Injury rate in professional football: A systematic review

Mirza Ibrahimović,Munir Talović,Denis Causevic,Haris Alić,Emir Mustafović,Eldin Jelešković

doi:10.34256/ijpefs2126

Abstract

The goal of this paper is to determine the injury frequency rate in professional football players in leagues and national competitions by analyzing existing papers. We have chosen 21 articles according to the PRISMA method from the Google Scholar, ResearchGate Scopus, and Web of Science databases that fit both inclusion and exclusion criteria. We have discussed the following four segments based on the content of the selected papers: 1) An analysis of the injury frequency rate on the level of national teams, 2) An analysis of the injury frequency rate in club leagues, 3) A comparison of the injury frequency rate in matches and in practice, and 4) An analysis of the injury frequency rate in male versus female football players. The paper concludes that major national team tournaments have the highest injury frequency rate and that the probability of injury is four to five times higher in a match than in practice. The injury frequency rate in female players is lower than in male players regardless of the type of competition (national teams or leagues).

Highlights

Football has been growing in popularity for decades, and it is higher than ever today, so it is rightfully called “the most important secondary thing in the world” [1, 2]
Three criteria were used for the inclusion of papers: it is about football, it is about professional football players, and it discusses injury frequency
Its importance is reflected in the fact that these results show in which direction further research should go in terms of creating strategies for injury prevention

Summary

Introduction

Football has been growing in popularity for decades, and it is higher than ever today, so it is rightfully called “the most important secondary thing in the world” [1, 2]. The latest research has shown that muscle injuries of the lower extremities are successfully prevented by additional eccentric strength exercises [22], and this type of exercise can lead to an improvement in jumping ability and linear speed [23]. This type of training should be performed at the start of the week, given how eccentric exercises create ruptures in muscles, which can influence game performance [24]. The number of injuries in men and women is decreasing over time [26, 27]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion