title: Injury evaluation of the Turkish national football team over six consecutive seasons.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The aim of our study was to evaluate the incidence, mechanisms and anatomic sites of injuries of the Turkish National Men's Football Team over six years.
  
  
  METHODS
  The affected anatomic site, incidence rate, type of injury, and applied treatment procedures were recorded by the medical staff. Official and friendly games and training sessions over the period January 2000 - December 2005 were documented daily. Cross- tabulation, frequency analysis, descriptive statistics, and chi-square test methods were used in statistical evaluations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In total, 52 official and friendly games were played and 208 training sessions were conducted. The total number of injuries recorded in this period was 108, and the averages per match and training were 1.0 and 0.27, respectively. The most commonly affected anatomic site was the thigh (25%), the most common injury type was contusion (32%) and the most common applied treatment procedure was physical therapy and rehabilitation (89.8%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results provide valuable information about the incidence, affected anatomical site, and type and severity of injuries in football. This study can serve as reference data for future scientific studies in the field, and also provides information regarding the prevention of injuries.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sports Medicine, İstanbul University, İstanbul, Turkey. Bulent.bayraktar@gmail.com
authors.forename: Bülent
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bayraktar
authors.forename: Cengiz
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dinç
authors.forename: Ilker
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Yücesir
authors.forename: Abdurrahman
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Evin
mesh_terms: D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D019567:Back Injuries; D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D035002:Lower Extremity / Q000293:injuries; D008297:Male; D012621:Seasons; D012916:Soccer / Q000293:injuries*; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology; D034941:Upper Extremity / Q000293:injuries