scholarly journals Injury incidence and burden in a youth elite football academy: a four-season prospective study of 551 players aged from under 9 to under 19 years

2020 ◽  
pp. bjsports-2020-102859
Author(s):  
Olivier Materne ◽  
Karim Chamari ◽  
Abdulaziz Farooq ◽  
Adam Weir ◽  
Per Hölmich ◽  
...  

ObjectiveInvestigate the incidence and burden of injuries by age group in youth football (soccer) academy players during four consecutive seasons.MethodsAll injuries that caused time-loss or required medical attention (as per consensus definitions) were prospectively recorded in 551 youth football players from under 9 years to under 19 years. Injury incidence (II) and burden (IB) were calculated as number of injuries per squad season (s-s), as well as for type, location and age groups.ResultsA total of 2204 injuries were recorded. 40% (n=882) required medical attention and 60% (n=1322) caused time-loss. The total time-loss was 25 034 days. A squad of 25 players sustained an average of 30 time-loss injuries (TLI) per s-s with an IB of 574 days lost per s-s. Compared with the other age groups, U-16 players had the highest TLI incidence per s-s (95% CI lower-upper): II= 59 (52 to 67); IB=992 days; (963 to 1022) and U-18 players had the greatest burden per s-s: II= 42.1 (36.1 to 49.1); IB= 1408 days (1373 to 1444). Across the cohort of players, contusions (II=7.7/s-s), sprains (II=4.9/s-s) and growth-related injuries (II=4.3/s-s) were the most common TLI. Meniscus/cartilage injuries had the greatest injury severity (95% CI lower-upper): II= 0.4 (0.3 to 0.7), IB= 73 days (22 to 181). The burden (95% CI lower-upper) of physeal fractures (II= 0.8; 0.6 to 1.2; IB= 58 days; 33 to 78) was double than non-physeal fractures.SummaryAt this youth football academy, each squad of 25 players averaged 30 injuries per season which resulted in 574 days lost. The highest incidence of TLI occurred in under-16 players, while the highest IB occurred in under-18 players.

2020 ◽  
pp. bjsports-2020-103430
Author(s):  
Eirik Halvorsen Wik ◽  
Lorenzo Lolli ◽  
Karim Chamari ◽  
Olivier Materne ◽  
Valter Di Salvo ◽  
...  

ObjectivesTo describe age group patterns for injury incidence, severity and burden in elite male youth football.MethodsProspective cohort study capturing data on individual exposure and time-loss injuries from training and matches over four seasons (2016/2017 through 2019/2020) at a national football academy (U13–U18; age range: 11–18 years). Injury incidence was calculated as the number of injuries per 1000 hours, injury severity as the median number of days lost and injury burden as the number of days lost per 1000 hours.ResultsWe included 301 players (591 player-seasons) and recorded 1111 time-loss injuries. Overall incidence was 12.0 per 1000 hours (95% CI 11.3 to 12.7) and burden was 255 days lost per 1000 hours (252 to 259). The mean incidence for overall injuries was higher in the older age groups (7.8 to 18.6 injuries per 1000 hours), while the greatest burden was observed in the U16 age group (425 days; 415 to 435). In older age groups, incidence and burden were higher for muscle injuries and lower for physis injuries. Incidence of joint sprains and bone stress injuries was greatest for players in the U16, U17 and U18 age groups, with the largest burden observed for U16 players. No clear age group trend was observed for fractures.ConclusionInjury patterns differed with age; tailoring prevention programmes may be possible.


2017 ◽  
Vol 52 (10) ◽  
pp. 955-965 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary Y. Kerr ◽  
Susan W. Yeargin ◽  
Aristarque Djoko ◽  
Sara L. Dalton ◽  
Melissa M. Baker ◽  
...  

