Abstract
For 4 years we followed a group of football players in the youth division of a professional club, ranging in age from 9 to 19 years, and analyzed the major injuries, i.e., those which required them to be sidelined for at least 4 weeks. We observed 23 sprains, 16 fractures, 16 cases of osteochondrosis, 7 muscle lesions, 6 cases of groin pain (athletic pubalgia), and 4 tendonopathies. The most frequent sites were the knee (n=30) and the ankle (n=11); the trauma factor was predominant (65.2%) with respect to overuse; noncontact traumas were more numerous (63.8%) than those resulting from contrast. Of a total 72 cases 8 regarded goalkeepers, and the remaining 64 cases were distributed among the other positions. As regards the age categories we detected a prevalence of osteochondrosis, traumatic detachments, and some fractures in the younger players, while in the older athletes we observed more sprains, muscle lesions, and tendonopathies.
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Volpi, P., Pozzoni, R. & Galli, M. The major traumas in youth football. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 11, 399–402 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00167-003-0343-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00167-003-0343-1