No association between surface shifts and time-loss overuse injury risk in male professional football : a prospective cohort study

• Objectives: To investigate frequent surface shifts, match play on an unaccustomed surface, and climate type as potential risk factors for injury in Scandinavian male professional football.Design: Prospective cohort study.Methods: 32 clubs from two climate zones, warm temperate (n=19) and snow climates (n=13), were followed during seasons 2010 and 2011. The association between number of surface shifts during fivematch sequences and subsequent overuse injury risk was evaluated with generalized estimating equations. Injury rate was expressed as time loss injuries/1000 hours, and compared between groups with a rate ratio and 95% confidence interval (CI).Results: No association was found between the number of surface shifts and subsequent overuse injury risk (risk ratio 1.01, 95% CI 0.91-1.12). Grass clubs (grass installed at home venue) had a lower match injury rate when playing away matches on artificial turf vs. away matches on grass (rate ratio 0.66, 95% CI 0.40-0.89). Analyses on the total cohort showed no difference in injury rates between clubs in the two climate zones, but sub-analyses revealed that grass clubs from the snow climate zone had lower training and match injury rates than grass clubs from the warm temperate zone (rate ratio 0.69, 95% CI 0.55-0.87).Conclusions: No influence on injury risk was seen from frequent surface shifts or from playing matches on an unaccustomed surface. Climate type at club home venue had minimal influence on injury rates.

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Folkhälsovetenskap, global hälsa, socialmedicin och epidemiologi (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Public Health, Global Health, Social Medicine and Epidemiology (hsv//eng)

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Epidemiology

Lower extremity

Soccer

Surface

Surveillance

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