4 A prospective cohort study of injuries in female junior soccer players

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to gain more insight into the prevalence and characteristics of injuries among junior female soccer players and to explore different monitoring methods. A cohort of 24 female soccer players (mean age 17.2 ± 1.2 years) enrolled in the Dutch national high-performance program was followed during a five month period (August–December 2014). All players completed the study. The OSTRC Questionnaire on Health Problems was used to record self-reported injuries and illnesses on a 2-weekly basis. In this questionnaire, 4 questions are used to monitor the severity (range 0–100) of any physical problem. Subsequently, all players were asked to retrospectively report all time-loss injuries after the 5 month period. The response rate over the five month period for the OSTRC questionnaire was 97%. A total of 256 questionnaires were filled in by all 24 players. Based on the OSTRC questionnaire, 63 injuries were reported. The most commonly reported injuries were located at the ankle (18%), knee (14%) and the front side of the upper leg (14%). Most injuries were acute (76%). One out of four injuries (24%) was a re-injury. The duration of injuries ranged from 0 to 71 days, with a median of 2 days. In total, 17 time-loss injuries were reported. The most commonly reported time-loss injuries were located at the ankle (29%), the knee (17%) and the back side of the upper leg (12%). Time-loss ranged from 9 to 65 days, with a median of 31 days. The presented data show that participation in training and matches with physical discomfort is common. However, these physical complaints do not necessarily lead to time-loss.