Injuries In Professional Football Research Articles

Does Ramadan Affect the Risk of Injury in Professional Football?

To investigate whether fasting during Ramadan influences injury incidence in professional Muslim and non-Muslim footballers. Prospective cohort study. Professional First Division League of Qatar. About 527 male football players (462 Muslim and 65 non-Muslim) from 7 league clubs (first year of data collection) and 8 clubs (second and third years). Daily collection of training and match exposure from August 2008 until April 2011 by club medical staff. Injuries during training and match play were recorded on standardized injury cards. Injury incidence was calculated as number of injuries per hour exposed to risk, and expressed as rate per 1000 hours. The probability of injury for different Arabic months between Muslims and non-Muslims was calculated using Generalized Estimating Equations (GEEs). There was no significant difference in total, match, and training injury incidence between the Ramadan and non-Ramadan periods. Non-Muslim footballers had a significantly higher injury incidence rate than Muslim footballers both during Ramadan (8.5 vs 4.0 injuries/1000 hours, P = 0.009) and non Ramadan (6.6 vs 4.9 injuries/1000 hours, P = 0.004) periods. The GEE analysis revealed that after adjusting for age and random factors (month and club), the probability of match injury among non-Muslims was the highest in Ramadan and the 2 consecutive following months (adjusted odds ratio of injury among non-Muslims compared with Muslims was 3.7 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.7-7.9], P = 0.001 during Ramadan (ninth) month; 2.4 (95% CI, 1.1-4.9), P = 0.021 during 10th month; and 2.7 (95% CI, 1.2-5.8), P = 0.013 during 11th month). Finally, there was no change in injury patterns over the months of the Islamic calendar. Ramadan does not impact injury incidence for Muslim footballers in Qatar, suggesting the current adjustments and scheduling of football activities during Ramadan are sufficient. The increased match injury among non-Muslims during and 2 months post-Ramadan may suggest less effective coping strategies.

‘We’ve just learnt to put up with it’: an exploration of attitudes and decision-making surrounding playing with injury in English professional football

A number of psychological and sociocultural factors have been suggested to influence athletes’ willingness to play despite being injured. Investigation of this phenomenon is undertaken optimally at the time when athletes are injured; however, many studies have relied upon retrospective recall of feelings in individuals following recovery. This study aimed, through semi-structured existential-phenomenological interviews, to explore decision-making and attitudes surrounding playing with injury in professional footballers that were currently injured but continuing to play in matches in the English football leagues. Using deductive qualitative content analysis, cultural, situational and personal moderators that have been theorised to influence playing with injury in professional football were tested. The sample comprised nine professional footballers from three different playing leagues that were identified as playing whilst injured by team physiotherapists. There was a high level of agreement in the findings of this study with previous research. Personal and cultural moderators were stable across participants, and included conforming to the athlete role and operating in a culture where pain has been normalised. Situational factors, however, were unstable and were influenced by playing league, with constraints in squad size being an important influence for lower league players. These professional footballers sought windows of opportunity for treatment and recovery both within the season and at the end of the season. It appeared that a decline in performance, rather than the presence of pain, is used as a critical marker for injury. More research is needed to explore differences in presenteeism practices at different playing levels using larger number of participants.

The UEFA injury study: 11-year data concerning 346 MCL injuries and time to return to play

BackgroundMedial collateral ligament (MCL) injury is the most common knee ligament injury in professional football.AimTo investigate the rate and circumstances of MCL injuries and development over the past decade.MethodsProspective cohort...

Injuries in Professional Football

Professional football is one of the most popular sports in the United States. There is a common constellation of injuries that are seen frequently. Much attention has been focused on concussions and their long-term outcomes in this population. Other common causes of morbidity include cervical spine injuries, knee injuries including anterior cruciate ligament and other ligamentous injuries, ankle sprains, and medical issues including cardiac and sickle trait. Several recent studies have focused on hip impingement and hamstring injuries, among others, as sources of missed playing time as well. This review describes some of the frequently seen injuries and medical issues in professional football players. Proper management of both medical disease and on-field injuries can reduce morbidity and may lead to faster return to play and reduced risk of future injury.

Current practices in determining return to play following head injury in professional football in the UK

ObjectiveTo investigate the awareness of English football team doctors of the ‘Consensus in Sport’ (CIS) guidelines for the assessment and management of concussion, and to identify adherence to these internationally...

Hamstring muscle injuries in professional football: the correlation of MRI findings with return to play

BackgroundHamstring injury is the single most common injury in professional football. MRI is commonly used to confirm the diagnosis and provide a prognosis of lay-off time.ObjectiveTo evaluate the use of...

Considerations for the Interpretation of Epidemiological Studies of Injuries in Team Sports: Illustrative Examples

Considerations for the Interpretation of Epidemiological Studies of Injuries in Team Sports: Illustrative Examples

Epidemiology of Muscle Injuries in Professional Football (Soccer)

Background: Muscle injuries constitute a large percentage of all injuries in football. Purpose: To investigate the incidence and nature of muscle injuries in male professional footballers. Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 2. Methods: Fifty-one football teams, comprising 2299 players, were followed prospectively during the years 2001 to 2009. Team medical staff recorded individual player exposure and time-loss injuries. The first-team squads of 24 clubs selected by the Union of European Football Associations as belonging to the best European teams, 15 teams of the Swedish First League, and another 15 European teams playing their home matches on artificial turf pitches were included. A muscle injury was defined as “a traumatic distraction or overuse injury to the muscle leading to a player being unable to fully participate in training or match play.” Results: In total, 2908 muscle injuries were registered. On average, a player sustained 0.6 muscle injuries per season. A squad of 25 players can thus expect about 15 muscle injuries per season. Muscle injuries constituted 31% of all injuries and caused 27% of the total injury absence. Ninety-two percent of all muscle injuries affected the 4 major muscle groups of the lower limbs: hamstrings (37%), adductors (23%), quadriceps (19%), and calf muscles (13%). Sixteen percent of the muscle injuries were reinjuries. These reinjuries caused significantly longer absences than did index injuries. The incidence of muscle injury increased with age. When separated into different muscle groups, however, an increased incidence with age was found only for calf muscle injuries and not for hamstring, quadriceps, or hip/groin strains. Conclusion: Muscle injuries are a substantial problem for players and their clubs. They constitute almost one third of all time-loss injuries in men’s professional football, and 92% of all injuries affect the 4 big muscle groups in the lower limbs.

