Don’t miss a match – prevent leg, knee, and ankle injuries during friendly team sports

Joining a social sports team is a double whammy: you can catch up with your mates and keep regular exercise on your plate. Because the tone of the game is set by its participants, social sport can be more fun and less competitive than regular team sport. Most importantly, being part of a team is ace for accountability and ideal to help you stay active. That said, the casual nature of social sport means it can be easy to injure yourself. With touch football, netball and soccer topping the list for adults, here we’ve listed a few tips to help you minimise your injury risk. 

Social netball injury prevention

Netball is one of the most popular sports in Australia. Whilst many players start in childhood, often people return to the game in adulthood to play in same-sex or mixed-sex social leagues. Whilst it’s a fast and fun game, social netball can be fraught with injuries. Netball players commonly suffer from strains or sprains to the ankle, wrist, hand, and finger due to player collisions, awkward landings or slippery court surfaces. Knee injuries are also common. To prepare your body to play, remember to:

• Warm up and cool down for each match

• Learn correct landing, passing, and catching techniques

• Try to incorporate your social netball into a wider cross-training program. Participate in other physical activities that strengthen your aerobic fitness, balance, and coordination too.

• Wear appropriate clothing and netball-specialist shoes when you play. If you have pre-existing injuries, talk to your chiropractor about how to protect them when you play.

Social touch football injury prevention

Another hugely popular social sport is ‘touch’ football. A no-tackle variant to rugby league, ‘touch’ attracts participants of all ages and genders across the country. Whilst social ‘touch’ only accounts for 10% of all football injuries, it’s still possible to hurt your legs, hands or head when playing. Here’s how you can protect yourself to minimise you risk of injury:

• Warm up before you play, and cool down after the game

• Wear appropriate shoes. Ideally shoes with ribbed soles or moulded cleats.

• Wear additional safety equipment (like a mouth guard, or head gear).

• Learn the rules of the game, and practice ball handling technique before you play. 

Social soccer team injury prevention

Whether you’re assembling a kick-around at a local sports field with your mates or you’re part of an organised friendly competition, five-a-side soccer is another classic social sport. With its fast pace and outdoor conditions, soccer can be prone to incidents too. Injuries to the lower leg are often caused by player collisions, slips, falls and joint overuse. Here’s what you can do to help avoid hurting your leg muscles, knees, and ankles next time you boot up:

• Prep for your game by warming up, and cooling down after

• Learn correct technique for passing, kicking, and heading the ball

• Wear the correct footwear and protective equipment. Always play in football shoes and shin guards.

Be mobile with chiropractic care from Sydney Spine & Sports Clinic

At Sydney Spine and Sports Clinic, we put you first. We believe in offering chiropractic solutions that enable you to make informed and educated choices about your health. We can help you find relief from injuries that have occurred during social sport. If you are suffering discomfort and would like to talk to us about how we can help you get mobile and active again – make an appointment with one of our chiropractors.