Injury Rate in Professional Soccer Players within the Community of Madrid: A Comparative, Epidemiological Cohort Study among the First, Second and Second B Divisions

Context: Injuries are a major adverse event in a soccer player's career. Reducing injury incidence requires a thorough knowledge of the epidemiology of soccer injuries. Objective: To investigate the incidence and characteristics of injuries in the Dutch premier soccer league. Design: Cohort study. Setting: The Dutch premier soccer league. Patients or Other Participants: During the 2009–2010 soccer season, a total of 217 professional soccer players from 8 teams were prospectively followed. Main Outcome Measure(s): The medical staff recorded time-loss injuries, including information on injuries (ie, type, body part, duration) and exposure data for training sessions and matches. Results: A total of 286 injuries were recorded, affecting 62.7% of the players. The overall injury incidence was 6.2 injuries per 1000 player-hours, 2.8 in training sessions and 32.8 in matches. Most of the recorded injuries were acute (68.5%). Eight percent of the injuries were classified as recurrent. Injuries were most likely to be located in the lower extremities (82.9%). Injury time loss ranged from 1 to 752 days, with a median of 8 days. Knee injuries had the greatest consequences in terms of days of absence from soccer play (on average, 45 days). The most common diagnosis was muscle/tendon injury of the lower extremities (32.9%). Conclusions: Injury risk in the Dutch premier soccer league is high, especially during matches. Preventive measures should focus on the most common diagnoses, namely, muscle/tendon injuries of the lower extremities.

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Pre-season Fitness Level and Injury Rate in Professional Soccer – A Prospective Study

Sports Medicine International Open ◽

10.1055/a-0631-9346 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 02 (03) ◽

pp. E84-E90 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Eyal Eliakim ◽

Ofer Doron ◽

Yoav Meckel ◽

Dan Nemet ◽

Alon Eliakim

Keyword(s):

Test Performance ◽

Vertical Jump ◽

Injury Rate ◽

Lower Limbs ◽

Soccer Players ◽

Training Period ◽

Vo2 Max ◽

Fitness Level ◽

Professional Soccer ◽

Competitive Season

AbstractThe aim of the present study was to assess prospectively the effect of pre-season fitness on injury rate during the competitive season among professional soccer players. Thirty-one players participated in the study during two consecutive competitive seasons (2015–16 and 2016–17; a squad of 22 players in each season). During the 6-week pre-season training period (8 training sessions and a friendly match every week, 14–18 training hours/week) there was a significant improvement in VO2 max, a significant increase in ideal and total sprint time and no change in vertical jump, flexibility and repeated sprint-test performance decrement. During the two consecutive seasons, 28 injuries were recorded. Ten injuries were classified as mild (missing 3–7 days of practice/match), 8 as moderate (missing 8–28 days) and 10 as severe (missing >28 days). The rate of match injuries was higher (9.4 per 1000 match hours) compared to practice injuries (4.7 per 1000 training hours). Most injuries were overuse injuries (72%) of the lower limbs (71%). Most of match injuries occurred during the last 15 min of each half. There were no differences in fitness characteristics in the beginning of pre-season training between injured and non-injured players. However, improvements in VO2 max during the pre-season training period were significantly lower among injured players (0.9±5.5%) compared to non-injured players (10.4±6.5%, p<0.05). Our results emphasize the importance of pre-season training in professional soccer players not only for improvement in fitness but also for injury prevention during the following competitive season.

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The Relationship Between Low Back Pain Incidence and Ultrasound Assessment of Trunk Muscles in Adult Soccer Players: A Cohort Study

Asian Journal of Sports Medicine ◽

10.5812/asjsm.102810 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Pardis Noormohammadpour ◽

Morteza Aghaei-Afshar ◽

Mohammad Ali Mansournia ◽

Babak Mirzashahi ◽

Maryam Akbari-Fakhrabadi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cohort Study ◽

Low Back Pain ◽

Back Pain ◽

Muscle Thickness ◽

Soccer Players ◽

Abdominal Muscles ◽

Low Back ◽

Short Term ◽

Professional Soccer ◽

Study Results

Background: Few studies have demonstrated the connection between trunk muscle thickness and low back pain (LBP) in athletes. Objectives: This study aimed to define whether the thickness of the lateral abdominal muscles (LAM) and lumbar multifidus (LM) are related to LBP incidence in elite male soccer players. Methods: In this short-term cohort study, 42 elite male soccer players from professional soccer teams were followed for a season. The muscle thickness of LAM and the cross-sectional area (CSA) of the LM were assessed. The relation between the incidence of LBP and the aforementioned factors was evaluated after the cohort study. Results: Thirty-seven participants completed the study, and seven participants (18.91%) experienced LBP during the follow-up period. No significant relationship was detected between LBP and the thickness of LAM and CSA of LM (P > 0.05). None of the other variables had any relationship with LBP incidence (P > 0.05). Conclusions: The LAM thickness and CSA of LM during a resting position and drawing-in maneuver was found not to be directly related to LBP incidence in elite male soccer players in the short term. Assessing these muscles’ conditions in more functional positions could be considered for further research.

