Injury Analysis in Professional Soccer by Means of Media Reports - Only Severe Injury Types Show High Validity.

Abstract

PurposeInjury data of professional soccer players obtained from media reports are frequently used in scientific research, but the accuracy of such data is still unclear.Patients and MethodsInjuries of professional soccer players of the German first and second league were documented by continuously screening media reports over one season (2015–2016). After the season, the validity of media-reported injuries was anonymously analyzed by the team physicians of 8 different soccer clubs.ResultsA total of 255 injuries of 240 players of 8 professional soccer teams had been published online, of which 146 were confirmed by the team doctors as correct, yielding a rate of 57.3% of confirmed media-reported injuries. In addition, 92 injuries without media registration were detected and added to the online statistics, resulting in 347 injuries and an overall weak validity of media-based data of 42.1%. Statistical analysis showed that the validity of media-reported injury data depended on both the individual soccer club and the body site affected by injury: publications on knee injuries (78.2%) had a higher validity than those on foot injuries (46.2%), and publications on severe injuries had a higher validity (joint dislocation: 100%; ligament rupture: 82.9%; fracture: 73.3%) than those on minor injuries. Publications on specific severe soccer injuries, such as anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries, had a validity of 100%.ConclusionMedia-based injury data were only valid for a few severe injury types such as ACL injuries. In daily soccer routine and scientific research, media-based data should thus only be used in combination with specific criteria or verification processes.