Injury prevention in an intensive season

Modern football has undergone enormous change in recent years. A strongly increased tempo of the game, the demands on an athlete, professionalisation, new research results, etc. are some of the crucial reasons for this. Due to this change, however, players are faced with new challenges to which they must adapt. Not only the positive aspects have grown in the world's most popular sport. The injury rate seems to be increasing as well. Players have to perform ever faster and more complex movements while still following the coach's tactical guidelines. In the coming season, teams may be facing an extremely high density of matches, and injury prevention seems all the more important. Common risk factors for muscle injuries are old and previous muscle injuries, which are associated with inappropriate rehabilitation, too early entry into training, the age of the players and lack of regeneration measures.

These findings on injury prevention should be incorporated into the training plan from junior football onwards, so that players can adapt to new circumstances and develop new behaviour patterns at an early stage.

Injury incidence rates

The most common injuries are found at the lower extremities. About 80% of all players suffer at least of one injury every season. On average, these players have 2-3 injuries each over the duration of a season. In other words, each squad has to compensate for about 70 injuries in one year. These statistics are average values and can vary from club to club. However, each injury means that players are absent for an average of about 2 weeks per year. If the total time lost is taken into account, a team must manage without approximately 3 players for the entire season. With a squad of 18 players, this is a considerable percentage. Approximately 40% of the injuries that occur happen in matches. Goalkeepers suffer significantly fewer injuries than their teammates on the pitch.

Injuries occur particularly frequently at the end of the two half-series. This is due to the continuous strain on the players and increasing signs of fatigue. Furthermore, matches at the end of the season are often of greater importance, as it is then that the decision is made to stay in the league or to win the championship, and players tend to go beyond their performance capacity.

The 5 most common injuries in football:

1.    Thigh

2.    Knee

3.    Ankle

4.    Lower leg

5.    hip / groin

Absence times for the individual types of injury

Fracture - 35 days

joint/ligament injury - 27 days

muscle / tendon injury - 10 days

bruise - 5 days

These injuries often have far-reaching consequences for the entire club. Players who play more hours are usually among the team's top performers. This can result in a loss of performance. Furthermore, a club must then sign new players or nominate weaker players. This bears great risks in each case. The first of these can often not be guaranteed in the lower divisions. A comprehensive preventive approach is recommendable from both a sporting and economic point of view.

How can the problem be overcome?

Research is trying to find new ways of prevention, as injuries in sport also represent a burden for the health system. It turns out that preventive approaches such as specific excentric strength training can reduce the probability of muscle injury to the back thigh by up to 60%. Other promising methods include neuromuscular and proprioceptive training, which can significantly reduce joint and ligament injuries in both the ankle and knee joints. There are, however, a variety of approaches. It is impossible to determine the gold standard, since a multitude of individual factors are involved. teamsports.com provides exercises focusing on this topic. In the coming weeks, specific approaches to prevent the most typical injuries will be presented and described.

References

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Hagglund M, Walden M, Ekstrand J: Injury incidence and distribution in elite football - a prospective study of the Danish and the Swedish top divisions. Scand J Med Sci Sports 15 (2005) 21-28.

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