British Journal of Sports Medicine, Vol 32, Issue 4 326-332, Copyright © 1998 by British Association of Sport and Medicine

An examination of the frequency and severity of injuries and incidents at three levels of professional football

RD Hawkins and CW Fuller
Centre for Hazard and Risk Management, Loughborough University, Leics, United Kingdom.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the risk of injury to professional footballers during European international and English Premier and First Division league matches. METHODS: Videotaped recordings of 29, 49, and 93 matches from the 1996 European Championship, 1996/1997 English Premier season and 1994 to 1997 English First Division seasons respectively were analysed. During each match, several relevant variables, including the number of fouls, injuries, time of incident, player identity, and injury mechanism, were recorded. RESULTS: Significantly more free kicks were awarded during international matches than during league matches; however, there were no significant differences between the numbers of free kicks awarded over the three First Division seasons assessed. Between 1.7 and 3.0% of fouls resulted in a player requiring treatment for injury, but only 15-28% of all injuries resulted from foul play. In all "non-foul" situations, in which injury resulted, at least 60% still involved player to player contact. No significant differences in injury frequency were observed between playing positions or match halves. CONCLUSIONS: The results equate to a total of 808 players per season from the estimated 2600 players in the four English professional football leagues sustaining a match injury that caused them to miss at least one game. The large number of underlying "non-injury" incidents is identified as the reason for this level of injury rather than a higher ratio of "injury" to "non-injury" incidents in professional football compared with other occupations.
CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Collins, C L, Fields, S K, Comstock, R D (2008). When the rules of the game are broken: what proportion of high school sports-related injuries are related to illegal activity?. Inj. Prev. 14: 34-38 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Junge, A., Dvorak, J. (2007). Injuries in female football players in top-level international tournaments. Br. J. Sports. Med. 41: i3-i7 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Tscholl, P, O'Riordan, D, Fuller, C W, Dvorak, J, Junge, A (2007). Tackle mechanisms and match characteristics in women's elite football tournaments. Br. J. Sports. Med. 41: i15-i19 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Wilson, F, Caffrey, S, King, E, Casey, K, Gissane, C (2007). A 6-month prospective study of injury in Gaelic football. Br. J. Sports. Med. 41: 317-321 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Kofotolis, N. D., Kellis, E., Vlachopoulos, S. P. (2007). Ankle Sprain Injuries and Risk Factors in Amateur Soccer Players During a 2-Year Period. Am J Sports Med 35: 458-466 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Faude, O, Junge, A, Kindermann, W, Dvorak, J (2006). Risk factors for injuries in elite female soccer players. Br. J. Sports. Med. 40: 785-790 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Knox, C L, Comstock, R D (2006). Video analysis of falls experienced by paediatric iceskaters and roller/inline skaters.. Br. J. Sports. Med. 40: 268-271 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Wong, P, Hong, Y (2005). Soccer injury in the lower extremities. Br. J. Sports. Med. 39: 473-482 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Fuller, C W, Junge, A, Dvorak, J (2005). A six year prospective study of the incidence and causes of head and neck injuries in international football. Br. J. Sports. Med. 39: i3-i9 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Withnall, C, Shewchenko, N, Gittens, R, Dvorak, J (2005). Biomechanical investigation of head impacts in football. Br. J. Sports. Med. 39: i49-i57 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Krosshaug, T, Andersen, T E, Olsen, O-E O, Myklebust, G, Bahr, R (2005). Research approaches to describe the mechanisms of injuries in sport: limitations and possibilities. Br. J. Sports. Med. 39: 330-339 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Hagglund, M, Walden, M, Bahr, R, Ekstrand, J (2005). Methods for epidemiological study of injuries to professional football players: developing the UEFA model. Br. J. Sports. Med. 39: 340-346 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Arnason, A., Engebretsen, L., Bahr, R. (2005). No Effect of a Video-Based Awareness Program on the Rate of Soccer Injuries. Am J Sports Med 33: 77-84 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Andersen, T