Foot bone contusion

 Getting a collision of the foot isn't a great thing to have. This chap limped in to see me with a slight swelling on his left foot. He thought it was fine as he was able to jog 6km in his sports shoes. However, he was concerned that he wasn't able to play football. His initial X-rays ruled out a fracture and the ultrasound scan ruled out tendon involvement. (One may resort to do an MRI if there is a high index of suspicion of a stress fracture especially if he has prodromal pain). We resorted to focal shockwave to sort out any bone oedema. He felt much better and was hopeful to play soon. Whatever it is, he would still need to have full pain-free function to execute all the football skills when he goes back to sports specific rehabilitation next week. 

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*