Injuries in football (soccer)—a systematic review of epidemiology and aetiological aspects

Increasing injury incidences prove the importance of injury prevention in football. The aim of this review was to summarise the recent evidence on the epidemiology and inciting events of acute injuries within subgroups (performance level, age and sex). A systematic literature search was conducted in the databases PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, Cochrane, PEDro, and SPORTDiscus for articles published from 1 January 2014 until 15 October 2017. The search yielded 4690 results. After the initial screening of titles and abstracts, 182 studies underwent detailed full-text screening according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Finally, 53 studies were included. Of these, 46 papers contained epidemiological data, with a total of approximately 41,212 observed player seasons and 11 further tournaments, including 7122.5 observed matches with approximately 126,748.5 player hours. A total of 30,844 injuries were identified. The overall injury incidence ranged from 0.6 to 20.3 injuries per 1000?h of exposure. The locations at highest risk of injury were the lower limbs, particularly the thighs, knees and ankles. Injury-inciting events were reported in 12 studies, involving a total of 8035 injuries. Of these 12 studies, 5 considered all body locations, 3 concentrated on anterior cruciate ligament injuries, 1 reported on general head injuries, 2 reported on concussions, and 1 reported on midfacial trauma only. One of the main findings of this review was that playing football does not necessarily imply a high risk of injury. Promising preventive approaches are being used to revise implementation strategies of evident training programmes and management of individual workloads.     

Physical exercises for preventing injuries among adult male football players: A systematic review

Background:Football is the most practised sport in the world and is associated with the risk of injuries in the players.Some studies have been published that identify injury prevention programs,but there is no review of the full body of evidence on injury prevention programs for use by football coaches.The aim of this article was to carry out a systematic review of published studies on injury prevention programs for adult male footballers,identify points of common understanding and establish recommendations that should be considered in the design of injury prevention strategies.Methods:PubMed and EMBASE databases were used to identify relevant published articles using the following keywords:"soccer"AND"injury"AND"prevention".Results:A total of 2512 studies were identified initially,but only 11 studies met the inclusion criteria,and their outcomes are presented.Results revealed that injury prevention programs in football have focused on strength training,proprioceptive training,multicomponent programs(balance,core stability,and functional strength and mobility),and warm-up programs.Conclusion:Based on results from the studies analyzed,football players can lower the incidence of match and training injuries by participating in dynamic warm-up programs that include preventive exercises before games or during training sessions,and by adding strength,balance,and mobility training to the training sessions.     

On the worlds of football and the core of the game

Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior’s transfer fee of 222 million euros clearly indicates that the lifeworld of professional football proves the well-known ideal of eleven friends, all from the same hometown, to be a romantic notion of the past. When players are measured by their market value, when clubs are capital investments and when football matches are marketed as spectacular events, the question arising no longer is whether amateur football and professional football have moved apart, but rather how big the gap has become. Is there still any connection between the lifeworld of amateur football and professional football or are these now disparate worlds? To answer this question it is essential to determine whether, despite the obvious invariants between amateur football and professional football, there is still a common core of the game that connects the two worlds. This core may be in the contingency of playing football as a specific form of result uncertainty and uncertainty in action, which are sought voluntarily and intentionally. The reward for the players is not to be found in the intended result (i.e. the victory) but in experiencing that the means taken to reach the aim (generally the movement actions of the players) gain in value to the extent where achieving the aim of the action is unpredictable. In 1995, Seel called this aesthetic value of actions in sport “a celebration of inability”. In conclusion, it is the telic of the autotelic that represents the constitutive prerequisite for the special fascination of football, and in this respect it is possible from a cultural perspective to assign educational value to the game of football. Football will continue to fascinate players as well as the spectators as long as its core—the telic of the autotelic—can be experienced in football’s various lifeworlds.     

