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On the Ball with Injury Research in Soccer Players
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Posted on: 12/18/2001
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The possibility of injury isn't usually the first thing on an athlete's mind. But in many sports, injury is part of the game. Just how common is injury among professional soccer players?
To find out, these authors studied injury reports from the first season of United States Major League Soccer. There were a total of 237 players on 10 teams. Players ranged in age from 18 to 38 years. Their average age was 27. Each player spent about 241 hours practicing over the course of the season. That's eight times more hours than they spent in competition (28 hours per player).
The overall rate of injury was six injuries per 1000 hours of playing time. Although players spent much more time in practice than in competition, games resulted in more injuries. There were roughly three injuries per 1000 hours of practice time, versus 35 injuries per 1000 hours of competition. That means players were 12 times more likely to get hurt during games. This makes sense given the fact that games are often more rigorous than practice.
About a third of the injuries didn't cost the athletes any playing time. Of the remaining 256 injuries, most (59 percent) were "minor," meaning they kept players off the field for less than a week. Twenty-eight percent put players out for up to a month. Thirteen percent were major injuries that caused absences of more than a month.
The last month and a half of the season resulted in more injuries than any other part of the season. This could be due to the intensity of playing when teams vie for play-offs. Or it could be due to the build-up of exertion over the course of the season.
Seventy-seven percent of the athletes' injuries involved the lower extremities. Knees were injured the most (21 percent of injuries), followed by ankles (18 percent). Injuries to the knee resulted in the most time lost from competition and the greatest number of surgeries. For players suffering from strains, the hamstring and hip abductor muscles were most often affected.
Mid-fielders accounted for 38 percent of the injuries. Defenders had 30 percent of the injuries. Forwards and goalkeepers each had 20 and eight percent of the injuries. When the authors looked at the number of players in each position, they found that none of the positions was more prone to injury than another. Players' ages also didn't make a difference in whether they were injured or how severely.
Clearly, injuries happen in soccer, especially during games. But the authors feel that soccer players may be safer from injury than athletes in other sports. At the very least, this study suggests that injuries generally don't keep professional soccer players off the field for long.
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References:
Bruce E. Morgan, MS, ATC, and Michael A. Oberlander, MD. An Examination of Injuries in Major League Soccer: The Inaugural Season. In The American Journal of Sports Medicine. July/August 2001. Vol. 29. No. 4. Pp. 426-430.
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