ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Evaluating the level of injury in English professional football using a risk based assessment process

S Drawer¹ and C W Fuller²

¹ UK Sports Institute, 40 Bernard Street, London WC1N 1ST, UK
² Scarman Centre, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7QA, UK

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr Fuller, Scarman Centre, University of Leicester, 154 Upper New Walk, Leicester LE1 7QA, UK;cwf2{at}le.ac.uk

Objectives: To show how epidemiological data can be presented and analysed in frequency based and risk based formats and how risk based information can simplify management decisions on injury prevention strategies in professional football.

Methods: The club physiotherapists at four English professional football clubs prospectively recorded players’ injuries over the period November 1994 to May 1997. The nature, location, and mechanism of each injury and the specific numbers of days that players were unavailable to train or play as a result of injuries were recorded. The rates of injury were evaluated on a risk matrix using the number of days and the estimated costs of absence as measures of injury consequences.

Results: There was a significant difference in the time lost through injury as a function of injury severity (p<0.001). Slight and minor injuries accounted for 51% of all injuries but represented only 17% of the risk from injury, whereas major injuries accounted for only 12% of the number of injuries and 47% of the risk. Player to player contact injuries accounted for 39% of the risk of injury, and football specific activities accounted for 47% of the risk. The risks of acute injury in professional football were three orders of magnitude greater than those in the construction, manufacturing, and service sectors of industry.

Conclusions: The risks associated with minor, moderate, and major acute injuries and osteoarthritis in lower limb joints of professional footballers were found to be unacceptable when evaluated against work based risk criteria used by the Health and Safety Executive. All stakeholders within professional football were shown to have an important contribution to make in reducing the overall level of risk to players through the provision of risk prevention strategies.

Keywords: football; injury risk; risk; injury prevention; support services

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Greig, M., Marchant, D., Lovell, R., Clough, P., McNaughton, L. (2007). A continuous mental task decreases the physiological response to soccer-specific intermittent exercise. Br. J. Sports. Med. 41: 908-913 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Fuller, C W, Ojelade, E O, Taylor, A (2007). Preparticipation medical evaluation in professional sport in the UK: theory or practice?. Br. J. Sports. Med. 41: 890-896 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Lohmander, L. S., Englund, P. M., Dahl, L. L., Roos, E. M. (2007). The Long-term Consequence of Anterior Cruciate Ligament and Meniscus Injuries: Osteoarthritis. Am J Sports Med 35: 1756-1769 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Dallalana, R. J., Brooks, J. H. M., Kemp, S. P. T., Williams, A. M. (2007). The Epidemiology of Knee Injuries in English Professional Rugby Union. Am J Sports Med 35: 818-830 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Engebretsen, L, Bahr, R (2005). An ounce of prevention?. Br. J. Sports. Med. 39: 312-313 [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]  
• Brooks, J H M, Fuller, C W, Kemp, S P T, Reddin, D B (2005). A prospective study of injuries and training amongst the England 2003 Rugby World Cup squad. Br. J. Sports. Med. 39: 288-293 [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]  
• 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]  
• 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]  
• 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]  
• Fuller, C. W., Smith, G. L., Junge, A., Dvorak, J. (2004). The Influence of Tackle Parameters on the Propensity for Injury in International Football. Am J Sports Med 32: 43S-53S [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]  
• Andersen, T. E., Floerenes, T. W., Arnason, A., Bahr, R. (2004). Video Analysis of the Mechanisms for Ankle Injuries in Football. Am J Sports Med 32: 69S-79S [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Bahr, R, Holme, I (2003). Risk factors for sports injuries -- a methodological approach. Br. J. Sports. Med. 37: 384-392 [Abstract] [Full Text]