Injuries and risk factors in men’s beach soccer: Japanese national championships 2013–2023

Background:The frequency and severity of injury in beach soccer are unknown.Purpose:To estimate the incidence rates, characteristics, and risk factors for injuries associated with beach soccer.Study Design:Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3.Methods:The same sports physician examined and recorded injuries incurred during the Japanese National Beach Soccer Championships in 2013 and 2014. Posttournament follow-up was made for all injuries. Match exposure for each player was recorded through video review to examine individual risk factors.Results:A total of 58 injuries were recorded during 54 matches. The overall injury rate was 179.0 (95% CI, 138.4-231.6), and the time-loss injury rate was 28.2 (95% CI, 14.7-54.1) per 1000 player-hours. The foot/toe (34.9%) was the most frequently injured area, followed by the lower leg (22.2%) and thigh (11.1%). There was only 1 ankle injury (1.6%). The most frequent injury type was contusions (60.3%), followed by lacerations/abrasions (14.3%) and sprains/ligament injuries (6.3%). Only 4 injuries resulted in ≥30 days of time-loss (7.4%). After adjusting for age, a previous history of severe injury and longer experience of beach soccer were significantly associated with injury risk.Conclusion:The time-loss injury rate in this study was comparable to the rates reported during the matches of soccer or futsal tournaments. However, a greater incidence of foot/toe injury and lacerations/abrasions as well as a lower incidence of ankle injury distinguished beach soccer from soccer and futsal, possibly related to the specific playing conditions of being barefoot on a sand surface.

Sports Injury Epidemiology: Foundation of Evidence of, by, and for Athletic Trainers.

Football, futsal and beach soccer differ in playing conditions, but data on differences in head injury characteristics are limited. The aim of this study was to systematically analyse and compare potential head injuries in these disciplines. Footage from 148 matches across three men's international tournaments (2022 FIFA World Cup, 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup and 2024 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup) were reviewed to identify potential head injuries (any event where a player remained down >5 s and/or requested medical-attention with the body part involving head/neck), player actions, visible signs of possible concussion, medical-assessments and outcomes. Incidence rates (IRs; number of potential head injuries per 1000 match-hours) were reported separately for each discipline based on official and total exposure times (the duration from initial to final whistle). A total of 395 potential head injuries were identified: 186 (IR:85.8/1000 match-hours) in football, 86 (IR:247.8) in futsal and 123 (IR:627.5) in beach soccer. After exposure adjustment, IRs were 76.4, 122.3 and 383.2, respectively. Direct opponent contact was the main mechanism for all disciplines (football 81.5%, futsal 76.2%, beach soccer 78.9%). Unintentional ball-to-head impacts accounted for 6% of cases (football), 16.7% (futsal), and 13.8% (beach soccer). In beach soccer, 17.9% of injuries were associated with overhead kicks. Visible signs of a possible concussion were observed in 16.3% of cases (football), 9.5% (futsal) and 20.3% (beach soccer). Incidence and patterns of potential head injuries differ across football, futsal and beach soccer, underscoring the need for individual recognition in all three disciplines. Ball-related impacts contributed significantly to the differences in IRs and overhead kicks posing a unique risk in beach soccer. Targeted preventive strategies, such as specific drills on safe blocking in futsal, and training to improve the safe execution of overhead kicks in beach soccer, may help reduce these risks. N/A.

