Epidemiology of time-loss injuries within an Australian male professional football club: A 5-year prospective observational study of 21,343 player hours

Figures & data

Table 1. Injury count (n), percentage distribution (%) and severity by body region, tissue type, mechanism, injured side, season phase and football activity.

	Total	Minimal (1–3 days)	Mild (4–7 days)	Moderate (8–28 days)	Severe (>28 days)
Body Region
Head and Neck	6 (3)	1 (5)	2 (6)	3 (3)	0
Upper Limb	7 (3.5)	2 (10.5)	1 (3)	2 (2)	2 (4.5)
Trunk	15 (7.5)	2 (10.5)	6 (19)	4 (4)	3 (6.5)
Lower Limb	166 (85)	14 (74)	22 (69)	90 (91)	40 (87)
Unspecified	2 (1)	0	1 (3)	0	1 (2)
Total	196	19	32	99	46
Tissue Type
Muscle/Tendon	106 (54)	8 (42)	14 (44)	68 (69)	16 (35)
Nervous	11 (5.5)	0	3 (9.5)	6 (6)	2 (4.5)
Bone	13 (6.5)	4 (21)	0	2 (2)	7 (15)
Cartilage/Synovium/Bursa	20 (10)	2 (10.5)	8 (25)	7 (7)	3 (6.5)
Ligament/Joint Capsule	35 (18)	3 (16)	5 (15.5)	10 (10)	17 (37)
Superficial Tissues/Skin	9 (5)	2 (10.5)	1 (3)	6 (6)	0
Vessels	1 (0.5)	0	1 (3)	0	0
Non-Specific	1 (0.5)	0	0	0	1 (2)
Total	196	19	32	99	46
Mechanism
Contact	67 (34)	9 (47)	10 (31)	28 (28)	20 (43.5)
Non-Contact	121 (62)	8 (42)	20 (62.5)	70 (71)	23 (50)
Total	196	19	32	99	46
Injured Side
Dominant	81 (41)	9 (47.5)	13 (41)	40 (40)	19 (41)
Non-Dominant	67 (34)	6 (31.5)	9 (28)	34 (34)	18 (39)
Total	196	19	32	99	46
Season Phase
Pre-Season	71 (36)	8 (42)	14 (44)	30 (30)	19 (41)
In-Season	125 (64)	11 (58)	18 (56)	69 (70)	27 (59)
Total	196	19	32	99	46
Football Activity
Training	81 (41)	9 (47)	14 (44)	36 (36)	22 (48)
Match	103 (53)	8 (42)	13 (41)	59 (60)	23 (50)
Total	196	19	32	99	46

*Percentages (%) represent total column percentages.

*Where column percentages fail to add to 100%, missing data or non-applicable injury categorisations apply.

*Categories with 0 injuries not shown.

Figure 1. Evaluation of injury burden over five years within a male professional football club for the 10 injury types with the largest burden using a risk matrix.

Table 2. Injury count (n), percentage distribution (%), incidence, burden and average days lost by football activity and lower limb body region.

	Total	Incidence^a	Injury Burden^b	Average days lost/injury^c
Football Activity
Overall	196	9.18 [7.89, 10.47]	254.1 [220.9, 292.3]	28 ± 46
Match	103 (53)	31.29 [25.25, 37.33]	847.2 [698.4, 1027.7]	27 ± 46
Training	81 (41)	4.49 [3.51, 5.47]	137.4 [110.5, 170.8]	31 ± 49
Lower Limb
Hip/Groin	29 (15)	1.36 [0.87, 1.85]	25.8 [17.9, 37.1]	19 ± 28
Adductor Tendinopathy	5 (3)	0.23 [0.02, 0.44]	12.2 [5.1, 29.3]	52 ± 57
Quadriceps Strain	16 (8)	0.75 [0.38, 1.12]	9.7 [5.9, 15.8]	13 ± 11
Thigh	48 (24)	2.25 [1.61, 2.89]	36.5 [27.5, 48.4]	16 ± 9
Groin Strain	17 (9)	0.80 [0.42, 1.18]	12.8 [8.0, 20.6]	16 ± 8
Hamstring Strain	28 (14)	1.31 [0.82, 1.80]	21.9 [15.1, 31.7]	17 ± 9
Knee	23 (12)	1.08 [0.64, 1.52]	70.4 [46.8, 105.9]	65 ± 95
ACL^d	4 (2)	0.19 [0.01, 0.37]	49.4 [18.5, 131.6]	264 ± 13
Lower Leg	34 (17)	1.59 [1.05, 2.13]	36.2 [25.9, 50.7]	23 ± 45
Calf Strain	21 (11)	0.98 [0.56, 1.40]	15.9 [10.4, 24.4]	16 ± 10
Achilles Rupture	1 (0.5)	0.05 [0.00, 0.14]	12.7 [1.8, 90.2]	270 ± 0
Ankle	25 (13)	1.17 [0.71, 1.63]	40.8 [27.6, 60.4]	35 ± 40
Ankle Sprain	18 (9)	0.84 [0.45, 1.23]	30.0 [18.9, 47.6]	36 ± 38
Foot	7 (4)	0.33 [0.09, 0.57]	19.6 [9.3, 41.1]	60 ± 43
Foot Fracture	2 (1)	0.09 [0.00, 0.22]	10.4 [2.6, 41.6]	111 ± 33
Foot Sprain	5 (3)	0.23 [0.02, 0.44]	9.2 [3.8, 22.1]	39 ± 26

^aInjury incidence reported as the number of injuries per 1000 hours with corresponding 95% CI.

^bInjury burden reported as days lost per 1000 hours (injury incidence x mean severity) with corresponding 95% CI.

^cReported as mean ± standard deviation.

^dAnterior cruciate ligament.

*Lower limb percentage distributions sum to 84.7% as lower limb injury represents 84.7% of total injury count.

*Specific injuries included (in italics) relate to the 10 injury types with the largest injury burden (Figure 1).

Figure 2. Injury incidence trends within a male professional football club by a) season only, b) football activity, c) mechanism and d) severity.

Points represent observed incidence rates with 95% CI.*Represents significant change (95% CI ≠ 1.0) in the injury incidence rate compared with the reference season (2016/17).