Knee injury

Knee injuries are common in football. Not only because it is a contact sport, but also because football demands fast movements from the players. Below, we list the most common football injuries of the knee and give advice on what is best to do with your knee injury.

We distinguish between acute and non-acute knee injuries. Acute injuries arise all at once during training or a match. There is then a clear moment of onset. If that is not the case, the injury may have developed over a longer period. We call this a non-acute knee injury.

Acute knee injuries

Acute knee injuries are particularly feared by footballers, as they can lead to a long period without being able to play. An acute knee injury often occurs without direct contact with an opponent. The knee is then twisted, for example when turning away from an opponent or during a landing where the knee gives way.

After an acute knee injury, continuing to play is often not possible. If there is immediate swelling in the knee, inability to bear weight, or a sensation of something snapping, the advice is to stop immediately.

Contusion
If your knee is struck by an opponent, a contusion almost always occurs to a greater or lesser extent. This is sometimes visible on the skin as a bruise. A contusion usually resolves on its own.

Cruciate ligament injury
The best-known acute knee injury in football is a tear of the anterior cruciate ligament. The anterior cruciate ligament is a ligament in the middle of the knee joint. Together with the posterior cruciate ligament, it provides stability in the knee. Tears of the anterior cruciate ligament are often operated on. Rehabilitation after an anterior cruciate ligament tear is long and takes between nine and twelve months. Rehabilitation from an anterior cruciate ligament tear without surgery also takes several months to a year. This depends greatly on many factors.

Meniscus injury
In the knee, the bones of the shinbone (tibia) and thighbone (femur) come together. Between the bones are two discs. The disc on the inside of your knee is the medial meniscus. The one on the outside is the lateral meniscus. With a meniscus injury, the medial and/or lateral meniscus is damaged. This can, among other things, cause knee pain during twisting movements.

Collateral ligament injury
On the inside and outside of the knee are the collateral ligaments. Like the cruciate ligaments, they provide stability to the knee. Pain on the inside of the knee may indicate an injury to the medial collateral ligament. Pain on the outside of the knee may come from the lateral collateral ligament.

Unhappy triad
In some cases, a combination of injuries to the anterior cruciate ligament, medial meniscus, and medial collateral ligament occurs. This is called the unhappy triad.

Non-acute knee injuries

Knee injuries in football can also occur without a clear moment of onset, as a result of overuse or inadequate recovery from a previous knee injury.

Pain around the kneecap
The patellofemoral pain syndrome is an example of a non-acute injury that causes complaints around or under the kneecap (patella). This injury is particularly common in younger footballers. The mobility of the kneecap plays an important role here. Children who are growing may experience discomfort because of this. The mobility of the kneecap is largely determined by the muscles attached to the kneecap. Due to growth and a lot of sport, an imbalance can arise in these muscles. The kneecap can then no longer move properly and that leads to pain.

Pain around the patellar tendon
Pain felt just below the kneecap near the patellar tendon can have several causes. With a jumper's knee, the patellar tendon is affected. If the pain is on the bump just below the patellar tendon, this may indicate Osgood-Schlatter. This is mainly seen during growth.

Meniscus complaints
Complaints of the medial and lateral meniscus can also develop gradually. Sometimes this is because the quality of the menisci declines as we age or because the knee is loaded incorrectly for a long time. In this case, we speak of degenerative meniscal lesions.

Treatment of knee injuries

The treatment of knee injuries depends on the type of injury. Other important aspects for treatment are the mechanism of injury and the location of the pain. A physiotherapist can help you with this. In many cases, it is necessary to follow an exercise programme after the injury. This will strengthen the knee and reduce the risk of being injured again.

Do the self-check

Do you have a knee injury? Then do the self-check and find out what might be causing your knee complaints.