Background:Ice hockey is a high-speed contact sport in which athletes are prone to many different injuries. While past studies have examined overall injury rates in ice hockey, foot and ankle injuries among collegiate ice hockey players have yet to be analyzed.Purpose/Hypothesis:The purpose of this study was to elucidate the epidemiology of foot and ankle injuries among collegiate ice hockey players utilizing data from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Injury Surveillance Program. We hypothesized that male ice hockey players would sustain more injuries compared with female ice hockey players and that the injuries sustained would be more severe.Study Design:Descriptive epidemiology study.Methods:Data on all foot and ankle injuries sustained during the academic years 2004 through 2014 were obtained from the NCAA Injury Surveillance Program. Injury rates, rate ratios (RRs), and injury proportion ratios were reported with 95% CIs.Results:Over the study period, the overall rate of foot and ankle injuries for men was higher than that for women (413 vs 103 injuries, respectively; RR, 4.01 [95% CI, 3.23-4.97]). Injury rates were highest during the regular season for both men (358 injuries; RR, 64.78 [95% CI, 58.07-71.49]) and women (89 injuries; RR, 38.37 [95% CI, 30.40-46.35]) compared with the preseason or postseason. The most common injury in men was a foot and/or toe contusion (22.5%), while women most commonly sustained a low ankle sprain (31.1%). For men, foot and/or toe contusions accounted for the most non–time loss (≤24 hours ) and moderate time-loss (2-13 days) injuries, while high ankle sprains accounted for the most severe time-loss (≥14 days) injuries. For women, foot and/or toe contusions accounted for the most non–time loss injuries, low ankle sprains accounted for the most moderate time-loss injuries, and high ankle sprains accounted for the most severe time-loss injuries.Conclusion:Foot and ankle injuries were frequent among collegiate ice hockey players during the period studied. For men, contusions were the most commonly diagnosed injury, although high ankle sprains resulted in the most significant time lost. For women, low ankle sprains were the most common and resulted in the most moderate time lost. These findings may direct future injury prevention and guide improvements in ice skate design.

Background:There is limited research regarding the epidemiology of hip/groin injuries in ice hockey, the majority of which is restricted to time-loss injuries only.Purpose:To describe the epidemiology of hip/groin injuries in collegiate men’s and women’s ice hockey from 2009-2010 through 2014-2015.Study Design:Descriptive epidemiology study.Methods:Hip/groin injury data from the National Collegiate Athletic Association Injury Surveillance Program (NCAA-ISP) during the 2009-2010 through 2014-2015 seasons were analyzed. Injury rates, rate ratios (RRs), and injury proportion ratios (IPRs) were reported with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).Results:During the 2009-2010 through 2014-2015 seasons, 421 and 114 hip/groin injuries were reported in men’s and women’s ice hockey, respectively, leading to injury rates of 1.03 and 0.78 per 1000 athlete-exposures (AEs), respectively. The hip/groin injury rate was greater in men than in women (RR, 1.32; 95% CI, 1.08-1.63). In addition, 55.6% and 71.1% of hip/groin injuries in men’s and women’s ice hockey, respectively, were non–time loss (NTL) injuries (ie, resulted in participation restriction time <24 hours); 7.6% and 0.9%, respectively, were severe (ie, resulted in participation restriction time >3 weeks). The proportion of hip/groin injuries that were NTL injuries was greater in women than in men (IPR, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.11-1.48). Conversely, the proportion of hip/groin injuries that were severe was greater in men than in women (IPR, 8.67; 95% CI, 1.20-62.73). The most common hip/groin injury diagnosis was strain (men, 67.2%; women, 76.3%). Also, 12 (2.9%) and 3 (2.6%) cases of hip impingement were noted in men’s and women’s ice hockey, respectively.Conclusion:Hip/groin injury rates were greater in men’s than in women’s ice hockey. Time loss varied between sexes, with men sustaining more injuries with time loss over 3 weeks. Despite increasing concerns of femoroacetabular impingement in ice hockey players, few cases of hip impingement were reported in this dataset.

