title: Match injuries in professional soccer: inter-seasonal variation and effects of competition type, match congestion and positional role.
abstract: In this prospective observational study, injuries sustained in official match-play in players belonging to a professional soccer club were investigated. Incidence and patterns of injury were compared across four-seasons (2005-2006: S1, 2006-2007: S2, 2007-2008: S3 and 2008-2009: S4) and 3 match formats (domestic League/Cup games and European club competition). In addition, the effects of both fixture congestion and the positional role of players were investigated. Injury incidence (per 1 000 match-hours) did not vary between seasons (range 31.2-59.2 observed in S2 and S4, respectively, p=0.12) or fixture formats (range 32.6-40.8 observed in European and League matches, respectively, p=0.49). In contrast, rates varied in players (n=7) who participated in all four seasons as more injuries were sustained in S1 compared to S2 and S3, respectively (88.4 vs. 49.0 vs. 49.2, both p<0.05). The incidence of muscle strains was higher in S4 versus S3 (24.7 vs. 9.9, p<0.05) as were injuries sustained to the ankle region in S4 versus S2 (15.1 vs. 4.5, p<0.05). The incidence of joint sprains differed between fixture formats with a higher rate observed in League versus both Cup and European competition, respectively (10.1 vs. 3.0 vs. 3.0, both p<0.05). Injury incidence was not associated to the time delay (number of days) separating games (r=0.04, p=0.58). A very short interval (< or = 3 days) between fixtures did not result in a greater injury rate (p=0.40) or number of days lost to injury (p=0.73) compared to a longer interval (> or = 4 days). Finally, the incidence of injury and muscle strains (both p<0.001) varied across positional roles with the highest rates observed in centre-forwards. These findings provide further knowledge on the risk of injury in contemporary professional soccer match-play and may aid in the care and management of playing resources.
authors.affiliation: LOSC Lille Métropole Football Club, Camphin-en-Pévèle, France. chris.carling@free.fr
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Carling
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Orhant
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: LeGall
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D003163:Competitive Behavior; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D012621:Seasons; D012916:Soccer / Q000293:injuries*; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013997:Time Factors