Injuries during football tournaments in 45,000 children and adolescents

Four percent of the world’s population, or 265 million people, play football, and many players are injured every year. The present study investigated more than 1800 injuries in over 45,000 youth players participating in three consecutive international football tournaments in Denmark in 2012–2014. The aim was to investigate the injury types and locations in children and adolescent football players and the differences between genders and age groups (11–15 and 16–19 years of age). An overall injury rate of 15.3 per 1000 player hours was found. The most common injury location was lower extremities (66.7%), and the most common injury type was contusion (24.4%). Girls had a relative risk of injury of 1.5 compared with boys, p?p?p?相似文献   

What is influencing the dropout behaviour of youth players from organised football?

This article provides a systematised review of relevant factors influencing youth dropout from organised football. The findings of identified 30 studies concerning dropout behaviour in football indicate the multidimensional influences of intrapersonal, interpersonal and structural factors. Most studies investigate the influence of intrapersonal factors. Accordingly, negatively perceived football competence, lack of motivation, goals and incentives and a lower relative age lead to a higher dropout rate. At the interpersonal level, lack of support from significant others (parents, peers, coach) and a disadvantageous team situations promote withdrawal from organised youth football. A lack of organisational and structural conditions promote dropout too. Based on this review, the following identified research gaps should be addressed in future studies: (1) analysis of individuals’ dropout decision as a selection of available alternatives, (2) referencing to corresponding contextual features of dropout behaviour, (3) the longitudinal perspective at dropout behaviour and (4) the perspective of intervention. Furthermore, some practical implications can be derived for the management of youth members in football clubs: (1) strengthen and develop successive coaching competencies, (2) reflection of own club philosophy against the background of divergent expectations of adolescents, (3) measures to promote identification with the football club and (4) anchoring of orientation regarding to young players as a central objective in the club.     

Comparison of 10 vs. 20 min neuromuscular training for the prevention of lower extremity injuries in male youth football: A cluster randomised controlled trial

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to compare the effects of 20 min neuromuscular training with a programme of 10 min in youth football players. 342 (15.4 ± 1.7 years) male football players from 18 teams were included, and cluster-randomized by team into two intervention groups. Both groups performed an injury prevention programme twice a week over five months using the same exercises but a different duration. The first intervention group (INT10, n = 175) performed the programme for 10 min, the second intervention group (INT20, n = 167) for 20 min. Primary outcomes were lower extremity (LE) injuries. Secondary outcomes were injury type, severity, mechanism and compliance to the intervention. 13 teams with 185 players were included for final analysis. No significant group difference was found between INT10 (6.37 per 1000 h) and INT20 (7.20 per 1000 h) for the incidence rate ratio of the lower extremities (IRR = 1.03, 95% confidence interval 0.59, 1.79), nor for the distribution of injury location, type, severity or mechanism. The results show that performing preventive exercises for 10 min is no less effective than 20 min in youth football players. Shorter training sessions can, therefore, be effectively used for injury prevention.     

Subjectivation by video—ethnographic explorations on practices of video analysis in high-performance youth football

This paper deals with video-based match and performance analysis in high-performance youth football. It draws on empirical material gathered during ethnographic research conducted with two teams organized within the framework of the youth academy of a German First Division football club. The material is analysed from a perspective inspired by sociological practice theories as well as the theoretical concept of subjectivation. The paper investigates the different contexts and practices of training in which videos occur and sheds light on their implications for the organization of play as well as for the development of players and coaches. Using long-term participatory observations and narratively designed qualitative interviews, it is revealed that videos serve different and heterogeneous purposes within different practices. Thus, this paper details not only the intended and obvious effects of video analysis, such as the optimization of play and training, but also its unintended and widely ignored side effects.     

Let the Aryanists know! Brazilian race and nation in the 1938 France World Cup

ABSTRACT

Getúlio Vargas’ dictatorship (1937-1945) attributed to sports a key role to foment the formation of a ‘new Brazil’, using football as a crucial element to promote the state nationalist policy. A propitious moment for this attempt would be an international event, a space in which Brazil could demonstrate to the civilized nations – especially to the European countries – the best qualities of ‘the Brazilian race’. This arena was the 1938 World Cup, played in France. This essay presents some aspects of the relationship between football and the construction of Brazil’s national identity in the early twentieth century. My focus on the 1938 World Cup is due to the fact this was a quintessential event not only for the history of Brazilian sports but also for the debates on scientific racism and the construction of national identity. This event shaped, more than eight decades ago, the ways through which football articulated the core commonality of the Brazilian society, becoming one of the key elements to understand contemporary Brazil.     

