What is the clinical evidence from this study?

Study design: Cohort. Population: Football injuries (n=756). Intervention: Male gender vs. Female gender. Primary outcome: Overall incidence of injuries per 1000 match-hours (IRR 1.72, 95% CI 1.23-2.45, p=<0.01).

March 21, 2017Open Access

Injuries in male and female semi-professional football (soccer) players in Nigeria: prospective study of a National Tournament

Q: What are the key findings of this study?

Male semi-professional football players had a significantly higher overall incidence of injuries compared to female players (113.4 vs 65.9 injuries/1000 hours; IRR 1.72).

OOOluwatoyosi B. A. OwoeyeUniversity of Calgary AAAyoola Ibifubara AiyegbusiUniversity of Lagos OFOluwaseun Akinleye FapojuwoUniversity of Lagos

Key Result

Male semi-professional football players had a significantly higher overall incidence of injuries compared to female players (113.4 vs 65.9 injuries/1000 hours; IRR 1.72).

Study Design

Type

Cohort (n=756)

Multicenter

Yes

Structured PICO

Population

756 male and female semi-professional football players aged 18-32 years participating in a National Tournament in Nigeria, followed prospectively to evaluate injury incidence.

Outcome

Incidence and pattern of injuries (all injuries and time-loss injuries) per 1000 match-hours and per match

Main Result

Relative Risk: 1.72 (95% CI 1.23–2.45)

Absolute Event Rate: 113.4% vs 65.9%

p-value: p=<0.01

Limitations

Limited in scope to semi-professional football players in Nigeria
Only presents acute injuries sustained during matches, excluding training and overuse injuries
Previous injuries sustained prior to camping were not recorded
Physical complaints such as illnesses and diseases were not recorded

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Research on the epidemiology of football injuries in Africa is very sparse despite its importance for injury prevention planning in a continent with limited sports medicine resources. The vast majority of studies available in literature were conducted in Europe and only a very few studies have prospectively reported the pattern of football injury in Africa. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence and pattern of injuries in a cohort of male and female semi-professional football players in Nigeria. METHODS: A prospective cohort design was conducted, in which a total of 756 players with an age range of 18-32 years (356 males and 300 females) from 22 different teams (12 male and 10 female teams), were prospectively followed in a National Football Tournament. Physiotherapists recorded team exposure and injuries. Injuries were documented using the consensus protocol for data collection in studies relating to football injury surveillance. RESULTS: An overall incidence of 113.4 injuries/1000 h (95% CI 93.7-136.0) equivalent to 3.7 injuries/match and time-loss incidence of 15.6 injuries/1000 h were recorded for male players and 65.9 injuries/1000 h (95% CI 48.9-86.8) equivalent to 2.2 injuries/match and time-loss incidence of 7.9 injuries/1000 h were recorded for female players. Male players had a significantly higher risk of injuries IRR = 1.72 (95% CI 1.23-2.45). Injuries mostly affected the lower extremity for both genders (n = 81, 70% and n = 31, 62% for males and females respectively). Lower leg contusion (n = 22, 19%) and knee sprain (n = 9, 18%) were the most common specific injury types for male and female players respectively. Most of the injuries were as a result of contact with another player (n = 102, 88%-males; n = 48, 96%-females). Time-loss injuries were mostly estimated as minimal (n = 11, 69%) for male players and severe (n = 4, 66%) for female players. CONCLUSION: The overall incidence of injuries among Nigerian semi-professional football players is high but most of the injuries do not result in time-loss. Pattern of injuries is mostly consistent with previous studies. More prospective studies are needed to establish injury prevention initiatives among African players.

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