Context: Whereas researchers have provided estimates for the number of head impacts sustained within a youth football season, less is known about the number of plays across which such impact exposure occurs.Objective: To estimate the number of plays in which youth football players participated during the 2013 season and to estimate injury incidence through play-based injury rates.Design: Descriptive epidemiology study.Setting: Youth football.Patients or Other Participants: Youth football players (N = 2098; age range, 5−15 years) from 105 teams in 12 recreational leagues across 6 states.Main Outcome Measure(s): We calculated the average number of athlete-plays per season and per game using independent-samples t tests to compare age groups (5–10 years old versus 11–15 years old) and squad sizes (<20 versus ≥20 players); game injury rates per 1000 athlete-exposures (AEs) and per 10 000 athlete-plays; and injury rate ratios (IRRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to compare age groups.Results: On average, youth football players participated in 333.9 ± 178.5 plays per season and 43.9 ± 24.0 plays per game. Age groups (5- to 10-year-olds versus 11- to 15-year-olds) did not differ in the average number of plays per season (335.8 versus 332.3, respectively; t2086.4 = 0.45, P = .65) or per game (44.1 versus 43.7, respectively; t2092.3 = 0.38, P = .71). However, players from smaller teams participated in more plays per season (373.7 versus 308.0; t1611.4 = 8.15, P < .001) and per game (47.7 versus 41.4; t1523.5 = 5.67, P < .001). Older players had a greater game injury rate than younger players when injury rates were calculated per 1000 AEs (23.03 versus 17.86/1000 AEs; IRR = 1.29; 95% CI = 1.04, 1.60) or per 10 000 athlete-plays (5.30 versus 4.18/10 000 athlete-plays; IRR = 1.27; 95% CI = 1.02, 1.57).Conclusions: A larger squad size was associated with a lower average number of plays per season and per game. Increasing youth football squad sizes may help reduce head-impact exposure for individual players. The AE-based injury rates yielded effect estimates similar to those of play-based injury rates.


2021 ◽  
pp. bjsports-2020-103159
Author(s):  
Jan Ekstrand ◽  
Armin Spreco ◽  
Håkan Bengtsson ◽  
Roald Bahr

BackgroundThe UEFA Elite Club Injury Study is the largest and longest running injury surveillance programme in football.ObjectiveTo analyse the 18-season time trends in injury rates among male professional football players.Methods3302 players comprising 49 teams (19 countries) were followed from 2000–2001 through 2018–2019. Team medical staff recorded individual player exposure and time-loss injuries.ResultsA total of 11 820 time-loss injuries were recorded during 1 784 281 hours of exposure. Injury incidence fell gradually during the 18-year study period, 3% per season for both training injuries (95% CI 1% to 4% decrease, p=0.002) and match injuries (95% CI 2% to 3% decrease, p<0.001). Ligament injury incidence decreased 5% per season during training (95% CI 3% to 7% decrease, p<0.001) and 4% per season during match play (95% CI 3% to 6% decrease, p<0.001), while the rate of muscle injuries remained constant. The incidence of reinjuries decreased by 5% per season during both training (95% CI 2% to 8% decrease, p=0.001) and matches (95% CI 3% to 7% decrease, p<0.001). Squad availability increased by 0.7% per season for training sessions (95% CI 0.5% to 0.8% increase, p<0.001) and 0.2% per season for matches (95% CI 0.1% to 0.3% increase, p=0.001).ConclusionsOver 18 years: (1) injury incidence decreased in training and matches, (2) reinjury rates decreased, and (3) player availability for training and match play increased.


Author(s):  
Diogo Coutinho ◽  
Bruno Gonçalves ◽  
Sara Santos ◽  
Bruno Travassos ◽  
Hugo Folgado ◽  
...  

This study explored how the number of allowed ball touches per player possession affected the performance of different age groups (U9, U11, U13, U15, U17 and U19) during a Gk + 4vs4+Gk small-sided games. Each day, players randomly performed the following three conditions (for a total of 6 days): i) free-play (FP); ii) maximum of 2 touches (2 T); iii) 1 touch (1 T). Players’ positional data was used to compute time-motion and positional-related variables, while video analysis was used to capture technical performance. In general, no effects were identified in relation to the players distances (team centroid, opponents’ centroid, nearest teammate, and nearest opponent). There were small to moderate decreases in the longitudinal synchronization while playing with 1 T and 2 T in the U9 and U17, but a moderate increase in the U15. There was a general decrease in the distance covered and distance covered while running (small to moderate effects) when playing with limited touches in all age groups. Limiting the touches promoted small to moderate increases in the number of successful passes in the U9, U15, and U17 and a general increase in unsuccessful actions. Overall, playing with limited touches emphasized the passing skill while it also contributed to more unsuccessful actions and lower physical demands. As so, coaches may use the 2 T in young age groups (U9-U13) as they seem less able to successfully cope with 1 T, while using 1 T in older age groups due to their higher ability to interact with environmental information.


