Injuries in professional women’s elite soccer players in Kosovo: a descriptive epidemiological injuries study

Abstract

Background: Soccer presents a sport that requires higher intensity and peak performance. An emphasis has been given lately towards women’s engagement together with their potential in soccer. Furthermore, it is believed that the progressive increase in the levels of this sport, keeps demanding increased physical fitness as well as high levels of skills. With the increase in game levels, a proportional increase in the probability of injuries is expected. Having this in mind, we aimed to investigate the major injuries that occur in women’s soccer players. Methods: This descriptive epidemiological study invited all 286 women’s soccer players from the 12 participating women clubs in the Kosovo 1st Soccer League (elite football level) during the 2021/2022 season, out of which 142 from 12 clubs participated. The FIFA recommendations were followed for defining the type, severity, and duration of soccer-related injuries. Results: In total 84 injuries were registered with an overall injury ratios (IRs) being 3.21 (CI: 2.56, 3.98) injuries/1000 exposure hours. During the competitive season, each player sustained 1.4 injuries on average. Injury IRs were significantly higher during competition (n = 50; IR = 1.57; CI: 1.52, 1.62) compared to training (n = 34; IR = 0.26, CI: 0.25, 0.27). Location and severity of the injury. Out of a total of 142 women players, 84 (59.2%) injuries occurred, and no record of injuries was made in 58 (40.8%) players. Conclusion: The women injury IR in Kosovo women’s soccer players is lower than in many other countries while being circa 11% below the international average. Almost 2 out of every 4 injuries were categorized as traumatic, with the injury IRs being more than 5-fold larger during games than during training. Additionally, these findings emphasize the higher rate of injuries amongst younger athletes, suggesting caution to be taken by the coaches when planning for the match. We believe the data we have collected may help coaches and trainers create more targeted women’s soccer injury prevention programs.