The Importance of Being Patient
Soccer News: A dynamic expert in injury prevention, rehabilitation, sports medicine and athletic conditioning, Gallucci is the Medical Coordinator for Major League Soccer (MLS), overseeing the medical care of 600 professional soccer players. Gallucci is the former Head Trainer of the New York Red Bulls MLS team and is a Sports Medicine consultant for professional athletes in the NHL, NFL, NBA, MLB, and USA Wrestling. Gallucci, Jr. is also President of JAG Physical Therapy & JAG Pediatric Therapy.
John Gallucci Jr., MLS Medical Coordinator and medical analyst for coverage of the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015 on FOX Sports on why you should be patient with simple ankle sprains.
There are few points to consider why it is so important to have youth coaches and parents be patient with “simple ankle sprains.”
1. No matter how “simple” the sprain, there is always some microscopic tearing of the collagen fibers of the ligaments.
2. Once the ankle is compromised by a sprain, reoccurrence is common and can lead to chronic ankle instability. Up to 70% in one study.
3. An exact timeline of ligament healing cannot be provided based on the articles reviewed; however, researchers reported that improvements in mechanical stability were not seen until at least 6 weeks to 3 months.
Take professional athlete’s as an example:
On October 17, 2014 Alex Morgan suffered a left ankle sprain against Guatemala in the USA’s CONCACAF match. Morgan underwent an MRI that confirmed the sprain, but revealed no additional damage. Morgan was out for about 7 weeks to rehabilitate the injury, returning in December 2014. Morgan vowed to be more cautious with this injury. She injured the same left ankle in October 2013, and tried to return too soon, leading the sprain to turn into a stress reaction that kept her sidelined for nearly seven months.
Why would we expect our children to bounce back within days, a week or even hours after an ankle injury? It is vital to be patient and give the time it takes to heal an injury so that a “simple” injury does not turn into a “serious” injury that could cause your player to be out an entire season or year.
RELATED ARTICLES: John Gallucci Jr. On What Coaches Need To Know, John Gallucci, Jr. On Injury Prevention
