Injuries among Swedish female elite football players: a prospective population study.
Injury occurrence in all 12 female elite senior football teams in premiere league was registered during 1 year. Of 269 players, 129 (48%) sustained 237 injuries. The total injury incidence was 4.6/1000 h of football. The injury incidence during practice was 2.7 and during the game time was 13.9/1000 h. The highest injury incidence during practice was to the knee (0.8/1000 h) and thigh (0.5/1000 h), and during game time was to the knee (4.4/1000 h) and head (2.2/1000 h). In total, the location for the highest injury incidence was the knee with 1.5 injuries/1000 h of football. The majority of injuries (82%) were localized to the lower extremities. Sixty-six injuries (28%) were re-occurring injuries (re-injuries). The incidence of traumatic injuries was 3.3/1000 h of football and for overuse injuries 1.3/1000 h. Overuse injuries occurred mainly during the preseason and at the beginning of the spring season. Thirty-nine percent of the injuries were slight or minor causing absence from practice or game time of less than 1 week, 39% were moderate (absence 7-28 days) and 22% were major (absence more than 28 days). The major injuries occurred often owing to trauma and were mainly to the knee.
Jacobson
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I
Institution of Health Science, Luleå University of Technology, Boden, Sweden. inger.jacobson@ltu.se
Tegner
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Y
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012916:Soccer / Q000293:injuries*; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology