resistance movements, and pain with passive stretching of the inner thigh and hamstrings. - Source Sports Medicine

Arthroscope
Arthroscopy is the examination of the inside of a joint, using a special illuminating instrument inserted through a small incision or 'portal'. The incisions are usually less than one centimetre in length. The arthroscope is slender (less than five millimetres in diameter) and has a fibre-optic light source and a magnifying lens attached. Tiny instruments that are capable of cutting or shaving material from within the joint may be inserted through other small incisions, if necessary. A tiny camera mounted within the arthroscope transmits the images of the joint interior to a television monitor.

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