A retrospective survey on injuries in Croatian football/soccer referees

Abstract

BackgroundInjury among soccer referees is rarely studied, especially with regard to differences in the quality level of the refereeing. Additionally, we have found no study that has reported injury occurrence during official physical fitness testing for soccer referees. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency, type and consequences of match-related and fitness-testing related injuries among soccer referees of different competitive levels.MethodsWe studied 342 soccer referees (all males; mean age 32.9 ± 5.02 years). The study was retrospective, and a self-administered questionnaire was used. In the first phase of the study, the questionnaire was tested for its reliability and applicability. The questionnaire included morphological/anthropometric data, refereeing variables, and musculoskeletal disorders together with the consequences.ResultsThe sample comprised 157 main referees (MR; mean age 31.4 ± 4.9 years) and 185 assistant referees (AR; mean age 34.1 ± 5.1 years) divided into: international level (Union of European Football Associations-UEFA) referees (N = 18; 6 MRs; 12 ARs) ; 1st (N = 78; 31 MRs; 47 ARs), 2nd (N = 91; 45 MRs; 46 ARs); or 3rd national level referees (N = 155; 75 MRs; 80 ARs). In total, 29% (95%CI: 0.23–0.37) of the MRs and 30% (95%CI: 0.22–0.36) of the ARs had experienced an injury during the previous year, while 13% (95%CI: 0.05–0.14) of the MRs, and 19% (95%CI: 0.14–0.25) of the ARs suffered from an injury that occurred during fitness testing. There was an obvious increase in injury severity as the refereeing advanced at the national level, but the UEFA referees were the least injured of all referees. The results showed a relatively high prevalence of injuries to the upper leg (i.e., quadriceps and hamstrings) during physical fitness testing for all but the UEFA referees. During game refereeing, the ankles and lower legs were the most commonly injured regions. The MRs primarily injured their ankles. The ARs experienced lower leg and lower back disorders. However, the overall injury rate was equal for both groups, with 5.29 (95%CI: 2.23–8.30) and 4.58 (95%CI: 2.63–6.54) injuries per 1000 hours of refereeing for MRs and ARs, respectively.ConclusionIn addition to the reported risk of injury during soccer games, physical fitness testing should be classified as a risk for injury among soccer referees. Special attention should be given to (I) lower leg injuries during games and (II) upper leg injuries during physical fitness tests. A higher physical fitness level and a qualitative approach to training are recognized as protective factors against injury. Subsequent studies should investigate the specific predictors of injuries among referees.

The association between body-built and injury occurrence in pre-professional ballet dancers – Separated analysis for the injured body-locations

“…While an endomorphic somatotype component explained the fatness and roundness of the body, the results of higher ankle-injury prevalence of those ballet dancers who have higher endomorphic component were therefore expected. Injury occurs when tissues are unable to adapt to meet the demands of a given posture or task [16]. The relative fatness of the body should be observed as a potential burdening factor that increases the load which is applied on a certain structure (i.e., ankle joint) while not being associated with increased adaptation of the structure (as it will be the case with fat-free-mass -mesomorphy).…”

“…The examiner was available at all times for questions and answers. For the purpose of this study an injury has been defined as "any physical complaint sustained as a result of performance or training, irrespective of the need for medical attention or time lost from activity" [15,16]. Students were asked to report the last year's injury occurrence on 11 body locations (wrist/hand, lumbar region, hips, knee, ankle, shoulders, foot, thigh, calf, torso, toes), the circumstance when the injury occurred (training or performance), the absence from ballet practice as a result of injury (responded on a 6-point scale ranging from "no absence" to "more than a month"), and resulting medical treatment (possible responses included: "didn't ask for professional help," "ambulance," "physiotherapy," "orthopedic").…”

Efecto De Un Periodo Competitivo Sobre El Perfil Antropométrico De Árbitros De Fútbol

“…Casi un millón de árbitros de fútbol están federados en todo el mundo para cubrir la demanda de partidos que se disputan semanalmente en todos los niveles competitivos. En los últimos 20 años se han realizado numerosos estudios sobre este colectivo y enfocados desde distintos puntos de vista: se ha determinado la actividad que los árbitros realizan en un partido (Krustrup & Bangsbo, 2001), se ha valorado el estado de condición física mediante la aplicación de pruebas físicas (Mallo, Navarro, Garcia-Aranda, & Helsen, 2009), y se ha cuantificado la carga de entrenamiento y competición (Mallo et al, 2009) e incluso se han determinado el número y tipo de lesiones que sufren los árbitros (Gabrilo, Ostojic, Idrizovic, Novosel, & Sekulic, 2013). Sin embargo, sólo hemos encontrado tres estudios que analicen exhaustivamente el perfil antropométrico de los árbitros (Casajús, Matute-Llorente, Herrero, Vicente-Rodríguez, & González-Agüero, 2014; da Silva, 2011; da Silva, de los Santos, & Cabrera, 2012).…”

“…Debido a la gran importancia social y económica del final de la temporada los árbitros deben mostrar un excelente rendimiento deportivo durante esta fase. Teniendo en cuenta la asociación entre el perfil antropométrico y las demandas físicas (Fernandez, da Silva, & Arruda, 2008;Mazaheri, Halabchi, Barghi, & Mansournia, 2016), y a pesar de que se han realizado estudios previos caracterizando el perfil antropométrico de árbitros (da Silva et al, 2012;Gabrilo et al, 2013), ninguno de estos estudios se han centrado en su caracterización durante la fase final de la temporada. Debido a la duración del periodo competitivo, puede ser interesante conocer como varía el perfil antropométrico y la composición corporal a lo largo de la temporada y especialmente centrar la atención al final de la misma.…”

Estudo da aplicação do Programa FIFA 11+ versão para árbitros, uma reabordagem bibliográfica

“…consideravelmente elevado(GABRILO et al, 2013;BIZZINI et al, 2009b).Sabe-se que os árbitros apresentam um padrão de lesões diversos daquele observado em jogadores de futebol. Isso porque não há contato com a bola ou com adversários o que faz com que se observe um tipo de lesão mais relacionado ao uso excessivo do aparelho musculo-esquelético e não ao trauma direto.…”