by It’s no surprise to anyone that American football is currently one of the most contact sports, which also makes it a magnet for injuries to players.
Last week, the sportsbooks made a change in the Seahawks odds, the reason for this being the retirement of the Seahawks player Chris Carlson due to a neck injury. This situation has led us to ask about the injuries that affect American football players the most.
Hamstring Muscle Tears
Given the heavy contact in the sport and the need to run constantly, the legs are one of the most affected areas when it comes to injuries in football.
The hamstring muscle runs from the bottom of the buttock and extends to the back of the knee. This muscle is often damaged by high kicks, sudden running, or poor stretching before starting practice or games.
A tear in the hamstring muscle produces sharp pain in the thigh with severe swelling, forcing the player to take time off to heal. Although it’s not a permanent injury, it tends to be very frequent.
Damage to the Ligaments of the Knee
The continuous falls, impacts, and jumps that are found in this sport make the knees one of the joints that receive more impact within the game. Consequently, a great deal of injuries involving physiotherapy are knee injuries.
Ligaments are parts of the human body that hold the bones in place so that joints don’t move randomly when the muscles act. Therefore, when ligaments are strained or torn, players end up bending the joint improperly and losing their balance.
This injury involves a great deal of pain and often leaves players retired for some time. In addition, the ligaments tend to require surgical solutions.
Concussions
Concussions are one of the most serious injuries in American football, and currently represent up to 7.4% of the total injuries in college football. This type of injury ends up seriously affecting players in the short and long run.
Most of these injuries occur when tackling, as a result of poor positioning during the tackle, or when the head forcefully hits the ground. The whiplash from these collisions can often be damaging. Concussions are one of the most serious injuries, producing headaches at the beginning and other problems in the long run, such as problems with judgment, concentration, and coordination.