2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (12) ◽  
pp. 840 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel Nogueira ◽  
Rita Laiginhas ◽  
José Ramos ◽  
Ovídio Costa

Introduction: This study analyzed the incidence and characteristics of injuries sustained by amateur youth football players in Portugal during season 2015 - 2016.Material and Methods: This is an observational descriptive study. We analyzed Portuguese youth football players’ injuries over six months of a season. A total of 529 players were divided according to their age in two groups (Under-17 and Under-19). Data on injuries were collected.Results: Throughout all 62 062.0 hours of exposure recorded, 248 injuries were reported in 173 different players. The average incidence of injury was 3.87 (95% CI = 2.81; 4.94) per 1000 hours of football exposure. There was a significantly higher average incidence of injury during matches – 14.22 (95% CI = 10.35; 18.09) per 1000 hours of exposure – when compared to the average incidence of injury during training – 2.06 (95% CI = 1.22; 2.90) per 1000 hours of exposure. This significance was also observed when the comparison was made within each age group. A traumatic mechanism was involved in 76.6% of all the injuries, while overuse was reported in 12.9%. The most common type was the injury that affected muscles and tendons (52.8%). The body location most commonly affected by injuries was the thigh (24.6%).Discussion: Even though is essential a better characterization of Portuguese athletes of younger age groups such as those discussed in this study, the results of the studied population are in agreement with the existing literature. However, this study provides more information that may be important to better target the Portuguese athletes’ training for injury prevention.Conclusion: This study provides descriptive data on injuries developed in a subpopulation of Portuguese amateur youth football players that could represent a focus for future prevention.


2017 ◽  
Vol 52 (11) ◽  
pp. 730-734 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dušana Čierna ◽  
Merce Barrientos ◽  
Carlos Agrasar ◽  
Rafael Arriaza

BackgroundKarate is a popular combat semi-contact sport among juniors, but there are only few studies available on the epidemiology of injuries in karate junior athletes.AimThe aims of this study were to determine the incidence and pattern of injuries in top-level karate competition for athletes aged 16 to 20 years, and to compare injury rates between age groups (ie, under 18-year-old [U18] and under 21-year-old [U21]) and genders, following the introduction of new weight categories.MethodsA prospective injury surveillance was undertaken at four consecutive World Karate Championships (2009 to 2015), following the same protocols used in previous investigations.ResultsDuring the four championships, a total of 257 injuries were recorded, with an incidence of 41.4/1,000 athlete exposures (AEs, 95% CI 36.4 to 46.3). The injury rate was significantly lower for females with a rate ratio 0.63 (95% CI 0.48 to 0.82). Most of the injuries were minor ones: contusions (n=100), followed by abrasions (n=63) and epistaxis (n=62). Only 10% of the injuries were time-loss injuries (injury incidence rates 4.2/1,000 AEs; 95% CI 2.7 to 6.1). Face injuries represented 69.6% of the injuries, most of them were minor ones (light abrasions 24.5%, epistaxis 24.1%, contusion 16.7%). Change of rules (raising the number of weight categories from three to five) reduced injury incidence in the U21 category.ConclusionsThe total injury rate in junior competitions is lower compared with elite adult athletes and higher compared with younger elite athletes. Time-loss injuries are rare. The implementation of the new competition categories in U21 karate has been associated with a significant reduction in injury rate.


Author(s):  
Fabio R. Serpiello ◽  
Will G. Hopkins

Purpose: To assess the convergent validity of internal load measured with the CR100 scale in youth football players of 3 age groups. Methods: A total of 59 players, age 12–17 years, from the youth academy of a professional football club were involved in this study. Convergent validity was examined by calculating the correlation between session ratings of perceived exertion (sRPE) and Edwards load, a commonly used load index derived from the heart rate, with the data originating from 1 competitive season. The magnitude of the relationship between sRPE and Edwards load was obtained with weighted mean correlations and by assessing the effect of the change of the Edwards load on sRPE. Differences between the individuals’ intercepts and slopes were assessed by interpreting the SD representing the random effects (player identity and the interaction of player identity and scaled Edwards load). Probabilistic decisions about true (infinite sample) magnitudes accounting for sampling uncertainty were based on 1-sided hypothesis tests of substantial magnitudes, followed by reference Bayesian analysis. Results: Very high relationships exist between the sRPE and Edwards load across all age groups, with no meaningful differences in the magnitudes of the relationships between groups. Moderate to large differences between training sessions and games were found in the slopes of the relationships between the sRPE and Edwards load in all age groups. Finally, mostly small to moderate differences were observed between individuals for the intercepts and slopes of the relationships between the sRPE and Edwards load. Conclusion: Practitioners working in youth team sports can safely use the CR100 scale to track internal load.


2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (14) ◽  
pp. 1017-1023
Author(s):  
Taru Sokka ◽  
Matias Hilska ◽  
Tommi Vasankari ◽  
Mari Leppänen ◽  
Pekka Kannus ◽  
...  

