Soccer, FIFA World Cup 2018 and Chiropractic

It is estimated that approximately 4% of the world’s population play soccer.  In 2006 FIFA conducted a survey called the Big Count and it was found that over 264.5 million people played soccer.  There were found to be 113,000 professional soccer players at that time. As it is now 2018, we can only imagine how these numbers have increased!

We are now into the semi-finals of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, the premier professional soccer event in the world that is held every 4 years. 

When I started writing this post we were only into the second matches of the group stages!  Time has flown by.
I didn’t grow up with cable or satellite so the world of professional soccer remained hidden to me until I was finally finished school and had access to cable television and a little more time on my hands. 

I started enjoying the World Cup in 2002. I figured if our Canadian team would not make it through to the group stages, then England was a good bet for me to follow and some Great British heritage on my side didn’t hurt my decision making at all either!  This forced me (by choice) to learn all the words to “God Save the Queen” so I could belt out the song in support of my team with the masses in the stadium (to the chagrin of my poor husband).  I also started to watch some English Premier League play around this time and follow Manchester United, Chelsea and occasionally Liverpool.

Now this world cup is particularly exciting as England is now on to the semi-finals!    This World Cup has certainly seen its share of upsets as well as some surprises, but that is what competition is all about.

In viewing this world cup, the FIFA website and doing a little bit of my own research, I discovered that in the fall of 2016 FIFA started to offer the FIFA Medicine Diploma.  There are 42 modules with multiple lessons to each module (for example the hip has 15 lessons to complete for that one module).

Over 25000 individuals have signed up for the program to date, but about 1200 have completed it. I am  registered and now working towards my diploma. From beginning my first module, it seems to me that this Diploma is best suited toward health care professionals and it will help me gain extensive insight into soccer related injuries and how best to manage and prevent them.  This information is invaluable in terms of clinical practice!  Well done FIFA! I look forward to keeping everyone updated on my progress with the FIFA Medicine Diploma.

Chiropractors are now playing a crucial role as part of the core medical team for many soccer teams both at the league level and at the national level.  It is becoming more common for a team to have a team chiropractor who travels with them during the season.  The financial loss from an injury that was preventable can be considerable to a soccer player and to the team.   Take Dr. Jesse Saenz, who is the team chiropractor of Republic FC and works full time during the off season with Hull City AFC in the English Premier League.

Now, you don’t have to be a world class soccer player to benefit from chiropractic care. You could be on a recreational team or play competitively.
 
The most common injuries seen with soccer player are lower extremity injuries, such as ankle sprains, internal knee derangements, muscle strains to the hamstrings, quadriceps, adductors, and calves, hip injuries and concussions. These are just to name a few. Sports injuries are inevitable with frequent training and the extensive and vigorous nature of the sport.

At Kingston West Family Chiropractic we can help put together an off season and on season strength and neuromuscular training program to help reduce the risk of potential injury. Our team works together post injury to help to return you to play safely and as soon as possible. 

I (Dr. Adrina Patterson) am a Shift Concussion Management provider and a member of Kingston Concussion Alliance and we offer rehabilitation not limited to chiropractic, but including registered kinesiology, registered massage therapy, contemporary medical acupuncture, concussion management and low level laser therapy to help with soccer-related and other sports injuries. 

Let's all continue to enjoy the exciting outcome that will conclude this weekend for this 2018 FIFA World Cup (Go England!) and for those who love to play the sport as much as they enjoy watching it, consider making chiropractic part of your choice for healthy, long-term play!
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