A Prospective Analysis of the Injury Incidence of Young Male Professional Football Players on Artificial Turf

Abstract

Background:The effects of synthetic surfaces on the risk of injuries is still debated in literature and the majority of published data seems to be contradictory. For such reasons the understanding of injury incidence on such surfaces, especially in youth sport, is fundamental for injury prevention.Objectives:The aim of this study was to prospectively report the epidemiology of injuries in young football players, playing on artificial turfs, during a one sports season.Patients and Methods:80 young male football players (age 16.1 ± 3.7 years; height 174 ± 6.6 cm; weight 64.2 ± 6.3 kg) were enrolled in a prospective cohort study. The participants were then divided in two groups; the first included players age ranging from 17 to 19 (OP) whereas the second included players age ranging from 13 to 16 (YP). Injury incidence was recorded prospectively, according to the consensus statement for soccer.Results:A total of 107 injuries (35 from the OP and 72 from the YP) were recorded during an exposure time of 83.760 hours (incidence 1.28/1000 per player hours); 22 during matches (incidence 2.84/1000 per player hours, 20.5%) and 85 during training (incidence 1.15/1000 per player hours, 79.5%). Thigh and groin were the most common injury locations (33.6% and 21.5%, respectively) while muscle injuries such as contractures and strains were the most common injury typologies (68.23%). No statistical differences between groups were displayed, except for the rate of severe injuries during matches, with the OP displaying slightly higher rates compared to the YP. Severe injuries accounted for 10.28% of the total injuries reported. The average time lost due to injuries was 14 days. Re-injuries accounted for 4.67% of all injuries sustained during the season.Conclusions:In professional youth soccer injury rates are reasonably low. Muscle injuries are the most common type of injuries while groin and thigh the most common locations. Artificial turf pitches don’t seem to contribute to injury incidence in young football players.

Epidemiological profile of soccer-related injuries in a state Brazilian championship: An observational study of 2014–15 season

“…This pattern of incidence was also found in a study conducted in a different country, 4 but in the same continent. This reinforces the hypothesis already mentioned that differences in injury records from European athletes and South American athletes could be explained by soccer practice characteristics on different continents.…”

“…For example, there are epidemiological descriptive studies, either retrospective 3 or prospective cohort, 4 considering amateur, 5 professional 2 and elite 6 players in relation to injuries occurred in different periods as pre-season, training and competition. 7 In Brazil, country with 30 million practitioners, studies on this issue are scarce but essential to provide information for professionals responsible for the rehabilitation of athletes, so they can implement preventive strategies based on knowledge of the epidemiological characteristics of the injuries.…”

Injuries in Portuguese Amateur Youth Football Players: A Six Month Prospective Descriptive Study

“…This pattern is also observed in each age group. These results corroborate existing literature, [20][21][22][23] whereby the overall incidence of injury during training varies from 1 -5 injuries per 1000 hours and with 15 -20 injuries per 1000 hours of match time (RR match to training sessions varies between 1.2 and 11.5). 16 Injuries and aging Some studies report an increase in the incidence of injury with age progression, linking it to enhanced competitiveness Values in parentheses represent % of total (248) injuries.…”

“…When examining specific location of the body, most injuries occurred in the thigh (n = 61; 24.6%), a finding that is also in accordance to existing research. 10,20,25,26 Recent studies dealing with professional football players Nogueira M, et al Injuries in portuguese amateur youth football players, Acta Med Port 2017 Dec;30 (12):840-847 demonstrate that thigh muscles injuries represent more than 30% of all injuries and cause higher number of days away from competition. 27 Corazza et al 27 explained these numbers: thigh muscles achieve a high level of exposure by crossing two joints (hamstrings, gracilis and rectus femoris), all of which are essential to various football movements such as sprinting, jumping and kicking.…”

Microstructural foundations of the strength and resilience of LLDPE artificial turf yarn

“…Several manuscripts on the performance of artificial turf can be found in literature. However, all of these focus on other aspects, such as the biomechanical implications of turf properties which are mostly related to the rubber infill layer (i.e., loading of joints or potential athlete injuries), functional play‐related properties like coefficient of friction and play performance, long‐term durability of artificial turf fields and even sustainability issues . Also the influence of surface temperature on the mechanical properties of artificial turf is investigated .…”