Injuries in professional male soccer players in the Netherlands: a prospective cohort study.

CONTEXT: 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.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the incidence and characteristics of injuries in the Dutch premier soccer league.

DESIGN

Cohort study.

SETTING

The Dutch premier soccer league.

PATIENTS OR OTHER

PARTICIPANTS

During the 2009-2010 soccer season, a total of 217 professional soccer players from 8 teams were prospectively followed.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): The medical staff recorded time-loss injuries, including information on injuries (ie, type, body part, duration) and exposure data for training sessions and matches.

RESULTS

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%).

CONCLUSIONS

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.