BackgroundThe popularity of running continues to increase, which means that the incidence of running-related injuries will probably also continue to increase. Little is known about risk factors for running injuries and whether they are sex-specific.ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to review information about risk factors and sex-specific differences for running-induced injuries in adults.Search StrategyThe databases PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL and Psych-INFO were searched for relevant articles.Selection CriteriaLongitudinal cohort studies with a minimal follow-up of 1 month that investigated the association between risk factors (personal factors, running/training factors and/or health and lifestyle factors) and the occurrence of lower limb injuries in runners were included.Data Collection and AnalysisTwo reviewers’ independently selected relevant articles from those identified by the systematic search and assessed the risk of bias of the included studies. The strength of the evidence was determined using a best-evidence rating system. Sex differences in risk were determined by calculating the sex ratio for risk factors (the risk factor for women divided by the risk factor for men).Main ResultsOf 400 articles retrieved, 15 longitudinal studies were included, of which 11 were considered high-quality studies and 4 moderate-quality studies. Overall, women were at lower risk than men for sustaining running-related injuries. Strong and moderate evidence was found that a history of previous injury and of having used orthotics/inserts was associated with an increased risk of running injuries. Age, previous sports activity, running on a concrete surface, participating in a marathon, weekly running distance (30–39 miles) and wearing running shoes for 4 to 6 months were associated with a greater risk of injury in women than in men. A history of previous injuries, having a running experience of 0–2 years, restarting running, weekly running distance (20–29 miles) and having a running distance of more than 40 miles per week were associated with a greater risk of running-related injury in men than in women.ConclusionsPrevious injury and use of orthotic/inserts are risk factors for running injuries. There appeared to be differences in the risk profile of men and women, but as few studies presented results for men and women separately, the results should be interpreted with caution. Further research should attempt to minimize methodological bias by paying attention to recall bias for running injuries, follow-up time, and the participation rate of the identified target group.

ABSTRACTIntroduction: The incidence of time-loss injury in male collegiate soccer players in the United States (US) is 6.4 per 1000 athletic exposures. With thousands of male athletes competing in soccer at the US collegiate level each year, there is the potential for numerous time-loss injuries that may ultimately impact team success. Thus, identifying risk factors for injury is warranted.Purpose: The primary purpose of this study was to determine if preseason functional performance test (FPT) measures (the standing long jump [SLJ] and single-leg hop [SLH] for distance tests) were associated with an increased risk of a noncontact time-loss lower-quadrant (LQ) injury during the season. The secondary purpose of this study was to explore relationships between off-season training volumes and to determine if off-season training habits are associated with time-loss LQ injury.Results: Preseason FPT measures were not associated with an increased risk of time-loss LQ injury in male collegiate soccer players. However, lower levels of off-season training were associated with a threefold increased risk of injury.Conclusion: The SLJ and SLH may not be useful at discriminating risk of injury in male collegiate soccer players. Lower volume of time devoted to training in the off-season is associated with an increased risk of LQ injury.Practical implications: The SLJ and SLH tests should not be used as a screening tool to assess for risk of injury in male collegiate soccer players. The total volume of exercise performed during the week in the off-season is associated with future risk of LQ injury. The preliminary data presented here could be used by coaches to assist with their design of off-season strength training programs. Finally, the normative SLJ and SLH data presented can be used by sports medicine professionals when functionally assessing LE strength and one’s ability to return to sport after injury.

Male collegiate basketball (BB) players are at risk for musculoskeletal injury. The rate of time-loss injury in men's collegiate BB, for all levels of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competition, ranges from 2.8 to 4.3 per 1000 athletic exposures (AE) during practices and 4.56 to 9.9 per 1000 AE during games. The aforementioned injury rates provide valuable information for sports medicine professionals and coaching staffs. However, many of the aforementioned studies do not provide injury rates based on injury mechanism, region of the body, or player demographics. The purpose of this study is two-fold. The first purpose of this study was to report lower quadrant (LQ = lower extremities and low back region) injury rates, per contact and non-contact mechanism of injury, for a cohort of male collegiate basketball (BB) players. The second purpose was to report injury risk based on prior history of injury, player position, and starter status. Prospective, descriptive, observational cohort. A total of 95 male collegiate BB players (mean age 20.02 ± 1.68 years) from 7 teams (NCAA Division II = 14, NCAA Division III = 43, NAIA = 21, community college = 17) from the Portland, Oregon region were recruited during the 2016-2017 season to participate in this study. Each athlete was asked to complete an injury history questionnaire. The primary investigator collected the following information each week from each team's athletic trainer: athletic exposures (AE; 1 AE = game or practice) and injury updates. Thirty-three time-loss LQ injuries occurred during the study period. The overall time-loss injury rate was 3.4 per 1000 AE. Division III BB players had the highest rates of injury. There was no difference in injury rates between those with or without prior injury history. Guards had a significantly greater rate of non-contact time-loss injuries (p = 0.04). Guards experienced a greater rate of LQ injury than their forward/center counterparts. Starters and athletes with a prior history of injury were no more likely to experience a non-contact time-loss injury than nonstarters or those without a prior history of injury. These preliminary results are a novel presentation of injury rates and risk for this population and warrant continued investigation. 2.

