Football is the most popular organised sport in Australia. With such a high participation rate in both competitive and social situations, injuries acquired or worsened by playing soccer is not uncommon. 

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Soccer is ranked second to AFL for sports injury hospitalisation - with 8.2% of soccer players hospitalised during their injury (AIHW, 2014). 

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This doesn't have to be you!

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Sports Medicine Australia experts in conjunction with FIFA (the international governing body of soccer) have researched, developed and implemented an injury prevention program specifically for soccer players to reduce their risk of injury.

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EARLY PREVENTION IS KEY

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Proper warm up prior to exercise, and sports specific fitness is an essential part of injury prevention. Research has shown that the implementation of the FIFA 11+ warm-up program significantly reduces the ACL injury rates among soccer players. Teams that performed the FIFA 11+ at least twice a week had 30-50% fewer injured players. It is now recommended that all players perform the dynamic warm-up before any practices/competitions.

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• FIFA 11+  is a 20 minute program, designed to be performed twice a week.

• No equipment is needed.

• Head to the website https://www.fifamedicalnetwork.com/lessons/prevention-fifa-11/ to access this free online program.

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If you are interested in injury prevention or want to perform the exercises under the supervision of a trained Physiotherapist, please contact us at Your Health Domain. We will be happy to set up a session to teach you first hand the proper way to perform the FIFA 11+ program.

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Sources: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2014). Australian sports injury hospitalisations 2011-12. Injury research and statistics series no. 92. Canberra: AIHW. https://www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/94693ac0-18dd-48f5-a75b-28a39692dfa8/18053-10mar2015.pdf.aspx

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