knee injuries : Goalkeeper vs. Other Positions

Discussion in 'Player' started by illdthedj, Mar 23, 2009.

  1. illdthedj

    illdthedj Member

    Jan 15, 2009
    Bay Area, Ca
    Club:
    AC Milan
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Hi! a random question:

    would you say Goalkeepers are as likely, less likely, or more likely to sustain knee injuries?

    i ask because of my injury history: i played soccer from 5 years old to 17, then quit until 26, and now play in local league. the same knee i injured both snowboarding and skateboarding in the past, i have injured twice in the league (im now going thru physical therapy and wont be playing for a few months)

    the league i play in is competitive, but not overly serious. for weekend warriors and older ex highschool and college players. So sticking with the same position isnt exactly necessary. I just want to play soccer!

    However, i think perhaps i would like to play a position that might be safer considering my knee's injury history. I was thinking perhaps playing Goalie would be benificial, since its much less fast sprinting, and then lots of direction changing while sprinting....its this multiple direction changing and in awkward positions from running around that cause you to twist allot in the knee during games....

    I plan to stick religiously to my physical therapy and really strengthen my legs with workouts and letting my knee completely heal before anything (i think i hurt it a second time because i played on it two weeks after spraining it, basically playing on it when it wasnt completely healed)

    but would anyone agree with me in my thinking that playing Goalie would result in less higher knee-injury risk manuevers?

    Or perhaps would you say playing defense is less risky injury wise than forward? Just curious....maybe someone has seen a percentage chart for injuries amongst different positions...

    also, ive always been interested in playing Goalie, just never had a chance to give it a go....
     
  2. safe hands 01

    safe hands 01 New Member

    Feb 15, 2005
    Salem, Oregon, USA
    Club:
    Aston Villa FC
    Nat'l Team:
    England
    http://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/developing/medical/news/newsid=77592.html

    Hope this helps. :)
     
  3. illdthedj

    illdthedj Member

    Jan 15, 2009
    Bay Area, Ca
    Club:
    AC Milan
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
  4. safe hands 01

    safe hands 01 New Member

    Feb 15, 2005
    Salem, Oregon, USA
    Club:
    Aston Villa FC
    Nat'l Team:
    England
    haha, well personally i have never had a knee injury in all my years playing in goal (touch wood). I have however had broken bones, nose, toes, but as your technique improves these wont become common, also, it does say that the more risk injuries i.e. kneew injuries increase as you go up the levels, i have never seen a low competative player have a knee injury, well except one where he dislocated his knee. Not good. But im sure you will be fine.
     
  5. illdthedj

    illdthedj Member

    Jan 15, 2009
    Bay Area, Ca
    Club:
    AC Milan
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    well, i guess ill give it a shot nonetheless! ive always had respect for goalies, time to finally respect myself lol

    onto another question....any recommendations for goalie gloves?
     
  6. cleansheetbsc

    cleansheetbsc Member+

    Mar 17, 2004
    Club:
    --other--
    The cheapest ones you can get. You are not that good.

    As for the knee. I play goal (wearing the cheapest gloves that I can find), and never had any knee/leg problems playing, other than run of the mill bruises. Tore my ACL in the field about a year ago on a non-contact injury. Just got back playing within the last few months.
     
  7. safe hands 01

    safe hands 01 New Member

    Feb 15, 2005
    Salem, Oregon, USA
    Club:
    Aston Villa FC
    Nat'l Team:
    England
    Why cant he buy decent gloves, or the ones the pros use, they give you protection and are fantastic quality, mine last me a good cuple of seasons.

    Mate buy what ever gloves you want! Sells are my personal favourite, especially the d30 contour range, great fit, great grip.

    Heres some websites,

    http://www.just-keepers.com/

    http://www.prodirectsoccer.com/keeper.asp

    enjoy :D
     
  8. illdthedj

    illdthedj Member

    Jan 15, 2009
    Bay Area, Ca
    Club:
    AC Milan
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    how do you know? maybe im the best goalie in the world and we just dont know yet! lol just kidding....

    yes im sure im not that good, being as though ive never played the position...but i was bringing up glove recommendations because, perhaps the non-cheapest ones have a bit of added protection? like, i have noticed some adidas ones have "finger-saves"....i do play with some ex-collegiate players, and i notice they can really crack the ball, so i was wondering if there were somewhat cheap gloves or not horribly expensive ones that had some protection (after all, i have to think of my future vocation as a hand model) ;p

    yes, i have strained/sprained my MCL out on the field as well, without contact....just planted my foot to take a shot, and just twisted the knee the right way to sprain it. my physical therapist says its probably from my previous skateboard/snowboard knee injuries that i was stupid about not going to have checked out by a doctor and certain muscles in my knee atrophied from not doing physical therapy, ones that prevent twisting.

    anywho thats good to hear you havnt had any non-contact knee injuries playing goalie....i am not afraid of bruises or player-contact injuries (im 6'3, 220 pounds, usually the biggest guy on the field) but im definitely afriad of twisting my knee again!
     
