Challenging injuries and chronic pain in professional footballers - is there a way out?

 As I was preparing for my talk for the AFC Medical Conference, I had the opportunity to get the help of a fellow researcher and statistician from Aspetar to evaluate the data of my shockwave work in footballers. We realised that some footballers do suffer from nagging injuries which lingered on after months. Some of them continue to play but some may seek regular recovery work or rehabilitation with their medical team. Being inside and outside of the dressing room where the players prepare, it is clear that at times they would prefer to have these problems sorted out. 

From 2015-2024, we noted that such footballers were referred with the following injuries for focal shockwave therapy. These injuries include Achilles tendinopathy, ankle impingement, knee focal cartilage defect, plantar fasciopathy, patella tendinopathy and foot fracture / stress injury. Details of the findings will be available in the lecture "Pursuit for return to play with focal shockwave in challenging football injuries" on 23rd July 2025.  

Starting Heart Screening as early as 12 years in football

 FIFA recommends youth football players to be screened for risks of developing "Sudden Cardiac Death" from as early as 12 years old. This is vital if the player has a history of heart symptoms like chest pain, palpitation, collapse or unexplained fainting, breathlessness and / or family history of  sudden cardiac death, collapse or unexplained seizure or fainting, or inherited heart disease. If you or your child or player is participating in competitive football, it is vital for him / her to undergo cardiac screening before participating in football. Please check with the local club / football association / hospital.   

See the following recommendations for cardiac screening with your medical practitioner / cardiologist including taking personal and family history, general physical examination (rule out Marfan's syndrome), resting Blood pressure, auscultation of the heart for abnormal murmurs. 

It is vital for all training or competition grounds to have an Emergency Action Plan involving trained medical staff or volunteers with ready access of an Automated External Defibrillators (AED). This will make a huge difference in terms of survival if a player collapses during training or match on the pitch due to sudden cardiac arrest. You may speak to your football association, host or competition organiser to ensure this. 

Read more about it here. *The author believes it is the concerted effort and responsibility of every parent, player, coach, official, medical staff, organising committee to ensure player preparticipation evaluation, training for medical staff and volunteers, and a working accessible AED during training / competition*  

Shoulder myofascial pain syndrome

Ever though that computer bag is just too heavy? You might just be right. 

Had a chap walk in to relieve his misery which had been troubling him for a few days. We looked at his posture and he had a lower affected painful shoulder with an elevated other shoulder. The movements of both shoulders were not well coordinated. 

He felt some pain doing shoulder shrugs and retraction. He had pain on palpation of his trapezius and levator scapula. He was started on physiotherapy and underwent focal shockwave with joint mobilisation. 

He was given the advice to carry his bag on both shoulders, resume rhomboid and trapezius strengthening along with regular stretching exercises. Will see him again soon to review his progress. 

Plantar fasciitis in 2025

Patients (even athletes) often come with heel pain (see photo), getting out of bed just as they start walking or after getting up from prolonged sitting. Walking barefoot makes things worse and going into a pair of comfortable shoes 👟 with a heel cushion or heel lift helps. I've had this on several occasions myself, but got better after doing frequent calf raises.

 

Sports medicine physicians have started to diagnose this both with physical examination and imaging (X-ray and Ultrasound scan) for better clarity. 

Clinically, the patient may have palpation pain at the bottom of the heel (inner part more common), and occasionally also at the back of the heel (Achilles tendon). The doctor would often examine the whole plantar fascia and calf for other signs of stiffness and pain. 

A quick prescription of silicone heel cup and taping by your physiotherapist would work wonders along with calf stretching and strengthening exercises. If pain persists, you could see your doctor who could prescribe further exercises, shockwave therapy or a local Platelet rich plasma or corticosteroid injection. You may seek further evaluation with your foot and ankle surgeon if 6-12 weeks of supervised physiotherapy does not resolve the pain. 

Welcome home to Selangor FC - RGMC!

 A big welcome back to all readers of 'old-school' blogging! I've reclaimed this blog after more than a decade and decided to provide some lasting input on sports and musculoskeletal injuries.  

From my 13 year journey to the west (Doha, Qatar), I've decided to return home. You will see more about professional football, runners, swimmers, cyclists, musculoskeletal pain syndrome, and my favourite topic, shockwave therapy. Many thanks to Aspetar Hospital, National Sports Institute, National Sports Council, MASM, ISMST, AMSSM, and AFC for providing a platform of development for me. 

A big thank you for the management of Selangor Football Club for providing this avenue to continue to allow me to serve the footballers and members of the public. 

I am now available at RGMC in Section 5, Shah Alam, Selangor. Call us at 016-6251936 for appointments. The set up here has access for diagnostic, focal shockwave, injections, dietician, physiotherapy, strength and conditioning, etc. 
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