FOOSH Injuries in Soccer: Shoulder Training for Goalkeepers
This one’s for goalkeepers, and honestly, for anyone who’s ever caught themselves falling on an outstretched arm.
What Is a FOOSH Injury?
FOOSH stands for “falling on an outstretched hand.” It’s not a diagnosis. It’s a mechanism, the way an injury happened, and it’s one of the most common causes of hand, wrist, elbow, shoulder, and collarbone injuries in sports. For goalkeepers, it happens every time you dive, catch, and hit the ground on a braced arm.
FOOSH injuries range from minor to serious, and can include:
- Strains and sprains
- Fractures
- Dislocations
- Rotator cuff tears
Why Goalkeepers Take the Hit
Every time you catch your body weight against gravity, a chain of shoulder muscles fires to absorb that impact. If those muscles aren’t trained to handle load, the joint takes the force instead. That’s how a routine save turns into a shoulder injury.
The fix isn’t avoiding the dive. It’s training the muscles that catch you so they can actually do the job.
Shoulder Training by Recovery Stage
If you’re already dealing with a shoulder injury, these are the same categories of exercises your physical therapist will likely walk you through.
Early Stage: Recovery
- Table plank with shoulder taps
- Table weight shifts
- Quadruped weight shifts
- Table plank windmill
- Reach-unders
- Lateral shoulder planks on the table
- Bear holds
- TRX rows
- Forearm planks
- Half side planks
- Arm bars
- Serratus press with reach
Middle Stage: Strengthening
- High-to-low plank transitions
- Side sit to bear
- Bear crawls
- TRX windmills
- Full side planks
- Straight leg raise
- Supine med ball chest pass
- Bench press with a drop catch
- Push-up eccentrics on a barbell or the floor
- Wall catches
- Push-up half drop and catch
Late Stage: Performance
- Kneeling catches, double-arm or single-arm
- Med ball wall ball with speed and force
- Rotational ball shot put
- Seated med ball shot put
- High plank windmills
- High plank reach-unders
- Push-up jumps
- Burpees
- Barbell bench drop catches
- Lateral dive catches
Train the Muscles That Catch You
A safe landing zone and a stronger shoulder are both things you control. Build the strength now, and you cut your risk of a FOOSH injury sidelining your season.
If you’re a goalkeeper working through shoulder pain, or you want to get ahead of it before it happens, Rehab 2 Perform can build you a plan specific to your position and your sport. Find a location near you or schedule a visit to get started.
FAQs about FOOSH Injuries
FOOSH stands for falling on an outstretched hand. It describes how an injury happened, not the injury itself, and commonly leads to hand, wrist, elbow, shoulder, or collarbone injuries. Rehab 2 Perform treats FOOSH injuries at every stage, from the first visit through return to sport.
Goalkeepers repeatedly catch their body weight on an outstretched arm while diving and catching. Without the right shoulder strength to absorb that impact, the joint and surrounding muscles take on excess stress. Rehab 2 Perform builds sports rehab plans around the specific demands of your position, not a generic shoulder protocol.
Yes. A physical therapist can assess your current shoulder strength and stability, then build a progressive training plan that targets the muscles used to absorb impact from falls and dives. Rehab 2 Perform offers this kind of injury prevention screening across our Maryland and Virginia locations.
Rehab 2 Perform has 15 locations across Maryland and Virginia, with more opening this year. Schedule a visit online or call your nearest facility to start with a physical therapist who treats sports injuries like FOOSH.
About Rehab 2 Perform
Rehab 2 Perform is a cutting-edge health and wellness company changing expectations of the healthcare experience. With 15+ locations across the DC, Maryland, and Virginia region, R2P delivers a gym-based, movement-driven approach to rehabilitation and performance. The company’s team of physical therapists is dedicated to helping individuals of all ages and abilities move, feel, and perform better for life. Schedule Now
We accept all major insurances, including Tricare, VA Community Care, the Johns Hopkins Healthcare Network, and Kaiser Permanente.