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Regional differences in injury incidence in E uropean professional football
Author(s) -
Waldén M.,
Hägglund M.,
Orchard J.,
Kristenson K.,
Ekstrand J.
Publication year - 2013
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 - 10.1111/j.1600-0838.2011.01409.x
Subject(s) - medicine , anterior cruciate ligament , football , incidence (geometry) , confidence interval , acl injury , rate ratio , prospective cohort study , cohort study , physical therapy , surgery , geography , physics , archaeology , optics
The objective of this study was to investigate regional differences in injury incidence in men's professional football in E urope. A nine‐season prospective cohort study was carried out between 2001–2002 and 2009–2010 involving 1357 players in 25 teams from nine countries. Teams were categorized into different regions according to the K öppen– G eiger climate classification system. Teams from the northern parts of E urope ( n = 20) had higher incidences of injury overall [rate ratio 1.12, 95% confidence interval ( CI ) 1.06 to 1.20], training injury (rate ratio 1.16, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.27), and severe injury (rate ratio 1.29, 95% CI 1.10 to 1.52), all statistically significant, compared to teams from more southern parts ( n = 5). In contrast, the anterior cruciate ligament injury incidence was lower in the northern E uropean teams with a statistically significant difference (rate ratio 0.43, 95% CI 0.25 to 0.77), especially for noncontact anterior cruciate ligament injury (rate ratio 0.19, 95% CI 0.09 to 0.39). In conclusion, this study suggests that there are regional differences in injury incidence of E uropean professional football. However, further studies are needed to identify the underlying causes.