Playing soccer safely

With the Champions League final coming up in Berlin between Juventus and Barcelona, and soccer summer leagues starting soon, it’s a good time to think about playing soccer. And given the high rate of some injuries while playing soccer, it’s even more important to consider how to play the sport more safely.

As any athlete (or sports parent) knows, playing sports brings the risk of cuts, bruises and contact injuries (from running into an opponent or teammate). While many soccer injuries occur in the lower extremities (the hips, legs and ankles), some players may experience neck sprains or shoulder injuries after a collision with a fellow player or a fall to the ground.

Keeping your head in the game.Use your head… or should you?

One common category of soccer injuries that’s been getting more attention in recent years is brain injuries and concussions. Scientific American asked the same question in multiple articles in 2013 and 2014: Does heading a soccer ball cause brain damage? The short answer is, yes, it can; the author of the most recent article states that “heading a soccer ball can contribute to neurodegenerative problems, such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy.”

– See more at: http://www.physiquality.com/blog/?p=7807#sthash.wl0WHpSO.dpuf

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Relieving neck pain

Neck pain is a common and debilitating problem. While some cases can be caused by serious conditions, according to Gini Davis, a physical therapist and owner of Crescent City Physical Therapy (a Physiquality member in New Orleans), the most common cause of neck pain is poor posture. This can be due to a variety of reasons:

  • Sitting and standing incorrectly.

While it’s easy to recognize when someone else is slouching, it’s much harder to correct the behavior in ourselves. As Kristina Holland noted in a previous Physiquality blog, “Good posture takes self-awareness and effort to maintain correct alignment, whereas poor posture is giving in to the constant pull of gravity.”

  • Looking at your gadgets.

Gini points out that many people look down at their laptop/iPad/iPhone/other electronic gadgets with the head forward and down, putting strain on the back of the neck. In fact, a 2012 study found that 90% of the subjects texted with their necks flexed, or bent at more than 10 degrees. The author, Judith Gold, told Forbes last year that “the more the participants in her studies texted, the greater the chance that they would experience neck or shoulder pain.” (And texting doesn’t just cause neck pain; excessive texting has also been shown to cause pain in the wrists, fingers and thumbs.)

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