Five stretches for footballers after match day

Whether you play Sunday league, five-a-side midweek or both, football asks a lot of the same muscles every week: hamstrings for sprinting, quads for kicking, groins and hips for turning, and calves for everything. After match day those are the areas that tighten up.

Here are five simple stretches to do the evening after a game or the next morning. Hold each one for around 30 seconds, breathe slowly, and do both sides. A stretch should feel like a strong pull, never a sharp pain.

1. Hamstrings: lying leg raise

Lie on your back with one leg straight on the floor. Loop a towel or a belt around the foot of the other leg and gently raise it, keeping the knee as straight as is comfortable, until you feel the stretch down the back of the thigh. Keep your back flat on the floor.

2. Quads: standing quad stretch

Stand tall, holding a wall or chair for balance. Bend one knee and hold your ankle behind you, bringing your heel towards your bottom. Keep your knees together and push your hips forward slightly to feel it at the front of the thigh.

3. Groin: butterfly stretch

Sit on the floor with the soles of your feet together and your knees falling out to the sides. Hold your ankles, sit up tall and let your knees sink towards the floor. Do not bounce. For a little more, lean forward from the hips with a straight back.

4. Hips: kneeling hip flexor stretch

Kneel on one knee with the other foot flat on the floor in front of you. Tuck your pelvis under slightly and shift your weight forward until you feel the stretch at the front of the hip on the kneeling side. This one matters for anyone who sits down a lot during the week, too.

5. Calves: wall calf stretch

Stand facing a wall with your hands on it. Step one foot back, keeping the heel down and the leg straight, and lean towards the wall until you feel it in the calf. Then bend the back knee slightly to move the stretch lower, towards the Achilles.

When stretching is not enough

Stretching helps, but if the same hamstring tightens every week, or your groin feels tight before you even start warming up, it is worth having it looked at. A sports massage two or three days after a match helps ease the tightness that stretching does not reach, and gives you a chance to talk about what keeps flaring up.

If you have pulled something during a game (a sudden sharp pain, bruising or swelling), rest it and see your GP or a physio first. Massage comes later, once it has started to heal.

Make it a habit

Ten minutes of these stretches after every game, and a few times through the week, adds up. Every treatment comes with stretches chosen for your position, your problem areas and how often you play.