The major traumas in youth football.
For 4 years we followed a group of football players in the youth division of a professional club, ranging in age from 9 to 19 years, and analyzed the major injuries, i.e., those which required them to be sidelined for at least 4 weeks. We observed 23 sprains, 16 fractures, 16 cases of osteochondrosis, 7 muscle lesions, 6 cases of groin pain (athletic pubalgia), and 4 tendonopathies. The most frequent sites were the knee (n=30) and the ankle (n=11); the trauma factor was predominant (65.2%) with respect to overuse; noncontact traumas were more numerous (63.8%) than those resulting from contrast. Of a total 72 cases 8 regarded goalkeepers, and the remaining 64 cases were distributed among the other positions. As regards the age categories we detected a prevalence of osteochondrosis, traumatic detachments, and some fractures in the younger players, while in the older athletes we observed more sprains, muscle lesions, and tendonopathies.
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Centro di Traumatologia dello Sport e Chirurgia Artroscopica, Istituto Ortopedico Galeazzi, Via Galeazzi, 4, 20161 Milan, Italy. volpi.sozzi@libero.it
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D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D016512:Ankle Injuries / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D002648:Child; D005538:Football / Q000293:injuries*; D050723:Fractures, Bone / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D006119:Groin / Q000293:injuries; D006801:Humans; D007718:Knee Injuries / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D008023:Ligaments, Articular / Q000293:injuries; D008297:Male; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000293:injuries; D010007:Osteochondritis / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D013180:Sprains and Strains / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D013708:Tendon Injuries / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy