Frequency and trends in foot and ankle injuries within an English Premier League Football Club using a new impact factor of injury to identify a focus for injury prevention.

BACKGROUND

Foot and ankle injuries are common in football. Prevention strategies exist in order to decrease the incidence of such injuries and minimize the number of days that a player is unavailable for selection.

METHODS

Injuries were recorded over a 4-season period while the team was playing in the English Premier League (EPL). We present the epidemiology of foot and ankle injuries within a professional football club and offer a calculation that may be of use in the future to identify areas of injury prevention.

RESULTS

Anterior Talo-Fibular Ligament (ATFL) injuries and fifth metatarsal fractures were of high impact as they were both common and resulted in significant time periods where the player was unavailable.

CONCLUSIONS

This is the first time an EPL club has been prepared to publish data regarding injury. Our findings may be used by others to focus their prevention strategies on the injuries with the highest impact.