In this book, leading experts employ an evidence-based approach to provide clear practical guidance on the important question of when and how to facilitate return to play after some of the most common injuries encountered in football. Detailed attention is paid to biomechanics, the female athlete, risk factors, injury prevention, current strategies and criteria for safe return to play, and future developments. Specific topics discussed in depth include concussion, anterior cruciate ligament and other knee injuries, back pathology, rotator cuff tears, shoulder instability, hip arthroscopy, and foot and ankle injuries. The chapter authors include renowned clinicians and scientists from across the world who work in the field of orthopaedics and sports medicine. Furthermore, experiences from team physicians involved in the Olympics, National Football League (NFL), Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), and Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) are shared with the reader. All who are involved in the care of injured footballers will find this book, published in cooperation with ESSKA, to be an invaluable, comprehensive, and up-to-date reference that casts light on a range of controversial issues.

Return to training (RTT) and return to play (RTP) decisions making process in football are currently based on expert's opinion. However, there are no consensus guidelines on evidence-based decision-making. This book provides a framework for evidence-based decision-making both in RTT and RTP following lower-limb muscle injuries sustained in football. Based on the “Italian Consensus Conference (2019) on return-to-play after lower limb muscle injury in football”, it provides a list of RTT and RTP criteria after such injuries compiled by orthopedic surgeons, sports physicians, radiologists, rehabilitation physicians, sport physiologists, general surgeons, family physicians, physiotherapists, physical trainers and psychologists working in elite football in Italy. The book identifies the main criteria for RTT and RTP following injuries involving the most important muscle groups, i.e. quadriceps, hamstring, hip adductor, hip external rotator, iliopsoas and soleus-gastrocnemius. As such it is a valuable reference resource for practitioners making RTT and RTP decisions making process.

This book is designed to equip the reader with the knowledge and tools required for provision of individualized ACL treatment based on the best available evidence. All major aspects of the assessment of rotatory knee instability are addressed in depth. A historical overview of arthrometers, both invasive and non-invasive, is provided, and newly developed devices for the measurement of rotatory knee laxity are considered. Recent advances with respect to the pivot shift test are explained and evidence offered to support a standardized pivot shift test and non-invasive quantification of the pivot shift. Specific surgical techniques for rotatory laxity are described, with presentation of the experience from several world-renowned centers. In addition, functional rehabilitation and “return to play” are discussed. In keeping with the emphasis on an individualized approach, the book highlights individualization of surgical reconstruction techniques in accordance with the specific injury pattern and grade of rotatory knee laxity as well as the use of individualized rehabilitation techniques. Numerous high-quality images illustrate key points and clear take-home messages are provided.