The elite player performance plan: the impact of a new national youth development strategy on injury characteristics in a premier league football academy

The objective of this study was to investigate the injury incidence and patterns in elite youth football at a category 1 Premier League Academy before and after the introduction of a new development strategy, the Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP). A prospective study was performed over six consecutive seasons encompassing three years before and after the introduction of the EPPP. The findings revealed a most likely moderate increase in total exposure per player per season when the post-EPPP football exposure (640.86 ± 83.25 hours per player per year) was compared with the pre-EPPP football exposure (539.08 ± 71.59). The total injury incidence pre-EPPP was 3.0/1000 hours compared to 2.1/1000 hours post-EPPP (rate ratio 1.43). 6% of all injuries were re-injuries (20.24 ± 33.43 days) but did not result in a substantially longer absence (16.56 ± 15.77 days). The injury burden decreased for the U12-U15 from pre- to post-EPPP, whereas the injury burden increased for the U16-U18 (respectively 125 and 47% higher). These findings suggest that following the introduction of the EPPP there has been a reduction in injuries in the younger age groups U12-U15 but in the older age groups U16-U18 there has been an increase in the severity of the injuries sustained at this club.     

Association between relative age effect and organisational practices of American youth football

The popular method of organising youth sport participants into age divisions, based solely on their birthdate, can result in an imbalance of the distribution of players. This is known as relative age effect (RAE), which inadvertently creates bias and is associated with deleterious short and long-term consequences. The overall purpose of this study was to examine how the potential for RAE is mitigated when simultaneously accounting for additional player criterion, supplementary to age. A mid-Atlantic American youth football registration database was acquired, including chronological (age), anthropometric (weight), and competency (skill) factors. Player (n = 1,265) data were classified into quartiles and multiple chi-square goodness of fit tests were conducted using proportions of live births as expected theoretical distribution values. When data were categorised by a single developmental criterion (e.g. age), results indicated significant departures (p ≤ 0.002) from expected proportions. However, when categorised using multiple criteria (i.e. age, weight, and skill), equitable birthdate distributions were observed. Findings from this study indicate using only one developmental criterion for organising players is associated with RAE, whereas approaches accounting for multiple variables are not associated with RAE. This study provides youth football programs with early evidence for considering alternative methods of organising players.     

Long-term effects of the 11+ warm-up injury prevention programme on physical performance in adolescent male football players: a cluster-randomised controlled trial

This study examined the long-term effects of the 11+ on physical performance in adolescent male football (soccer) players. Eighty-two 14- to 16-year-old male football players (11+ = 42 players, control = 40 players) participated. Teams were randomised to control (CON) and intervention (INT) groups. INT applied the 11+ injury prevention programme for 30 weeks at least twice a week as a warm-up. CON performed their standard warm-up. Motor performance tests were conducted 1 week prior and 1 week after the competition season. We used magnitude-based inferences and linear mixed-effects models to analyse performance test results. INT showed superior results compared to CON in the vertical jump height 7.5% (95%-CI 4.4%, 10.7%), the Bosco 15-s-jump test 7.2% (95%-CI 2.2%, 12.4%), and the Illinois agility test ?2.6% (95%-CI ?4.1%, ?1.1%). Possibly beneficial effects in favour of INT were found in the 9.1 m sprint test ?3.1% (95%-CI ?6.1%, 0.1%). Possibly harmful effects (i.e. in favour of CON) were observed in the dribbling test 2.8% (95%-CI ?0.8%, 6.4%). The 11+ warm-up programme can improve different performance measures in football players. Coaches might implement additional dribbling drills next to the 11+ to achieve improvements observed in dribbling ability when using a regular warm-up programme.     

