COVID-19 Return to Sport: NFL Injury Prevalence Analysis

Abstract

Background Sport injuries have been common among athletes across the globe for decades and have the potential to disrupt athletic careers, performance, and psyche. Many health professionals and organizations have undertaken injury mitigation strategies to prevent sport injuries through protective equipment, training protocols, and a host of other evidence-based practices. Many of these specialized training methods were disrupted due to protocols to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. This research examines the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in relation to the prevalence of athletic injuries in the National Football League (NFL). Objective During the COVID-19 pandemic, NFL teams and athletes across all levels of sport were reported to have reduced training in preparation for their seasons due to protocols to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. This study compares the prevalence of injury during the 2018, 2019, and 2020 NFL seasons, with the aim to determine the potential causes of the differences in injury prevalence. Methods Official injury reports from each team were counted during the 17-week regular season of each year (2018, 2019, and 2020). The data were analyzed using an unpaired t test to compare the injury prevalence between each of the three seasons. Results The 2018 season produced a total of 1561 injuries and a mean of 48.8 injuries per team. The 2019 season produced a total of 1897 injuries and a mean of 59.3 injuries per team, while the 2020 season produced a total of 2484 injuries and a mean of 77.6 injuries per team. An unpaired t test was performed using the data to compare the mean number of injuries per team during each of the seasons. Comparison of the 2020 season against the 2019 season showed a statistically significant difference (P<.001); comparison of the 2020 season to the 2018 season found a statistically significant difference (P<.001); and comparison between the 2019 and the 2018 seasons found a statistically significant difference (P=.03). Conclusions Although the 2019 and 2018 seasons showed a statistically significant difference (P=.03), this difference is not as large when we compare the 2020 seasons versus the 2019 (P<.001) and 2018 (P<.001) seasons. The astronomical increase in injury prevalence during the 2020 season over the previous years raises the possibility that there was a reduced physiological adaptation to stress, due to the limited amount of training as a result of the closure of practice facilities in order to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Injury Characteristics among Young Adults during and Immediately after the COVID-19 Lockdown

“…Injury incidence significantly increased in athletes from professional leagues who suffered more injuries after lockdown despite team efforts [ 21 , 34 , 35 ]. This same pattern was observed in our participants, who were based on non-competitive individuals who lacked monitoring from sport science personnel.…”

COVID-19 NFL Injury Prevalence Analysis, A Follow-Up Study

“…COVID-19, sick days, and non-medical days off were not included in the injury tally. Illnesses were not included in this study for the fact that illnesses are not considered a physical injury, and should be reported separately from injuries when performing injury epidemiological studies [2,23]. The 2020 season, which was played after COVID-19 shutdowns, was used for comparison to the subsequent 2021 and 2022 seasons.…”

“…The copyright holder for this preprint this version posted January 12, 2023. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.01.11.23284292 doi: medRxiv preprint A data analysis was performed on the collected data. The data analysis for this study was changed from the mean number of injuries per team from the previous study [2] to the mean number of injuries per team per week to correct for the change of the 17-week NFL season to the 18-week NFL season in 2021 and 2022 [7]. The 2020 regular season mean number of injuries per team per week was compared to the 2021 regular season mean number of injuries per team per week using an unpaired t-test in a similar fashion to our previous study [2].…”

“…The National Football League (NFL) was one such sport that faced a shutdown, as they closed all facilities from late March 2020 into late May 2020 [1,2]. A previous study conducted entitled Return to Sport: NFL Injury Prevalence Analysis examined the effects of this shutdown on injury epidemiology [2] This study showed that there was an increased injury prevalence during the 2020 NFL season which was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic [2]. The study concluded that the increased injury prevalence was due to the decline in athlete training as a result of the shutdowns [2].The decline in training, hence, the lack of bodily preparation for the 2020 NFL Season resulted in decreased physiological of their bodies to strenuous exertions, which are a hallmark of the sports [2].…”

“…A previous study conducted entitled Return to Sport: NFL Injury Prevalence Analysis examined the effects of this shutdown on injury epidemiology [2] This study showed that there was an increased injury prevalence during the 2020 NFL season which was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic [2]. The study concluded that the increased injury prevalence was due to the decline in athlete training as a result of the shutdowns [2].The decline in training, hence, the lack of bodily preparation for the 2020 NFL Season resulted in decreased physiological of their bodies to strenuous exertions, which are a hallmark of the sports [2]. This is a follow-up study to examine the longitudinal effects of the COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns on injury prevalence in the NFL following the 2020 NFL season.…”