Introduction &amp; Purpose In Austria, 99% of fatally injured (Pocecco et al., 2022) and 81% of accidented mountain-bikers (Woyke et al., 2024) are males. However, these evident sex/gender differences in prevalence do not allow any conclusions to be drawn either about the risk of injury or about potential risk factors between the sex/genders. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate possible sex/gender-specific differences in injury risk, types of injuries, and related potential risk factors in adult recreational mountain-bikers in Tyrol, Austria. Methods This retrospective survey was conducted in the surroundings of Innsbruck (Austria) in 2017-2019, involving randomly selected adult recreational mountain-bikers. A standardized questionnaire was used to collect data on injuries ever experienced during mountain-biking (MTB), including circumstances (e.g., skill level and risk-taking behaviour according to Ruedl et al. (2010), riding alone or in a group) related to the most severe injury. Proportions were compared by χ2 tests. Results In total, 1,439 mountain-bikers (37.8 ± 14.3 years, 33.4% females) were interviewed, 486 (33.8%) of them suffering one or more injuries requiring medical attention. Men showed a higher injury risk compared to women (37.2% vs. 26.9%, p &lt; 0.001) and injured males reported a higher number of injuries during MTB compared to their female counterpart (2.4 ± 2.4 vs. 1.7 ± 1.4, p &lt; 0.001). In general, concerning the most severe injury ever suffered during MTB, the most frequent injury types were fractures (28.4%), followed by open wounds (15.9%), contusions (14.5%), abrasions (12.0%), and ligament/muscle injuries (10.4%), showing sex/gender differences (p = 0.010). In particular, fractures were the most frequent injury type among male (32.7%), open wounds among female (20.3%) mountain-bikers. Moreover, men reported higher MTB skills (p &lt; 0.001) and higher risk-taking behaviour (72.8% vs. 50.5%, p &lt; 0.001) at the time of the worst accident compared to women. Additionally, males were more likely to be biking alone on the day of the accident compared to females (30.1% vs. 15.0%, p = 0.007), who tended to ride in groups. Discussion Comparably to alpine skiing and snowboarding (Ruedl et al., 2010), men were found to exhibit a higher skill level and engage in riskier behaviour more frequently than women. In alpine skiing and snowboarding, these two factors are associated with higher speeds (Ruedl et al., 2010), which could be therefore also the reason for the higher injury risk and frequency of fractures among the surveyed male mountain-bikers. In the present study, fractures were the most common self-reported injury type with 28%, which seems comparable to 24% of fractures in the study by Woyke et al. (2024). Conversely, biking in a group, which was more common among women, apparently did not lead to a higher risk of injury due to possible peer pressure. Conclusion Results of this study found sex/gender differences in injury risk, types of injury, and related potential risk factors in recreational adult mountain-bikers which should be considered in future preventive measures. In particular, relevant information campaigns should address especially males. Moreover, future research comparing injured and non-injured recreational mountain-bikers should be conducted to confirm or reject the hypothesized risk factors. References Pocecco, E., Wafa, H., Burtscher, J., Paal, P., Plattner, P., Posch, M., &amp; Ruedl, G. (2022). Mortality in recreational mountain-biking in the Austrian Alps: A retrospective study over 16 years. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(19), Article 11965. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191911965 Ruedl, G., Pocecco, E., Sommersacher, R., Gatterer, H., Kopp, M., Nachbauer, W., &amp; Burtscher, M. (2010). Factors associated with self-reported risk-taking behaviour on ski slopes. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 44(3), 204-206. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsm.2009.066779 Woyke, S., Hütter, A., Rugg, C., Tröger, W., Wallner, B., Ströhle, M., &amp; Paal, P. (2024). Sex differences in mountain bike accidents in Austria from 2006 to 2018: A retrospective analysis. High Altitude Medicine &amp; Biology, 25(1), 89-93. https://doi.org/10.1089/ham.2023.0086

