With the AFL grand final this week, it’s bound to be an epic game between Richmond and Adelaide at the MCG on Saturday! The players have been going hard all season, honing their skills and working on strategy and technique. They wouldn’t miss this game for anything – unless, of course, they’re injured and deemed unfit to play.

But just how common (and serious) are lower limb injuries in AFL?

Last week the final four teams in the preliminaries had a total of 19 players out with injury – 16 of which affect the lower limbs! That’s 84% and we’re just looking at the final four this year. It’s fair to say that in AFL, the lower limbs take on a LOT. From the running to the kicking to the tackling and everything in between, the amount of force that goes through the feet, legs, knees and hips is massive. Because this makes the risk of injury significant, we thought we’d talk about our top 5 lower limb AFL injuries.

Ankle Sprain

Ankle sprains occur after the ankle rolls in a damages the stabilising ligaments on one side of the ankle. You’ll feel pain at the ankle, swelling, potentially bruising and may not be able to bear weight on the affected ankle immediately. With the quick changes in direction and the amount of time spent on one foot during play, ankle sprains are unfortunately a relatively common injury. Despite this, it’s very important that proper care be taken with as if left unmanaged, ankle sprains can lead to long-term ankle instability.

Groin Strain

Groin strains occur when the muscles of the groin or thigh are suddenly or forcefully stretched and strained and can result in a tear or tears. The groin and inside of the thigh will be painful, there may be swelling and it may be difficult to raise your knee or bring your legs together. With the fast paced nature of AFL with lots of kicks and direction changes, groin strains are common and even were the third most common injury in AFL, though this has significantly decreased since the implementation of new management and prevention procedures.

Fractures & Stress Fractures

Standard fractures occur as a result of high impact to the bone, like a tackle, making them unpredictable in nature. Stress fractures result from repetitive stress to an area over time and appear like small hairline cracks through a bone. Stress fractures often result from faulty biomechanics of the feet and legs so can be prevented if high pressure areas, particularly through the long bones of the foot, are identified and addressed early. Both types of fractures can be very painful and need effective management to ensure they heal properly!

Hamstring Strain

Hamstring injuries occur when an excess force or pull through the hamstrings causes tears through the muscle fibres. In AFL, this is likely to happen during the fast runs, kicks and tackles. If you strain your hamstrings you’ll feel pain at the back of your leg and some swelling and bruising may also occur. The hamstrings have a significantly higher incidence over other muscular strains so it’s important to have a good warm up routine and work on your hamstring/gluteal muscle strength.

Knee (ACL) Injuries

If your Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) within the knee is damaged and torn, it can easily see you out for the rest of the season – if not your AFL career. Your ACL is the primary stabilising ligament within your knee and without it you’ll quickly begin to feel very unstable on your feet. Causes of ACL injury involve quick changes in direction as well as from impact such as in tackles and collisions that cause a twisting at the knee. Aside from the instability, you’ll also typically experience pain and swelling at the knee. If your ACL is damaged but not torn, it’s absolutely essential that you see your Podiatrist ASAP to stop it progressing to a tear or rupture which will then likely require surgery.

While the injuries mentioned have shown a higher incidence that others, there are still many other common injuries in AFL including straining the quads and calves, turf toe, achilles tendinopathy, shin splints and various upper body injuries, particularly at the shoulder (AC) joint.

In all sporting injuries, an important key to recovery is that treatment must be timely. The faster you get your injury seen to, the faster you’ll be out of pain and back to doing the things you love. We see patients daily who put off treatment for weeks and even months while they don’t take their injuries seriously. The reality is that they already could be completely recovered, but instead face additional months of rehab because their initial injury has progressed and degenerated in the time that they spent waiting and hoping that the injury would heal and resolve on its own.

Don’t let this be you! If you sustain an injury, come in and see our expert team here at Sole Motion Podiatry. Because you deserve the best in podiatric medicine and sports rehabilitation – and because ain’t nobody got time to be in pain!

Stay safe and we’re looking forward to the grand final!!