Abstract
The aim of this study was to examine the injury incidence and characteristics of a Spanish female elite soccer team (n=22 players) during an entire competitive season. Time loss injuries and individual exposure times were recorded during all team training sessions and matches during the 2009-2010 season, following the Union des Associations Europeennes de Football (UEFA) consensus statement on injury definitions and data collection procedures in studies of soccer injuries. The overall injury risk was 5.1 injuries per 1000 hours. The incidence of injury during training and match play was 3.9 and 14.4 injuries per 1000 hours, respectively. The number of injuries was not (P<0.05) uniformly distributed during all the months of the season as the first (August) and last two (April and May) months presented the highest injury frequency. A player sustained, on average, 1.7 injuries per season and missed 1.5 competitive matches. Ankle sprain was the most common (31%) injury diagnosis and, together with knee sprains, caused two thirds of total match absence. The present study showed the injury incidence and characteristics of a Spanish female elite soccer team during one competitive season. Training workloads should be monitored and controlled in the critical periods of the season. Specific injury prevention strategies should be implemented for female players to reduce the risk of incurring the most common injuries.
Highlights
Female soccer has experienced tremendous growth over the last years
The present study showed the injury incidence and characteristics of a Spanish female elite soccer team during one competitive season
Specific injury prevention strategies should be implemented for female players to reduce the risk of incurring the most common injuries
Summary
Female soccer has experienced tremendous growth over the last years. The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) estimates that over 26 million women participate in the sport. Many female footballers have reached professionalism and take part of the most prestigious leagues in United States, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Germany or England. This expansion of the sport has led the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) to the organization of the first Womens Champions League in the 2009-2010 season, imitating the worldwide greatest male clubs tournament. Despite this incipient increase in the impact of the sport, research in female soccer is lagging behind males counterparts. Distance covered during a match has been reported similar for female and male players, male players
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