Introduction: One of the preventing injuries methods is recognizing common injuries in sports and causative factors of injury. The aims of this study was to investigate the injuries of beach soccer players in terms of prevalence and mechanism. Methods: The present study is a Cross-sectional and descriptive research that was conducted as a field study. Forty players were selected randomly from two teams of the Yazd province in premier country league that took place in 2019. For recording prevalence and mechanism of injuries, the modified injury report form by Fuller et al. (2006) was used. The SPSS software version 25 and the chi-square test at a significance level P &lt; 0.05 were used for statistical analysis. Results: In total, the most common injuries of beach soccer were in lower extremities (%69.84), and for injury severity, %31.75 were severed injury, and in terms of the type of injuries, the strain was the most of the injuries occurred (%33.33). The amount of injury during the match (%60.26) was higher than the time of training (%39.68). The degree of contact injuries %73.02 was significantly higher than non-contact injuries %26.98 (p &lt;0.05). Conclusion: Most of the injuries in beach soccer are caused by playing bare foot and lack of shoes and guards on the legs and feet, and then on the knee. Contact of players is one of the main sources of injury in beach soccer, which is likely to be effective in preventing injury by changing training, implementing proper techniques, and improving performance factors by using injuries preventive programs.

This study evaluated the characteristics of head injuries in male beach soccer players via video footage. Video recordings of all official beach soccer tournaments played by European national male beach soccer teams from 2018 to 2022 ( n = 516) were analyzed retrospectively. The main collected variables were the injury mechanism, bleeding, the injured player action, whether the injury led to time loss, and whether there were any video signs of possible concussion in an injury case. A total of 214 head injuries were documented, corresponding to 68.3 injuries/1000 player hours. The injury mechanism was apparent in 202 injuries. Of these injuries, 15.3% had video signs of suspected concussion, and 9.9% led to time loss. The most common mechanism was opponent contact (74.8%, n = 151) and the most common submechanism was head-to-head contact (23.8%, n = 36), followed by foot-to-head contact (23.2%, n = 35). A total of 38.1% ( n = 77) injuries were related to heading. Injuries with video signs of suspected concussion were 44.53 times more likely to result in time loss. The findings revealed that head injury in beach soccer is an urgent problem that should be addressed. The authors strongly recommend future studies that include clinical assessments to better understand head injuries in beach-soccer.