  9. illdthedj

    illdthedj Member

    Jan 15, 2009
    Bay Area, Ca
    Club:
    AC Milan
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    thats what i was thinking! i know im just playing a weekend rec league, but its a sport i love playing so might as well get something decent....protection is my first concern, but it wouldnt hurt to have a good fitting, good gripping, and well wearing glove, since i could be playing goalie for a years to come...

    anyway thanks for the info and links! ill check out those Sells d30 countours!
     
  10. cleansheetbsc

    cleansheetbsc Member+

    Mar 17, 2004
    Club:
    --other--
    I actually use a fairly inexpensive pair of Brine's. They cost around $30-$40. If I don't play indoor on turf, they will last 2 years playing 20-30 games a year.
     
  11. illdthedj

    illdthedj Member

    Jan 15, 2009
    Bay Area, Ca
    Club:
    AC Milan
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    hmm ill be playing on turf. are there some gloves meant for turf?
     
  12. cleansheetbsc

    cleansheetbsc Member+

    Mar 17, 2004
    Club:
    --other--
    No gloves are meant for turf. You will burn through them much quicker on field turf.
     
  13. safe hands 01

    safe hands 01 New Member

    Feb 15, 2005
    Salem, Oregon, USA
    Club:
    Aston Villa FC
    Nat'l Team:
    England

    If that is grass, then most gloves are design for use on grass, there are gloves designed to for indoor play and astroturf. However you are quite right that the gloves latex layer will wear away over time.
     
  14. illdthedj

    illdthedj Member

    Jan 15, 2009
    Bay Area, Ca
    Club:
    AC Milan
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    excuse my ignorance, but is there a difference between turf and astro-turf? is one different than the other? or is turf just short for astro turf?

    basically, i play outside on turf i guess, with those little rubber pellets. i have yet to play on any indoor turf, so im ignorant as to wether there is a difference between outdoor turf and indoor turf, turf and astro turf...

    and so....you say there are gloves designed for astroturf? care to educate me? :D

    sorry this whole turf stuff, as well as goal keeping, is completely new to me. i played age 5 to 18 always on grass, and as a left forward.
     
  15. safe hands 01

    safe hands 01 New Member

    Feb 15, 2005
    Salem, Oregon, USA
    Club:
    Aston Villa FC
    Nat'l Team:
    England
    No need to apologise mate :D

    Hum im not sure how it works in USA, but as far as i know in England,

    Astro turf is the turf that we play five a side on (in england anyway, im not sure what surfaces you play on in the usa) and a fair few schools in my area have this type for an all weather pitch as it were, its like playing on a carpet with some sand on, if you catch my drift.
    Gloves on this type of turf tend to get abrased alot and subsequesntly the latex and foam palm tends to wear faster. This is in most cases due to the nature of the turf you are playing on. An example of a glove like this would be http://www.just-keepers.com/1770984.html

    It also hurts if you go to ground, but i found that as you improve your technique of diving and collapsing saves, it doesnt hurt as much.

    Outdoors, is just grass over here. lol

    I think that the one with the black pellets on, i beleive is artificial turf (we have it here but i think we call it pro turf). We dont normally play on this type competatively, however i have played on that turf with my sixth form team in cups etc etc. It more or less used in 'better' schools as an all weather surface. I have found that the gloves you would wear on grass, do fairly well on this type of turf. Although again if you slide out it might scratch your legs abit and i found that the black pellets get in your boots alot. :mad:

    Indoor soccer here is like played in a sports halls at schools or gyms etc etc, very bad idea in my opinion, hurts like hell.

    I personally have two pairs for grass play, one used in matches and the other in training, and a pair for the astroturf, i.e. when we train indoors in winter, or just incase i wana mess about down local field.

    Hope this helps.
     
  16. cleansheetbsc

    cleansheetbsc Member+

    Mar 17, 2004
    Club:
    --other--
    modern day fields with sythetic surfaces are usually made with individual blades of 'grass' with the black rubber pellets underneath. The best know brand is field turf.

    Astroturf was the previous generation of artificial playing surfaces. It was essentially a carpet laid on top of concrete. It was called "astro" because the first place it was installed was in the stadium in Houtson called the Astrodome. It was nasty for all. I'm sure there are still places that play on that but it has basically been phased out.

    When we refer to turf, we are mainly talking about the field turf surface it sounds like you are playing on.

    Both surfaces are nasty on exposed skin, 'keeper gloves and the joints, but field turf is pure joy compared to the super-evil astroturf.
     

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