Prognostic validity of talent orientation in soccer

Several talent-screening programs conducted within elementary schools have implemented motor diagnostics to introduce children to groups of sports including both game and specific sports, the latter of which includes gymnastics, skiing, and tennis. However, as in most other sports, the predictive value for soccer regarding such early testing is unclear. This prospective cohort study evaluated the mid-term prognostic validity of general motor tests as well as a soccer-specific score calculated from a test battery. The sample consisted of N?=?2965 U9 age group of children from the Fulda Movement Check (FMC). The FMC is a basic check comprised of two anthropometric parameters and eight general items of the German Motor Test 6–18 by Boes and Schlenker with the addition of a ball throw. The test data were collected from the second grade classes of 2011–2014. The soccer competition performance of those children who chose soccer (n?=?316) up to the end of the season 2016/17 (September 30, 2017) was recorded. This group of U12–U15 players was then assigned individually to four different competition levels. The prognostic validity of the motor tests was determined using analysis of variance, odds ratios, and a discriminant analysis. All diagnostic methods exhibited medium to high prognostic validity over the 2? to 6?year time span from the talent screening and talent orientation period to the later soccer competitions in the early adolescent U12–U15 age groups. The prognostic relevance of the nine general motor tests was confirmed.     

Workload and injury incidence in elite football academy players

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to prospectively analyse the relationship between workloads and injury in elite football academy players. Elite football academy players (n = 122) from under-19 (U19) and under-21 (U21) of a professional football team competing in UEFA European Cups were followed during 5 seasons. Injuries were collected and absolute workload and workload ratios (4-weeks, 3-weeks, 2-weeks and week-to-week) calculated using a rolling days method with the help of the session Rate of Perceived Exertion. There was no association between absolute workload or workload ratio with the injury incidence in the U19. In the U21, the level of cumulative absolute workloads during 3-weeks (RR = 1.39, p = 0.026) and during 4-weeks (RR = 1.40, p = 0.019) were associated with an increase in injury. There was no association between workload ratio and injury in U21. The significant link between high cumulated 3-weeks and 4 weeks workloads and injury in U21 confirmed the requirement to monitor the internal subjective workload in U21 in order to prevent injury. Further studies exploring the relationships between workload and injury are required in football academy.     

Pacing and perceived exertion in endurance performance in exercise therapy and health sports

When humans are physically active for an extended period of time, they regulate their physical performance in order to achieve the intended goal of that activity with an individually adequate effort. This permanent conscious or subconscious proportioning of energetic reserves towards an endpoint is termed as “pacing”. While pacing has primarily attracted notice in endurance sports competition, it also plays a vital role in other contexts of physical activity, such as locomotion or transport, work, leisure, and prevention and rehabilitation. The current paper outlines some of the fundamentals of pacing and aims to stimulate a debate by highlighting the potential and limitations of a stronger consideration of pacing in exercise therapy and health sports from a biomedical and psychosocial perspective. Endurance training that focuses on the learning of pacing and the perception of exertion may improve the control competence as one component of physical-activity-related health competence. In terms of client orientation, this would strengthen participants’ autonomy in exercise configuration, and it might positively influence well-being, self-responsibility, compliance, and long-term training effects. In fact, professional societies see scope for defined target groups in cardiac prevention and rehabilitation to self-regulate their training intensity based on perceived exertion. However, the training effects and the risks of self-regulation have yet to be investigated more carefully in subjects who are not experienced with exercise. Further research is also needed on the mechanisms of perception of physiological strain and effort, as well as on approaches for optimal support of the learning of pacing to achieve control competence.     

Vom erwartbaren Erkenntnispotenzial der Auftragsforschung zu Sportvereinen

Sports club research has a long tradition in Germany and has produced a considerable variety of methodological approaches and theoretical as well as empirical knowledge. This article provides an epistemologically oriented determination and reflection of the potential of knowledge of current sports club research against the background of the tender objectives of the sports development report on waves 7 to 9 (SEB 3.0). It becomes clear that in conflict between normatively charged goals of the SEB—defined by the public client (principal)—non-judgmental, theory-guided and theory-based empirical sports club research is hardly possible. This means that it is rather difficult to carry out sports club research that is based on current research and is also able to generate new and reliable scientific knowledge. Therefore, a clearer differentiation is recommended between knowledge-guided research and normatively broken objectives aimed at policy advice. In dealing with these issues, methodological and methodological strategies are proposed to achieve the goals of SEB 3.0. At the same time, the chance of generating additional theoretical and empirical knowledge on the subject of “sports club” is increased.     

