The burden of muscle injuries in youth football

Abstract

Background: Muscle injuries affect up to 72% of professional soccer players within one season and there are well reviewed, but muscle injuries in youth soccer players are not widely documented. The aim of this study was to investigate incidence, localization, pathomechanism and point of time of indirect muscle injuries in youth soccer players. Methods: Prospective cohort study. 5 teams (U15, U16, U17, U18 and U21) with 110 young male football players (age 16,8 (14,3–21) years, height 174,5 (146,1–190,0) cm, weight 65,7 (35,5–84,6) kg) were monitored for 12 months. Every muscle injury was documented and monitored on a standardized evaluation score. Results: In total, 53 muscle injuries were registered. On average, a player sustained 0,4 muscle injuries per season. There was only one re-injury (2%). The injury rate was 1,5 injuries per 1000h match- or /training hours, the match injury rate (6,9) being 7,7 times higher than the training injury rate (0,9). Sixty-nine percent were functional muscle injuries. Thirty-seven percent of all muscle injuries affected the hamstrings group and twenty-eight percent the adductors. The most common pathomechanism was overload (28%). Most of the injuries were recorded during the last 15 minutes of a game or a training (39,6%). Conclusion: Muscle injuries are a substantial problem for players and clubs, also in young male football players. This study confirmed previous results showing that the injury rate during games is higher than during trainings and that hamstrings injuries are the most common muscle injuries in soccer. However, a prolonged study period is recommended to gain better statistical values.