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).
Cohort (n=756)
Yes
Relative Risk: 1.72 (95% CI 1.23–2.45)
Absolute Event Rate: 113.4% vs 65.9%
p-value: p=<0.01
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.
Owoeye et al. (Tue,) conducted a cohort in Football injuries (n=756). Male gender vs. Female gender was evaluated on Overall incidence of injuries per 1000 match-hours (IRR 1.72, 95% CI 1.23-2.45, p=<0.01). 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).