AbstractThis prospective study evaluated the incidence and pattern of acute injuries in youth (9- to 14-year- old) football players. Ten football clubs [n=730 players (567 males, 163 females)] participated in the 20-week follow-up study (January–June 2015). Data was collected by sending a standardized weekly SMS to players’ parents/guardians with follow-up interviews for injured players. During the study period, 278 players (38%) sustained 410 acute injuries. The overall injury incidence for males and females was 6.47 (95% CI, 5.84–7.09) injuries per 1000 h of football exposure. Most injuries (40%) caused minimal absence from sports. Eighty-four percent of the injuries affected the lower extremities, with the ankle (30%), knee (17%), and thigh (16%) being the most commonly injured body sites. Females had significantly higher ankle injury rate (IRR) 1.85 (95% CI, 1.18–2.91, p=0.007) and non-contact ankle injury rate IRR 2.78 (95% CI, 1.91–4.02, p<0.001) than males. In conclusion, our results showed that the acute injury incidence among youth football is moderately high, and females are at higher risk for ankle injuries. Injury prevention programs aimed at preventing ankle injuries should be considered in the future.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 232596712110040
Author(s):  
Garrett S. Bullock ◽  
Tyler Ferguson ◽  
Jake Vaughan ◽  
Desiree Gillespie ◽  
Gary Collins ◽  
...  

Background: There is a paucity of current data describing injuries in professional basketball players. Utilizing publicly available injury data will allow for greater transparency for stakeholders to use the data as a shared resource to create future basketball injury prevention programs. Purpose: To describe injury and illness incidence, severity, and temporal trends in National Basketball Association (NBA) players. Among those who develop time-loss injury or illness, we estimated severity based on games missed because of injury or illness. Study Design: Descriptive epidemiology study. Methods: Publicly available NBA data were extracted through a reproducible computer-programmed process from the 2008 to 2019 seasons. Data were externally validated by 2 independent reviewers through other publicly available data sources. Injury and illness were calculated per 1000 athlete game-exposures (AGEs). Injury severity was calculated as games missed because of injury or illness. Injury and illness data were stratified by body part, position, severity (slight, minor, moderate, or severe), month, and year. Results: A total of 1369 players played a total of 302,018 player-games, with a total of 5375 injuries and illnesses. The overall injury and illness incidence was 17.80 per 1000 AGEs. The median injury severity was 3 games (interquartile range, 0-6 games) missed per injury. Overall, 33% of injuries were classified as slight; 26%, as minor; 26%, as moderate; and 15%, as severe. The ankle (2.57 injuries/1000 AGEs), knee (2.44 injuries/1000 AGEs), groin/hip/thigh (1.99 injuries/1000 AGEs), and illness (1.85 illnesses/1000 AGEs) had the greatest incidence of injury and illness. Neither injury or illness incidence nor severity was different among basketball playing positions. Injury incidence demonstrated increasing incremental trends with season progression. Injuries were similar throughout the 11-year reporting period, except for a substantial increase in the lockout-shortened 2012 season. Conclusion: The ankle and knee had the greatest injury incidence. Injury incidence was similar among basketball positions. Injury incidence increased throughout the season, demonstrating the potential relationship between player load and injury incidence.


Author(s):  
Nicholas Pereira ◽  
Theresa Burgess ◽  
Lieselotte Corton

Background: Field hockey is an Olympic sport played internationally and in which South Africa is a participating nation. It also has its own world cup. Few injury studies have been published on South African field hockey. Research efforts should increase within the sport to ensure safe participation and mitigate the inherent injury risks. Objectives: The objective of the study was to attend the male and female inter-provincial field hockey tournaments in South Africa and determine the incidence of injury and burden of acquired sport injuries (time-loss and medical attention). Methods: A quantitative, descriptive, longitudinal study, including 133 females and 139 males, was conducted. Participants completed baseline questionnaires prior to the tournament and post-match questionnaires detailing injuries during the tournament. Results: The recorded injuries were 77.9 (females) and 99.5 (males) per 1 000 player match hours. Medical attention was 51.9 (females) and 70.3 (males) injuries per 1 000 player match hours. The result for time-loss injuries was 4.3 (females) and 7.5 (males) injuries per 1 000 player match hours. Discussion: The study found high incidence rates of all injuries and medical attention injuries; however, the incidence of time-loss injuries was low in comparison to existing literature. Comparing current results to existing literature is challenging due to the heterogeneity of methodologies and injury definitions in field hockey research. Conclusion: This was the largest observational study in field hockey conducted in South Africa. The international sporting body should establish a consensus for future research and the South African Hockey Association explore long-term surveillance in South Africa to mimic similar national codes.


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