Current practices in determining return to play following head injury in professional football

ObjectiveTo investigate the awareness of English football team doctors of the ‘Consensus in Sport’ guidelines for the assessment and management of concussion. And to identify whether teams are following these...

UEFA injury study: a prospective study of hip and groin injuries in professional football over seven consecutive seasons

Background:Groin injury is a common injury in football and a complicated area when it comes to diagnosis and therapy. There is a lack of comprehensive epidemiological data on groin injuries...

UEFA Champions League study: a prospective study of injuries in professional football during the 2001–2002 season

Background: No previous study on adult football involving several different countries has investigated the incidence and pattern of injuries at the highest club competitive level. Objective: To investigate the risk...

The Football Association Medical Research Programme: an audit of injuries in professional football—analysis of hamstring injuries

Objective: To conduct a detailed analysis of hamstring injuries sustained in English professional football over two competitive seasons. Methods: Club medical staff at 91 professional football clubs annotated player injuries...

The Football Association Medical Research Programme: an audit of injuries in professional football: an analysis of ankle sprains

Aim: To conduct a detailed analysis of ankle sprains sustained in English professional football over two competitive seasons. Methods: Club medical staff at 91 professional football clubs annotated player injuries....

Evaluating the level of injury in English professional football using a risk based assessment process

Objectives: To show how epidemiological data can be presented and analysed in frequency based and risk based formats and how risk based information can simplify management decisions on injury prevention...

The Football Association Medical Research Programme: an audit of injuries in professional football—analysis of preseason injuries

Objectives: To conduct a detailed analysis of preseason football injuries sustained in English professional football over two competitive seasons. Methods: Club medical staff at 91 professional football clubs annotated player...

An economic framework for assessing the impact of injuries in professional football

The process of risk management, which is used throughout industry and commerce, involves identifying work activities and hazards and estimating, evaluating and controlling the associated risks. Within professional football, injury rates are several orders of magnitude higher than those reported in other occupations. This sector, therefore, provides an ideal organisational setting for developing and testing theories of health and safety management. A major risk for clubs arises from players being unavailable for selection through injury, with the possible effect that this may have on the clubs’ playing and financial performances. A statistically based risk management model, which utilised four relationships involving the parameters of team-quality, team-performance, club-turnover and club-salary, was developed. The model was based on data from 91 league clubs in English professional football over the seasons 1993/1994–1997/1998. Significant ( P<0.01) strong ( r=0.80–0.97) correlations were obtained for four log-log relationships between the four parameters. The model, which incorporated a player quality variable, has been demonstrated to describe and assess the impact of players’ injuries on clubs’ playing and financial performances. It is proposed that the model could therefore be used as a basis for cost-benefit analyses of injury prevention strategies in professional football. The results presented support earlier reports, which describe the impact of accidents to employees on the financial performance of their employers. Similar economic frameworks may also be applicable within other organisational settings for assessing the costs of accidents and for use in cost benefit analyses.

The association football medical research programme: an audit of injuries in professional football

Objectives—To undertake a prospective epidemiological study of the injuries sustained in English professional football over two competitive seasons. Methods—Player injuries were annotated by club medical staff at 91 professional football...

Bleeding injuries in professional football: Estimating the risk for HIV transmission: Brown S, Jr., Drotman D, Chu A, et al. Ann Intern Med. 1995;122:271–274

Bleeding injuries in professional football: Estimating the risk for HIV transmission: Brown S, Jr., Drotman D, Chu A, et al. Ann Intern Med. 1995;122:271–274

Bleeding injuries in professional football: estimating the risk for HIV transmission.

To determine the risk for bleeding injuries in professional football and to estimate the risk for transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) through such injuries. A prospective, observational study. Professional football players from 11 teams of the National Football League were observed during 155 regular season games from September through December 1992. The frequencies of bleeding injuries were calculated in association with environmental and athletic factors. Using this information, HIV prevalence, and data on transmission of HIV in other circumstances, the risk for transmission of HIV during football games was estimated. 575 bleeding injuries (average, 3.7 per game for each team) involving 538 players (average, 3.5 players on each team per game) were observed. Approximately 88% of the bleeding injuries were abrasions; the remainder were lacerations. Bleeding injuries were markedly more frequent during games played on artificial surfaces, during games played in domed stadiums, and on teams with a final win/loss percentage of 0.500 or lower. Using data on the prevalence of HIV among college men and rates of HIV transmission in the health care setting, the risk for HIV transmission to each player was estimated to be less than 1 per 85 million game contacts. Although injuries occur in professional football competitions, bleeding injuries, especially lacerations, occur infrequently. We estimate that the risk for HIV transmission during such competition is extremely remote. The role of artificial playing surfaces on the incidence or severity of bleeding injuries should be investigated.

A historical perspective of injuries in professional football. Twenty-six years of game-related events

A historical perspective of injuries in professional football. Twenty-six years of game-related events