E, Tenga, A, Engebretsen, L, Bahr, R (2004). Video analysis of injuries and incidents in Norwegian professional football. Br. J. Sports. Med. 38: 626-631 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Arnason, A., Tenga, A., Engebretsen, L., Bahr, R. (2004). A Prospective Video-Based Analysis of Injury Situations in Elite Male Football: Football Incident Analysis. Am J Sports Med 32: 1459-1465 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Ekstrand, J, Walden, M, Hagglund, M (2004). A congested football calendar and the wellbeing of players: correlation between match exposure of European footballers before the World Cup 2002 and their injuries and performances during that World Cup. Br. J. Sports. Med. 38: 493-497 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Giza, E, Mithofer, K, Matthews, H, Vrahas, M (2004). Hip fracture-dislocation in football: a report of two cases and review of the literature. Br. J. Sports. Med. 38: e17-e17 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Fuller, C. W., Junge, A., Dvorak, J. (2004). An Assessment of Football Referees' Decisions in Incidents Leading to Player Injuries. Am J Sports Med 32: 17S-22S [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Junge, A., Dvorak, J., Graf-Baumann, T. (2004). Football Injuries During the World Cup 2002. Am J Sports Med 32: 23S-27S [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Fuller, C. W., Smith, G. L., Junge, A., Dvorak, J. (2004). An Assessment of Player Error as an Injury Causation Factor in International Football. Am J Sports Med 32: 28S-35S [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Yoon, Y. S., Chai, M., Shin, D. W. (2004). Football Injuries at Asian Tournaments. Am J Sports Med 32: 36S-42S [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Andersen, T. E., Engebretsen, L., Bahr, R. (2004). Rule Violations as a Cause of Injuries in Male Norwegian Professional Football: Are the Referees Doing Their Job?. Am J Sports Med 32: 62S-68S [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Junge, A., Dvorak, J., Graf-Baumann, T., Peterson, L. (2004). Football Injuries During FIFA Tournaments and the Olympic Games, 1998-2001: Development and Implementation of an Injury-Reporting System. Am J Sports Med 32: 80S-89S [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Giza, E., Fuller, C., Junge, A., Dvorak, J. (2003). Mechanisms of Foot and Ankle Injuries in Soccer. Am J Sports Med 31: 550-554 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Andersen, T E, Larsen, O, Tenga, A, Engebretsen, L, Bahr, R (2003). Football incident analysis: a new video based method to describe injury mechanisms in professional football. Br. J. Sports. Med. 37: 226-232 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Drawer, S, Fuller, C W (2002). Evaluating the level of injury in English professional football using a risk based assessment process. Br. J. Sports. Med. 36: 446-451 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Conaghan, P G (2002). Update on osteoarthritis part 1: current concepts and the relation to exercise. Br. J. Sports. Med. 36: 330-333 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Rahnama, N, Reilly, T, Lees, A (2002). Injury risk associated with playing actions during competitive soccer. Br. J. Sports. Med. 36: 354-359 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Turner, A. P, Barlow, J. H, Heathcote-Elliott, C. (2000). Long term health impact of playing professional football in the United Kingdom. Br. J. Sports. Med. 34: 332-336 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Dvorak, J., Junge, A. (2000). Football Injuries and Physical Symptoms: A Review of the Literature. Am J Sports Med 28: S-3-S-9 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Junge, A., Dvorak, J., Chomiak, J., Peterson, L., Graf-Baumann, T. (2000). Medical History and Physical Findings in Football Players of Different Ages and Skill Levels. Am J Sports Med 28: S-16-S-21 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Junge, A., Dvorak, J., Rosch, D., Graf-Baumann, T., Chomiak, J., Peterson, L. (2000). Psychological and Sport-Specific Characteristics of Football Players. Am J Sports Med 28: S-22-S-28 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Junge, A., Dvorak, J. (2000). Influence of Definition and Data Collection on the Incidence of Injuries in Football. Am J Sports Med 28: S-40-S-46 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Chomiak, J., Junge, A., Peterson, L., Dvorak, J. (2000). Severe Injuries in Football Players: Influencing Factors. Am J Sports Med 28: S-58-S-68 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Roderick, M., Waddington, I., Parker, G. (2000). PLAYING HURT: Managing Injuries in English Professional Football. International Review for the Sociology of Sport 35: 165-180 [Abstract]