Hand and Arm injuries in Football – The Goalkeeper’s Perspective

In their quest of protecting the goal, keepers sacrifice a full body to block the shots fired towards them. Keeping a clan sheet is their key for successful performance. Very often the fingers, wrists, forearms and shoulders are exposed to significant load from blocking, diving and landing which can lead to an injury. It is not much of a surprise that upper limb injuries are common in goalkeepers. Interestingly when we look at the statistics on average goalkeepers spend 75% time longer side-lined due to an upper body injury when compared to an outfield player. If you are playing sport, there is no such thing as eliminating injury risk, but a lot can be done to mitigate it.

Source: Premier Injuries (Premier League Data)

Finger Injuries

Many of us have experienced that before. A ball launched from a short distance hitting our fingers causing an excruciating pain… Well, for goalie’s finger injuries are very common and the development and constant improvements of gloves help to reduce this type of injury, however sometimes forces are simply too high for the materials to withstand, and injury can still occur. Finger injuries like sprains, strains, fractures or even dislocations can be caused by a contact with a ball, goal post, opponent or landing in an unfortunate position. Some more severe injuries may require specialist treatment or even a surgery, in most cases however the return to sport is quite quick.

Wrist and Elbow

Impact from a direct shot when the ball pushes your wrist up and towards your body is a commonly seen mechanism for a radius fracture (especially in adolescent goalkeepers). Landing on outstretched arm, landing on the elbow or a contact with the opponent may all cause injury to wrist and forearm causing contusions, or worse a fracture. Goalkeepers often need to throw themselves onto ground, exposing their full body to an intense body contact and timing that dive may make a difference between a non-significant bruise and a serious injury.

Shoulder

With repetitive landing on the shoulder or a severe fall directly onto the shoulder an injury to Acromioclavicular Joint (ACJ) may occur which is usually associated with inability to lift arm above head in initial stages post injury or severe pain while performing this action. Very often during a corner or a freekick whilst up in the air, the body contact with other players may affect the safety of that landing and increase the risk of injury. Rotator cuff injuries are also common and associated with repetitive throwing action but more common in older age groups. Shoulder dislocations may also occur, they are usually caused by a high energy trauma for example when diving for the ball with arm extended overhead, then coming into contact with an opponent and arm being forced back during collision.

I Just Picked Up an Injury – What do I do?

Please feel free to contact us with your injury queries, we’ll help with diagnosis and with getting you back training and playing as quickly and safely as possible. Recovery from an injury should not be a passive waiting process, finding a right exercise dose early in your recovery journey combined with guided progression strategies will help you return to function quicker. Use the recovery time as a window of opportunity to develop and grow stronger.