Highlight papers from Sweden and the world

In a comparison of indirect (‘strain’) versus direct (‘contusion’) muscle injuries in male elite football players, Ueblacker, Mueller-Wohlfart and Ekstrand (see page 1466) reported on 2287 muscle injuries in 30 football clubs between 2001 and 2013—a unique database. The authors concluded that thigh muscle injuries in elite footballers are even more frequent than previously described. Direct injuries causing time loss are less frequent than indirect injuries, and players can usually return to full activity much earlier. Foul-play is involved in 7.5% of all thigh muscle injuries.

Three distinct injury mechanisms predominate in non-contact anterior cruciate ligament injuries in male professional football players (see page 1452). Waldén and co-authors present a systematic video analysis of 39 cases. Eighty-five per cent of the ACL injuries in male professional football players resulted from non-contact or indirect contact mechanisms. The most common playing situation leading to injury was pressing followed by kicking and heading. It will be interesting to see if coaches and team clinicians can turn this novel evidence into strategies that limit ACL injuries.

Injury prevention efforts could be improved in the Champions League and Norwegian Premier League football teams according to the Nordic Hamstring survey (see page 1466). In this study Bahr, Thorborg and Ekstrand found that nearly 85% of the clubs did not use the evidence-based hamstring prevention programme. Only 11% used the full version. These are alarming numbers, in light of the fact that the incidence of hamstring in footballers’ injuries has not changed for 10 years. The authors reported an impressive 100% response rate in this study of 50 clubs.

The editorial, Recreational football is effective in the treatment of non-communicable diseases, by Krustrup and co-workers (see page 1426), highlights the positive effects of a particular type of exercise, that is, football (soccer), as a treatment option in patients with non-communicable disease. Given the massive challenge of increasing physical activity in the population, it is an important finding that the most popular sport worldwide has positive health effects, and theoretically should lead to greater exercise compliance among patients. In 2014's Swedish themed issue of BJSM, we reported a potential mechanism for health benefits associated with physical activity and reduced sitting time-positive effects on telomere length.1

As we write this Warm Up, the Swedish team has just returned from the 2015 IAAF World Championships in Beijing. One of our team members there, Toomas Timpka, led a research team that investigated psychological factors and risk of overuse injury in top-level Swedish track and field athletes (see page 1472). In the 12-month longitudinal study of these top level athletes, ‘self-blame’ predicted overuse injury better than training load, in some cases. The study clearly shows that we who work close to athletes need to understand the interaction between body and soul.

2016 Annual Meeting in Karlstad—19–21 May

We look forward to seeing you at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the Swedish Society of Exercise and Sports Medicine in Karlstad, 19–21 May. And if you insist on using those modern devices, follow SFAIM on Twitter (@RedaktorSfaim). SFAIM and BJSM are looking for one or two (Swedish-speaking!) social media volunteers (blogger, Facebook page creator, manager?), so if you want to contribute to our Swedish society in this way, email BJSM editor karim.khan@ubc.ca in the first instance.