Soccer Injury Rates When Ramadan Occurs At The Season-start In Conjunction With A Competitive Tournament

Abstract

The religious practice of Ramadan has shown little to no effect on injury rates in elite football players. However for the past years, Ramadan has occurred during the competitive calendar. PURPOSE: To assess the injury incidence of elite football players when Ramadan occurs at the start of the competitive calendar in conjunction with a competitive tournament METHODS: Fifteen Qatari professional soccer teams were assessed for injury incidence during the 2013-2014 season. Pre-season training started 01 July 2013, whilst Ramadan occurred from 09 of July to 07 of August 2013. A competitive tournament involving all 15 teams occurred during Ramadan (20 July - 05 of August). A total of 32 matches were played during the tournament, with matches starting ≥3 hours after Iftar (fasting-break at sunset). Injury data were considered when a player was unable to take full part in future soccer training sessions or matches owing to physical complaints. Injury severity was defined with regard to the number of days of absence from training/matches RESULTS: Overall 589 injuries occurred during the season, of which 50 (8.5%) occurred during Ramadan. There was no significant difference (p>0.05) in distribution of injuries between Muslim and non-Muslim players during either Ramadan or for the rest of the season. Muslim players sustained 41 (8.4%) and 445 (91.6%) injuries, whilst non-Muslims sustained 9 (8.7%) and 94 (17.4%) injuries during Ramadan and non-Ramadan periods, respectively. There was no significant difference (p>0.05) in injury severity between Ramadan and the rest of the season, or between Muslim and non-Muslim players. The distribution of injuries when expressed as a ratio of matches/training was as follows: 14/36 for Ramadan and 258/281 for non-Ramadan. Ramadan in conjunction with a soccer tournament corresponded with an injury rate of 13.9 injuries/1000 hrs of match exposure CONCLUSIONS: Ramadan in conjunction with a football tournament at the start of the competitive calendar did not impact upon injury rates in Muslim and non-Muslim professional soccer players from Qatar followed during both the Ramadan and non-Ramadan segments of the 2013-2014 competitive season