The word concussion was unheard of in youth sports a decade ago. The injury was indeed occurring, but youth athletes were often told to "shake it off" after "getting their bell rung". Science and increased awareness about concussion and brain health have transformed the way youth parents, coaches, and players pursue athletics. Fear of incurring concussions, as well as incomplete or incorrect information, is leading some parents to keep their children out of contact sports, such as football and soccer, where concussion is more prevalent. Back in the Game: Why Concussion Doesn't Have to End Your Athletic Career does not dwell on perpetuating fears but, rather, provides the most up-to-date understanding of the condition. This is a real-world discussion of what science and medicine know, what parents and coaches need to understand about concussion, evaluation and treatment, and what possible post-concussive issues exist. The expertise and experiences of noted sports neurologist Jeffrey S. Kutcher, MD, along with reporting and interviews by award-winning sports journalist Joanne C. Gerstner, make this book a timely, relevant, and real discussion about concussions in youth sports. Athletes and professional coaches who have participated in the formation of this book include two-time Olympic gold medalist soccer player Kate Markgraf, former NHL/Team Canada head coach Andy Murray, champion X-Games snowboarder Ellery Hollingsworth, along with an array of youth parents, coaches, and athletes from across the country.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The story of how the NFL, over a period of nearly two decades, denied and sought to cover up mounting evidence of the connection between football and brain damage “League of Denial may turn out to be the most influential sports-related book of our time.”—The Boston Globe “Professional football players do not sustain frequent repetitive blows to the brain on a regular basis.” So concluded the National Football League in a December 2005 scientific paper on concussions in America’s most popular sport. That judgment, implausible even to a casual fan, also contradicted the opinion of a growing cadre of neuroscientists who worked in vain to convince the NFL that it was facing a deadly new scourge: a chronic brain disease that was driving an alarming number of players—including some of the all-time greats—to madness. In League of Denial, award-winning ESPN investigative reporters Mark Fainaru-Wada and Steve Fainaru tell the story of a public health crisis that emerged from the playing fields of our twenty-first-century pastime. Everyone knows that football is violent and dangerous. But what the players who built the NFL into a $10 billion industry didn’t know—and what the league sought to shield from them—is that no amount of padding could protect the human brain from the force generated by modern football, that the very essence of the game could be exposing these players to brain damage. In a fast-paced narrative that moves between the NFL trenches, America’s research labs, and the boardrooms where the NFL went to war against science, League of Denial examines how the league used its power and resources to attack independent scientists and elevate its own flawed research—a campaign with echoes of Big Tobacco’s fight to deny the connection between smoking and lung cancer. It chronicles the tragic fates of players like Hall of Fame Pittsburgh Steelers center Mike Webster, who was so disturbed at the time of his death he fantasized about shooting NFL executives, and former San Diego Chargers great Junior Seau, whose diseased brain became the target of an unseemly scientific battle between researchers and the NFL. Based on exclusive interviews, previously undisclosed documents, and private emails, this is the story of what the NFL knew and when it knew it—questions at the heart of a crisis that threatens football, from the highest levels all the way down to Pop Warner.

In-season management of (American) football injuries presents a unique set of problems and considerations. Trying to safely return players to play is of great concern from Pop Warner up to the NFL, and managing injuries during the season with the plan of operative repair in the off-season is also a unique concern with these athletes. Management during the season to allow return to play, while minimizing the risks of further injury, is of utmost importance. This unique book will focus on the management of football injuries during the season and on the sidelines. It will focus on both operative and non-operative treatments that allow safe return to play, utilizing not only the latest scientific literature supporting in-season decisions, but also the experiences of the authors, who have spent many years treating these athletes. Divided into sections on orthopedic and medical considerations, the first part is organized anatomically to present the breadth of injury and treatment strategies available, from injuries to the shoulder and elbow, to ACL/MCL/PCL tears and sprains, to tendinopathies and sports hernia, among many other conditions. The second section covers diverse medical topics germane to football, including heat and cardiac issues, traumatic brain injury, mental health and infectious disease considerations, pain management, and the expanding role of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) in non-operative treatment. Presenting the most recent clinical evidence alongside time-tested management techniques, Football Injuries will be a valuable addition to the practices of orthopedic surgeons, sports medicine specialists, sideline medics and athletic trainers, and primary care physicians treating these athletes.

The future of soccer conditioning has arrived. With content ranging from how to properly develop speed, strength, power, and agility in players at all levels to unique position-specific training guidelines and detailed return-to-play protocols, Complete Conditioning for Soccer is a real game changer. Training protocols and progressions, complete with schematics of on-field conditioning drills, guide conditioning for players from youth to professional levels. Field players of every position will increase strength to dribble through traffic. Forwards will pack more power into shots on goal. Central midfielders will improve quickness and agility to find open passing lanes and evade opponents. Goalkeepers will develop the explosiveness to cover the width of the goal to make that save. Emphasizing player movement and conditioning needs for the long term, you will learn the positional and seasonal demands that directly impact player development and performance and discover the significant differences between playing styles, positions, levels of play, and genders. To keep players game-ready, you’ll find detailed information on avoiding some of the most common soccer injuries as well as step-by-step, position-specific training protocols for players returning from injury. Written by Ryan Alexander, the director of sports science for Atlanta United Football Club (MLS), Complete Conditioning for Soccer takes the process of physical preparation for soccer to a whole new level.