周口师范学院体育学院足球运动损伤现状调查

该文运用文献资料法、问卷调查法、访谈法、数理统计法、实地考察法对周口师范学院体育学院足球运动损伤现状进行调查分析,研究结果表明:足球教师预防运动损伤仍然存在不足;学生运动损伤理论匮乏。根据研究结果提出以下建议:足球教师要提高对运动损伤的重视程度;做好准备活动;提高足球技术等。通过有效的处理与预防足球运动损伤,激发学生学习足球的热情,促进周口师范学院足球项目的进步与发展。     

Dynamic balance performance varies by position but not by age group in elite Rugby Union players – a normative study

This cohort study aimed to provide normative Y Balance Test scores for an elite Rugby Union population, while investigating the effect player age groups (senior/under-20), playing positions (forwards/backs) and anthropometrics (height and body mass) had on performance. Two-hundred and sixty-one elite male under-20 (n = 50) and senior (n = 211) players completed baseline Y Balance Test during the 2015/2016 season. One-way ANCOVA and post-hoc t-tests were used to investigate the effect playing position, player group, height and weight had on performance. The cohort was then stratified into groups (age group and/or playing position), and normative percentiles were presented. There was a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) in Y Balance Test performance between playing positions, when controlling for age group. This difference did not remain when controlling for player body mass. Post-hoc analysis demonstrated that backs had a longer normalised reach distance, with medium-large and small-medium effect sizes for the under-20 and senior cohorts respectively. The one-way ANCOVA analysis suggests that this difference is likely due to the larger differences in player body mass between forward and back playing positions. The normative values presented in this paper may be used by clinicians and researchers to aid injury prevention and rehabilitation strategies.     

Football-related patriotism in Germany and the 2016 UEFA EURO

This paper coins the term ‘football patriotism’ to describe the open, expressive handling of national symbols (e.?g. flags, anthems, national colors) in the context of international football events. Based on a representative online survey of the adult German population (N?=?1092), which was carried out in the course of the 2016 UEFA EURO, this paper presents, for the first time, empirical findings on three essential questions: (1) Which proportion of the German population was involved in which forms of football-related patriotic behavior? (2) To what extent does this proportion vary between different social demographic groups? (3) Which political and ideological attitudes are associated with football patriotism? The results illustrate that roughly 15% of German adults were involved in three or more different patriotic actions during the EURO. This proportion was lower among older, East German and immigrant respondents and higher in families with children. Football patriots positioned themselves less often as politically ‘left’ and endorsed patriotic and nationalistic statements more strongly.     

Epidemiology of injuries in male and female youth football players: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundTo conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of epidemiological data of injuries in male and female youth football players.MethodsSearches were performed in MEDLINE/PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and SPORTDiscus databases. Studies were considered if they reported injury incidence rate in male and female youth (≤19 years old) football players. Two reviewers (FJRP and ALV) extracted data and assessed trial quality using the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) statement and the Newcastle Ottawa Scale. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation approach determined the quality of evidence. Studies were combined using a Poisson random effects regression model.ResultsForty-three studies were included. The overall incidence rate was 5.70 injuries/1000 h in males and 6.77 injuries/1000 h in females. Match injury incidence (14.43 injuries/1000 h in males and 14.97 injuries/1000 h in females) was significantly higher than training injury incidence (2.77 injuries/1000 h in males and 2.62 injuries/1000 h in females). The lower extremity had the highest incidence rate in both sexes. The most common type of injury was muscle/tendon for males and joint/ligament for females. Minimal injuries were the most common in both sexes. The incidence rate of injuries increased with advances in chronological age in males. Elite male players presented higher match injury incidence than sub-elite players. In females, there was a paucity of data for comparison across age groups and levels of play.ConclusionThe high injury incidence rates and sex differences identified for the most common location and type of injury reinforce the need for implementing different targeted injury-risk mitigation strategies in male and female youth football players.