Premium
Soccer injuries in childhood
Author(s) -
Kakavelakis K. N.,
Vlazakis S.,
Vlahakis I.,
Charissis G.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of medicine and science in sports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.575
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1600-0838
pISSN - 0905-7188
DOI - 10.1034/j.1600-0838.2003.00294.x
Subject(s) - medicine , incidence (geometry) , injury prevention , occupational safety and health , physical therapy , poison control , prospective cohort study , suicide prevention , human factors and ergonomics , match play , emergency medicine , medical emergency , surgery , pathology , physics , optics
A prospective study of soccer injuries, involving 287 male youth players, from the ages of 12–15 was conducted in 24 Greek soccer clubs, during the course of one year. A total of 193 players sustained 209 injuries. The incidence of injuries was 4.0 injuries per 1000 h of soccer time per player, and the most common types of injuries were sprains and strains. Surprisingly, it was found that an increase of injury incidences occurred during practice. Fifty‐eight injuries required medical assistance. The majority of injuries (80%) were located in the lower extremities. Collision with other players was the most common activity at the time of injury, accounting for 40% of all injuries. The conclusion of this study and the evidence from other studies suggests that youth soccer is a relatively low risk sport. However, a substantial amount of injuries could be prevented. It is necessary to identify the risk factors, which are associated with these types of injuries .