Abstract Objectives To compare the incidence and characteristics of injuries between Dutch amateur and professional male soccer players during one entire competition season. Design A prospective ...two-cohort design. Methods During the 2009–2010 season, 456 Dutch male amateur soccer players and 217 professional players were prospectively followed. Information on injuries and individual exposure to all soccer activities were recorded in both cohorts. Injuries were recorded using the time-loss definition. Results In total, 424 injuries were recorded among 274 of the amateur players (60.1% injured players) and 286 injuries were sustained by 136 (62.7% injured players) of the professional players ( p = 0.52). Compared to the professionals, the injury incidence during training sessions was higher among amateurs ( p = 0.01), but the injury incidence among professionals was higher during matches ( p < 0.001). Professional players also had a higher incidence of minimal injuries ( p < 0.001), whereas the incidence of moderate and severe injuries was higher for amateurs (all p < 0.001). Lastly, professional players sustained more overuse injuries ( p = 0.02), whereas amateurs reported more recurrent injuries ( p < 0.001). Conclusions The above-mentioned differences in injury rates between amateur and professional players in the Netherlands might be explained by the difference in the level at which they play, since factors like the availability of medical support and/or the team size may influence the injury risk and characteristics.
Injuries are a major adverse event in a soccer player's career. Reducing injury incidence requires a thorough knowledge of the epidemiology of soccer injuries.
To investigate the incidence and ...characteristics of injuries in the Dutch premier soccer league.
Cohort study.
The Dutch premier soccer league.
During the 2009-2010 soccer season, a total of 217 professional soccer players from 8 teams were prospectively followed.
The medical staff recorded time-loss injuries, including information on injuries (ie, type, body part, duration) and exposure data for training sessions and matches.
A total of 286 injuries were recorded, affecting 62.7% of the players. The overall injury incidence was 6.2 injuries per 1000 player-hours, 2.8 in training sessions and 32.8 in matches. Most of the recorded injuries were acute (68.5%). Eight percent of the injuries were classified as recurrent. Injuries were most likely to be located in the lower extremities (82.9%). Injury time loss ranged from 1 to 752 days, with a median of 8 days. Knee injuries had the greatest consequences in terms of days of absence from soccer play (on average, 45 days). The most common diagnosis was muscle/tendon injury of the lower extremities (32.9%).
Injury risk in the Dutch premier soccer league is high, especially during matches. Preventive measures should focus on the most common diagnoses, namely, muscle/tendon injuries of the lower extremities.
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