PURPOSE To implement and validate an injury surveillance program and examine risk factors for injury in adolescent soccer. METHODS This is a prospective cohort study. The study population was a random sample of 21 soccer teams from a Calgary Minor Soccer Club (n = 317 players). One team was randomly selected to participate from each skill division, from each of U18, U16, and U14 age groups for both boys and girls. A Certified Athletic Therapist completed pre-season baseline evaluations and assessed any identified injury occurring in soccer on a weekly basis. The injury definition included any injury occurring during the regular soccer season that required medical attention and/or removal from a session and/or missing a subsequent session. RESULTS Based on completeness of data for both injury and exposure information in addition to validity of diagnosis and time-loss, this method of surveillance has proven to be effective. The overall injury rate (IR) during regular season was 4.37 injuries/1000 player hours (95% CI; 3.34–5.61). The mechanism of injury was identified as direct contact with another player or equipment in 44.9% of all injuries reported. Soccer injury resulted in time loss of at least one soccer session in 86.9% of the players. Ankle and knee injuries were the most common injuries by body region in both boys and girls. It appears that girls may be at greater risk of knee ligament injuries than boys (RR = 2.53 [95% CI; 0.73–11.05]). The risk of injury in U14 and U16 age groups was greatest in the most elite division. There was an increased risk of injury in players who reported an injury in the previous one year (RR = 1.74 [95% CI; 1.0–3.1]). Players who are left leg dominant may be at greater risk of injury compared to those who are right leg dominant (RR=2.06 [0.84–4.37]). There was no apparent increased risk of injury associated with baseline measures of lower extremity flexibility, dynamic balance ability, endurance or lower extremity functional strength at baseline. CONCLUSION There were significant differences in injury rates found by division, previous injury history, and session type (practice vs. game). Future research includes the use of such a surveillance system to examine prevention strategies for injury in minor soccer.

Relationship between injury risk, workload, and rate of perceived exertion in professional women's basketball

The risk of injury in football is high, but few studies have compared men's and women's football injuries. The purpose of this prospective study was to analyse the exposure and injury characteristics of European Championships in football and to compare data for men, women and male youth players. The national teams of all 32 countries (672 players) that qualified to the men's European Championship 2004, the women's European Championship 2005 and the men's Under-19 European Championship 2005 were studied. Individual training and match exposure was documented during the tournaments as well as time loss injuries. The overall injury incidence was 14 times higher during match play than during training (34.6 vs. 2.4 injuries per 1000 h, P < 0.0001). There were no differences in match and training injury incidences between the championships. Teams eliminated in the women's championship had a significantly higher match injury incidence compared to teams going to the semi-finals (65.4 vs. 5.0 injuries per 1000 h, P = 0.02). Non-contact mechanisms were ascribed for 41% of the match injuries. One-fifth of all injuries were severe with absence from play longer than 4 weeks. In conclusion, injury incidences during the European Championships studied were very similar and it seems thus that the risk of injury in international football is at least not higher in women than in men. The teams eliminated in the women's championship had a significantly higher match injury incidence than the teams going to the final stage. Finally, the high frequency of non-contact injury is worrying from a prevention perspective and should be addressed in future studies.

Objectives The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence and characteristics of match and training injuries in elite-level national male beach soccer players. Method The incidence, mechanism, location, type, severity, and burden of injuries of the Turkish national beach soccer team were recorded between 2017 and 2019. Results A total of 136 injuries occurred during the study period. Total injury incidence was 238.9 injuries/1,000 match hours (MHs) and 37.7 injuries/1,000 training hours (THs) (p < 0.001). Twenty-seven injuries led to time-loss, and the incidences for match and training injuries were 36.7 and 7.9 per 1,000 hours, respectively. Of medical attention injuries (MAI) caused by trauma, 54.6% (n = 53) were due to another player and, 60.9% (n = 14) of time-loss injuries (TLI) caused by trauma were due to non-contact trauma (p < 0.001). While 82% (n = 91) of training injuries occurred in lower extremities, 29% (n = 9) of match injuries occurred in the head/neck region (p < 0.001). Head injury incidence was 45.9 per 1,000 match hours. Of MAI, 50% (n = 57) were contusion, and 32.1% (n = 9) of TLI were strain (p < 0.001). Also, the most common injury subtype was foot/toe contusion during match and training (19.4%; n = 6, 27.9%; n = 31, respectively). The majority of injuries 91.9% (n = 125) had slight severity. Conclusion Head trauma, tendon injury, and foot/toe contusion are important for clinical practice in beach soccer. Protective measures (rule regulation, use of protective equipment, etc.) should be considered to prevent these injuries.