Friday Night Lights!!  Wooooo hooooo!!!  Go team go!!!! HOLD THAT LINE!!!!  

Whew!  I'm getting PUMPED thinking about it!  Nothing like cheering our kids, family and friends to victory on the gridiron!!

BUT...as we all know it comes with RISK!  Risk of injury.  We all hate to see when a player goes down.  Even if he is on the other team.

It's inevitable that injuries will occur in football and it's a little late for a "Top 10 List" of how to avoid injury or reduce risk THIS season.  On and off field sports therapy will become very important as your season progresses.

I will tell you that the most important thing you can do as a football parent of a young athlete is to be involved!  If something doesn't make sense...ASK QUESTIONS!  Be sure injuries are reported, even minor ones. 

Here is a list of the more common injuries we do therapy on this time of year: (We will cover therapy for each in more depth in blog posts to follow)

1. Knee injuries: ACL, MCL (or both) Meniscus tears are frequent with both types of injuries.

2. Shoulder injuries: Dislocation, AC Seperation. This is a tear of the ligaments between the clavicle and acromion bone, which causes the clavicle (collar bone) to stick up.

3. Ankle sprains: graded 1-3 on severity.

4. Stingers: These occur when the nerves in the area of the neck are stretched, causing a temporary numbness, sharp stinging pain, and sometimes weakness in the arm. Luckily, these usually go away on their own. A stinger should always be reported to the coach, athletic trainer, and doctor.

5. Concusions: Also graded on intensity from 1-3. In the mildest concussion, a player may be allowed to return to play that game, after he has been cleared by the team doctor. More severe concussions require evaluation with special tests, and prolonged time off football.

6. Back injuries: Mostly sprains, herniated discs or fractures.

7. Broken bones: Just about any bone can be broken in football, from small bones such as fingers, to severe injuries such as the spine. 

8. Hip pointers: a contusion to the area of the hip known as the "iliac crest"

9. Hamstring sprains (pulls): These are very frustrating stretches of the hamstring muscles.

10. Quadriceps contusion: Usually the result of a direct impact to the front of the thigh (by a helmet).

Again these are the most common injuries we perform therapy for associated with football.

We will be covering how to manage pain, discomfort and swelling on and off the field in blog posts to come.

Have a great season!!