Last updated: October 2026
With at least 90 minutes of playing time during a football match, it’s not surprising that footballers are prone to injuries. A team can see several of its players get a mild injury in any one match.
During a game, football players are doing a lot of fast and varied movements such as:
Running to get the ball
Quickly stopping and starting when running
Changing direction when running
Kicking the football
Diving for the football
Jumping up to get the football
Stretching for the ball
Tackling their opponents
These movements can cause a number of different injuries and pains in the body. Common football related injuries are often related to the legs, as it is a sport that includes a lot of running and varied movements. There is a lot of pressure put on the knees, particularly when stopping and starting and changing direction quickly during a match. Your feet are a common location to sustain pain and injury. A footballer may get pains or injuries such as sprains and strains in their feet from running and kicking the ball.
Common football injuries
Football puts a lot of strain on the lower body, and even professional squads lose players to injury every season. These are some of the injuries we see most often in footballers:
Knee injuries: ligament sprains and cartilage problems, often from twisting, tackling or landing awkwardly.
Groin strains: overloading the adductor muscles with repeated kicking, sprinting and changes of direction.
Hamstring strains: one of the most common injuries in football, usually when sprinting or overstretching for the ball.
Ankle sprains: from tackles, uneven pitches or landing awkwardly.
Shoulder injuries: including dislocations from falls and challenges, especially for goalkeepers.
Sports Massage for Footballers
Whether you play football regularly or occasionally, sports massage can help in several ways. If you have an injury, sports massage uses deep tissue massage techniques to apply pressure on tight/sore areas to release built up tension and break down scar tissue. By focusing on areas of tightness, a sports massage will loosen the muscle tissues and kickstart the circulation of blood and oxygen to the affected muscles in order to help you recover and recuperate faster.
Another reason to have a sports massage is for preventative reasons. As we know that sports injuries can occur in football, having preventative sports massages will help to reduce the risk of injuries. This is because Sports massage releases and reduces tension build up in muscles, improves circulation and speeds up the process of waste products such as lactic acid being expelled out of the muscles after a long period of muscle usage each week, allowing muscles to absorb fresh nutrients in the body and repair themselves. This is an essential part of a healthy recovery for athletes and can help to relax the body. Collectively, these benefits promote recovery and reduces the chance of injury occurring, ensuring maintenance of supple healthy muscles. As well as sport massage, stretching and physiotherapy are also other options that can help footballers prevent injury.
At Q Sports Physio, our sport massage therapists can help ensure you stay match ready with the use of preventative deep tissue treatments and techniques which can also compliment rehabilitation programmes for any present injuries. Our mission is to help you overcome any current injuries and prevent any future injuries occurring.