The prevalence of non-contact muscle injuries of the lower limb in professional soccer players who perform Salah regularly: a retrospective cohort study

Oleg Talibov,Evgeny Achkasov,Vladimir Khaitin,Nicola Maffulli,Artemii Lazarev,Zbigniew Waśkiewicz,Eduard Bezuglov,Thomas Rosemann,Pantelis T Nikolaidis,Mikhail Butovskiy,Beat Knechtle,Anastasiya Lyubushkina

doi:10.1186/s13018-020-01955-5

Abstract

BackgroundThe present study assessed the prevalence of non-contact muscle injuries of the lower limbs, including hamstring injuries, in professional Russian soccer players who regularly perform Salah, an obligatory Muslim prayer performed 5 times a day.MethodsUsing a retrospective cohort study design, 68 professional male soccer players (excluding goalkeepers), 34 of whom were Muslims regularly performing Salah (exposure group) and 34 were randomly chosen non-Muslim players (control group), were included in the study. The groups were similar in their playing leagues, field positions, age (27 ± 3.1 vs 28 ± 4.2 years), and body mass index (22 ± 1.2 vs 23 ± 0.92 kg/m2).ResultsThe incidence of hamstring injury was significantly lower in the exposure group (2 vs 14, p = 0.0085). A declining trend for the number of muscle injuries (either hamstring or not) was observed in the exposure group (11 vs 27, p = 0.0562). Two players in the exposure group and 11 in the control group (p = 0.0115, OR 0.1307, 95% CI 0.0276 to 0.5698) suffered a hamstring injury, with no statistically significant difference in the occurrence of other injuries. The total amount of the training and play days missed because of hamstring and other muscle injuries was significantly lower in the exposure group (24 vs 213 days, p = 0.0043, and 200 vs 344 days, p = 0.0066, respectively).ConclusionThe prevalence of non-contact muscle injuries, including hamstring injuries, was lower in professional Russian soccer players who regularly performed Salah.

Highlights

The present study assessed the prevalence of non-contact muscle injuries of the lower limbs, including hamstring injuries, in professional Russian soccer players who regularly perform Salah, an obligatory Muslim prayer performed 5 times a day
Often of little clinical relevance, these injuries do impact negatively on athletes, who on average are not able to play in 3–4 games and require about 14 days to return to sport [2, 6]
There were no differences in age, Body mass index (BMI), total games played (95% of median difference − 2 to 5; p = 0.2857), played minutes (95% of median difference − 22 to 618, p = 0.0722), player position (p = 0.2043), and league affiliation (p > 0.9999) between the players of the two groups

Summary

Introduction

The present study assessed the prevalence of non-contact muscle injuries of the lower limbs, including hamstring injuries, in professional Russian soccer players who regularly perform Salah, an obligatory Muslim prayer performed 5 times a day. Thirty-one to 41% of all injuries in soccer involve the muscles, with most occurring in the thigh [1,2,3]. The hamstring muscles (comprising the biceps femoris, semimembranosus, and semitendinosus muscles) account for up to 37% of all muscle injuries in soccer players, a number on the increase. A professional European soccer team is expected to experience approximately 15 muscle injuries, 4–6 of which will affect the hamstrings. Recurrence of muscle injuries is common, with a prevalence from 16 to 24% [7, 8]

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