Musculoskeletal Key

Considerations in the Diagnosis of Injury When making a diagnosis, the first step is to differentiate between different categories of injury—particularly between indirect and direct muscle injuries, and between functional…

Knee Anatomy The knee joint is the largest synovial joint in the body, primarily allowing flexion and extension, but also some degree of internal and external rotation in the flexed…

Epidemiology of Muscle Injuries A muscle injury is defined as a “traumatic distraction or overuse injury to the muscle leading to a player being unable to participate fully in training…

Groin Anatomy The two hip bones—the os coxae—are connected to the spine at the sacroiliac joints and to the lower extremities at the hip joints. Anteriorly, the hip bones join…

Ankle Anatomy The ankle joint (talocrural joint) is a synovial hinge joint that connects the distal tibia and fibula with the proximal talus, allowing mainly flexion and extension motion, but…

The Value of Statistics to the Team and the Team Doctor Injuries and players’ fitness are one of the most important areas in football—a sport where analysis of evidence-based statistics…

Etiology and Pathogenesis Overuse injuries in football are defined as having an insidious onset of symptoms, without any (macro)trauma. 5 A typical example of the early stages of musculoskeletal overuse…

Rules and Regulations The rules cited in the following sections are direct quotations from the 2014–2015 edition of the Laws of the Game. 2.2.1 Law 1—The Field of Play Field Surface…