I know how old this will make me sound when I ask but do you remember the movie ‘The Program’ with James Caan? There is a scene in the movie where a [young] Omar Epps gets the wind knocked out of him and the coach, Caan, approaches Epps. There is a difference from being hurt and injured. Check out these injury tips for soccer players that will get you up and going again. *This post contains affiliate links for Amazon from which I may earn a small commission should you purchase something.
Trusting people with your future
My second season with the Vancouver Whitecaps saw me requiring a knee scope [a minor surgery].
While still recovering I was asked to sub in and while I expressed a concern that I wasn’t ready.
Lacking the decision-making and assertive maturity I didn’t say no to play until I was fully recovered…
I learned a valuable lesson: Know your true ‘team’ [aka your family, trusted friends, etc.]
Consult with those who know you best and will know you longest before playing at anything less than 100%.
It’s not that clubs want to cause you harm… College and pro sports is a business and they want their product to produce.
Just make sure you take care of yourself.
Here are 8 injury tips for soccer players I have learned throughout my career to immediately address, alleviate, and [unfortunately] impede injury progression:
R.I.C.E = Rest, Ice, Compress, Elevate
R.I.C.E is very important the 1st 48 hours after an injury… Especially a rolled ankle, sprained knee or contusion.
After a fresh injury it’s important to ice (wrapping with an ace wrap) the next 48 hours…
If you can do it every hour for 10-20 minutes or some say “when it’s numb it’s done”.
Warning: If you ice the knee don’t put it on the outside of the knee for more than 10 mins.
Heat before soccer practice or games
Heat pads are good for before training or games when you have an injury.
It gets the muscles, joints and ligaments warmed up relieving pain and getting a faster warm up for the body.
It’s a good “cheat code” before you do a proper warm-up with your team or solo.
Don’t forget the ace wrap.
What you can do is get a heat pad and put it on the injured area as your child is in the car going to the practice or game.
Epsom Salt to help recovery of sore muscles
Great for sore muscles, sprains of the ankle and knee or even the leg or back muscles, as it helps the body to heal faster.
You can get this at your local grocery store…
Once you have the epsom salt, warm up the bathtub and pour the recommended dose into the bath water.
Read on the back of the package how much you need to use.
Heat rubs before soccer games, especially tournaments
Products like ‘Icy Hot‘ are good for helping with pain in the knee, ankle, legs or back.
It’s not something you want to use long term.
Instead, when a player is having achy pains and is playing in several games like a tournament they will feel good putting a little on the sore area.
Cold tub is great for pre-season or post matches
This is great for injuries and lots of game or training play.
It’s one thing to put an ice pack on…
Getting waist deep in a cold tub for 7-10 minutes is not only going to treat the injured/sore area better.
The icy pack will get the exact spot, but the tub will treat all the areas around it.
This will help reduce swelling caused by overexertion. Most players use this for after games or long practice / camps.
What you can do is use a bathtub or buy a big trash can or trough to fill with cold water and ice.
‘Hot & Cold’ Tub for fresh injuries
For an injury like a contusion, sprain or heavy training, ‘hot and cold is amazing!
It gets the blood flowing causing quicker healing.
Feeling better faster is what we all want as athletes because we play almost every day.
The hot and cold method is not easy to do because you need a hot tub and a big trash bin…
Another thing you could do is use bath tubs – if you have two of them.
If you have a hot tub you can buy a big trash bin to fill with ice water.
If you don’t have one, get this $485 portable hot tub
Start off in the cold tub for 45 seconds then get into the hot for 30 seconds… Do the cold 5 times and cold 4, where you start and end with cold.
Ice Massage for quick treatment
This is good for knee or ankle and when you don’t have much time to ice for 15-20 minutes…
With an ice message all you need is 5 minutes…
- Get a paper cup filled with water and put it in the freezer to freeze.
- Once frozen, peel the top of the cup and rub around the injured area for 5 minutes.
You might want to have a towel under you because it will drip and get the floor wet.
Thinking positive when injured
Thinking of all the many injury tips for soccer players brings back a lot of memories.
I wish all these cool tips to help with the recovery were presented to me earlier.
One of the most important things to prevent injuries is warming up and stretching…
If you do get injured, make sure you RICE [Rest, Ice, Compress, Elevate]
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