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The Association of Visual Impairments of Elite Soccer Players with Concussion and Sports Injuries: A Prospective Cohort Study

Asian Journal of Sports Medicine ◽

10.5812/asjsm.107847 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol In Press (In Press) ◽

Author(s):

Bahar Hassanmirzaei ◽

Farinaz Fahimipour ◽

Zohreh Haratian ◽

Navid Moghadam

Keyword(s):

Visual Acuity ◽

Cohort Study ◽

Visual Field ◽

Sports Injuries ◽

Soccer Players ◽

Visual Field Defects ◽

P Value ◽

Professional Soccer ◽

Visual Skills ◽

Field Defects

Background: Visual skills play a pivotal role in athletic performance. However, in a professional setting, visual assessment is limited to a brief examination of visual acuity by the Snellen chart. This is while visual skills in sport comprise several other components. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the potential relationship between visual skills and sports injuries in professional soccer players. Methods: Through a prospective cohort study between September 2017 and October 2018, professional soccer league players were recruited for a complete eye examination including visual acuity, field of vision, and color discrimination as pre-competition examination. Any possible relationship between an abnormal eye finding and sports injury during the upcoming season was investigated. Results: A total of 386 male soccer players in 4 different playing positions were recruited from 16 league teams. Myopia, visual field defects, and green/blue/red color blindness were the most common visual impairments. Overall, there was no significant relationship between abnormal visual skills and the incidence of low back and upper extremity injuries among soccer players. However, a logistic regression model showed that the odds of quadriceps injury is 1.92 times higher (P-value: 0.005) for one diopter increase in both eyes' sum of refractive error. There is also an increased risk of concussion in players who have visual field defects (P-value < 0.005). Conclusions: Visual field defects can put soccer players at a higher risk for concussion. Moreover, uncorrected refractive eye errors will increase the incidence of lower limb injuries, mostly quadriceps injuries.

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Injury Profile of Elite Male Young Soccer Players in a Spanish Professional Soccer Club: A Prospective Study During 4 Consecutive Seasons

Journal of Sport Rehabilitation ◽

10.1123/jsr.2019-0113 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 29 (6) ◽

pp. 801-807 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Javier Raya-González ◽

Luis Suárez-Arrones ◽

Archit Navandar ◽

Carlos Balsalobre-Fernández ◽

Eduardo Sáez de Villarreal

Keyword(s):

Injury Severity ◽

Age Groups ◽

Injury Rate ◽

Soccer Players ◽

Injury Incidence ◽

Age Group ◽

Preventive Strategies ◽

Muscle Injuries ◽

Professional Soccer ◽

A Prospective Study

Context: As the number of injuries in young soccer players increases, an epidemiological study is the first step in improving preventive strategies. Objectives: To analyze the injury profile of a Spanish professional soccer club’s academy during 4 consecutive seasons and to examine the injury incidence across different chronological age groups. Design: Prospective cohort design. Setting: Aggregate injury and exposure data collected during 4 consecutive seasons. Participants: Three hundred nine elite male young soccer players. Main Outcomes Measures: Injuries that led to participation time missed from training and match play prospectively reported by medical or coaching staff of the club. Results: A total of 464 time-loss injuries were observed during this study period. The overall injury incidence was 2.93 injuries per 1000 hours, with higher incidence during matches than during training (10.16 vs 2.10 injuries/1000 h; rate ratio [RR] = 0.21; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.17–0.25; P < .05), with the U14 age group presenting the lowest injury rate (2.39 injuries/1000 h; RR = 1.15–1.57; P < .05). In terms of injury severity, moderate injuries were the most frequent (1.42 injuries/1000 h). Muscle injuries were the most common type of injuries (57.7%; 2.75 injuries/1000 h; RR = 1.84–13.4; P < .05), and hamstrings (93/268) were the most affected muscle group (0.58 injuries/1000 h; RR = 1.58–2.91; P < .05). Injury incidence showed a seasonal variation as indicated by peaks in August and October. In matches, specifically, the match period between 75 and 90 minutes showed the highest injury incidence (10.29 injuries/1000 h; RR = 1.89–6.38; P < .01). Conclusions: The findings of this study suggest that specific preventive strategies must be implemented to try to reduce the injury incidence in Spanish elite young soccer players attending to the characteristics of each age group.

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The burden of muscle injuries in youth football

Swiss Sports & Exercise Medicine ◽

10.34045/ssem/2018/3 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 66 (1) ◽

Keyword(s):

Muscle Injury ◽

Injury Rate ◽

Young Male ◽

Soccer Players ◽

Football Players ◽

Muscle Injuries ◽

Youth Soccer ◽

Professional Soccer ◽

Youth Football ◽

Substantial Problem

Background: Muscle injuries affect up to 72% of professional soccer players within one season and there are well reviewed, but muscle injuries in youth soccer players are not widely documented. The aim of this study was to investigate incidence, localization, pathomechanism and point of time of indirect muscle injuries in youth soccer players. Methods: Prospective cohort study. 5 teams (U15, U16, U17, U18 and U21) with 110 young male football players (age 16,8 (14,3–21) years, height 174,5 (146,1–190,0) cm, weight 65,7 (35,5–84,6) kg) were monitored for 12 months. Every muscle injury was documented and monitored on a standardized evaluation score. Results: In total, 53 muscle injuries were registered. On average, a player sustained 0,4 muscle injuries per season. There was only one re-injury (2%). The injury rate was 1,5 injuries per 1000h match- or /training hours, the match injury rate (6,9) being 7,7 times higher than the training injury rate (0,9). Sixty-nine percent were functional muscle injuries. Thirty-seven percent of all muscle injuries affected the hamstrings group and twenty-eight percent the adductors. The most common pathomechanism was overload (28%). Most of the injuries were recorded during the last 15 minutes of a game or a training (39,6%). Conclusion: Muscle injuries are a substantial problem for players and clubs, also in young male football players. This study confirmed previous results showing that the injury rate during games is higher than during trainings and that hamstrings injuries are the most common muscle injuries in soccer. However, a prolonged study period is recommended to gain better statistical values.

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