A Prospective Epidemiologic Study Of Injuries And Illnesses In The Soccer Matches Of The 14th National Games Of China

Abstract

PURPOSE: This study intends to investigate and analyze the incidence and characteristics of soccer player injuries and illnesses in the soccer players during the 14th National Student Games of China in order to guide future protective measures. METHODS: During the National Student Games, in accordance with the consensus statement of injury from IOC ISS and FIFA, team doctors record the daily injuries and illnesses of the athletes of their teams. A total of 760 athletes from 38 teams participated. This study counts the characteristics of the timing of injury, the location of injury, the type of injury (illness), and the severity of the injury (illness). RESULTS: Of the 760 athletes participated, the total injury incidence rate in the survey is 38.9 times per 1,000 match hours (95% CI 51.9-64.9) or 1.14 times per game (95% CI 0.89-1.39) and the total illness incidence rate is 4.3 cases per 100 athletes or 10.2 cases per 1,000 player days (95% CI 9.5-10.9). Injuries mainly occurred 15 minutes before the end of the first half (20, 16.4%) and 30 minutes before the end of the game (63, 51.6%). The ankle (23, 19%), thigh (23,19%), knee (17, 14%), and groin (8,7%) are the most common body parts of injury. Contusion (38, 31%) is the most common type of injury, followed by joint or ligament sprain (29, 24%), strain (19, 16%), and muscle spasm (10, 8%). The most common cause of injury is contact with other players (52, 42%). A total of 32 cases of diseases were reported, mainly acute gastroenteritis (16, 50%) and colds (8, 25%). CONCLUSIONS: The injury incidence rates of college men's, college women's, and middle school men's groups are higher than those of the international matches at the same level. Lower limb injury occurred most frequently, followed by trunk injury. Contusion is the most common type of injury, and most of the injuries are caused by collisions between players, which reflects the adversarial and aggressive characteristics in soccer at the present. It suggests that physical confrontation should be more encouraged more in training; Injury management and protection should be emphasized, and injury prevention training should be enhanced. Gastroenteritis and cold occur frequently during the competition, so it is crucial to tighten the management of players' diets and living conditions during the competition to reduce unnecessary time loss.