Common American football injuries and how to treat them

Just one wrong tackle, slip or strain could see you missing out on your favorite sport for quite some time. American Football Injuries are incredibly common, so avoiding them can seem almost impossible. When you do eventually incur one, you can feel as if you’re in a temporary state of limbo: will it just be one that heals and passes with time or one that could see you retired from the sport indefinitely? Here are some common injuries and how to treat them. 

Pulled hamstring

Straining your hamstring in sport is incredibly common, particularly in ones that require a lot of sudden bursts of running and sprinting. In fact, during sprints, your hamstring muscles will work overtime. It’s just as your foot is about to hit the ground that your hamstring becomes vulnerable to tearing. It’s therefore a seemingly harmless activity that could bring your hamstring into real disrepair. You will likely need a combination of physiotherapy and rest to heal a torn hamstring, or if it’s particularly bad, surgery. However, if you think you’ve just pulled your hamstring, the most important thing to do is immediately compress it with ice. 

Herniated disc

This type of injury is not uncommon with NFL players, in fact Tony Romo suffered this painful injury during the 2013 season. This is a particularly nasty injury that sees the fluid in the spine’s disc leak out as a result of a rupture. You don’t have to be a sportsperson to suffer it; indeed, you could have this happen at any point in your life. You can, however, avoid spinal fusion surgery through methods including stem cell repair treatment, which only involves an injection. 

Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) 

This injury is incredibly likely in any contact sport that involves running, contact and sharp maneuvers. Your Anterior Cruciate Ligament is located in your knee and is vital for keeping you stable. This is a pretty gruesome one to tear, as a fully torn ligament is often a result of landing and twisting it until it snaps. Unfortunately, a tear in your ACL is likely to require surgery. However, a simple sprain can be dealt with by seeing a physiotherapist and doing gradual rehabilitation exercises. 

Muscle Strains

Muscle strains are among the most common injuries an American Football player can suffer. Often known as a pulled or torn muscle, this can be a painful condition, and cause the player to sit out of several games in order to recover properly.  

In general, injuries in American football are likely to be aches, sprains and possible even the occasionally tear or fracture. With tears and fractures, you are likely to need surgery to fix the issue. If you suspect you have done some damage, or even if you have some mild swelling, do try and seek medical attention immediately. While it might not be as serious as you think, you do not want to continue exercising on it as this will only to make it worse.