Investigation of growth, development, and factors associated with injury in elite schoolboy footballers: prospective study

Abstract

Objective To investigate the differences between skeletal and chronological age and to assess the role of maturity status, anthropometric data, and football related variables in explaining injury statistics in elite schoolboy footballers.Design Prospective study of injuries in schoolboy footballers according to skeletal age.Setting Premier league football club in England.Participants 292 schoolboy players (age 9-16) registered at the clubInterventions Annual x ray film of hand or wrist.Main outcome measures Data on injury 2001-7. Skeletal age determined with the Fels method. Skeletal age of more than one year above chronological age was classified as an early maturer, within one year as a normal maturer, and more than one year below normal as a late maturer. Injury and hours of training and rates of exposure to match play.Results Over six years 476 injuries were reported. The mean chronological age (11.74 (SD 2.35) years) and skeletal age defined by x ray picture (12.08 (SD 3.14) years) showed a significant mean difference of −0.344 (95% confidence interval −0.490 to −0.198; t=−4.64, df=280). Analysis of covariance showed that injury incidents did not differ significantly with maturity status after adjusting for training time, playing time, height, and position played (F=0.32,160, P=0.73). General log linear analysis with a Poisson model showed that difference in maturity, playing hours, and training hours collectively explained 48% of the variance in injury incidents. Injury exposure rates differed considerably, with 1.44/1000 hours for training and 10.5/1000 hours for match play.Conclusion Maturity, defined by the difference between chronological age and skeletal age, plus training and playing hours together predict injury in schoolboy footballers. Injury exposure rates were higher for match play than training, which could have implications for targeting preventative interventions by academy staff. The use of skeletal age measurements to establish accurate “windows of opportunity” for training is more appropriate than the commonly used chronological age. Caution is needed when interpreting differences in injury occurrence as the factors that contribute are often complex.

Anthropometric, Physical, Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Lipids and Lipoproteins Profile of Young Indian Children of 10-16 Years Age Group

“…The aerobic endurance training enhances the activity of the cardiovascular system as well as developed oxidative capacity of the skeletal muscles which leads to an increase in the delivery of oxygen to working muscles [4,37]. This is accepted as the main reason for elevation of VO 2max [4,30]. Similar observation has been reported previously [32,47,52].…”

“…It indicates that as the maturation, physical activity and or training load and performance level increase the level of HDL-C and lowers the level of triglyceride among the children. The possible reason for the reduction in triglyceride and elevation in HDL-C is physical activity and exercise training [7,30,53]. However, no significant change was noted in total cholesterol and LDL-C level among the children.…”

“…Hence, determining anthropometry and body composition during childhood and adolescence would be of interest to those working in both sports sciences and medicine. Body size (height, body mass, BMI and BSA) play important role during selection of players [29,30,31]. The tall players are recruited as in athletics, soccer, volleyball and other games.…”

Sports Injuries and Illnesses in the Lillehammer 2016 Youth Olympic Winter Games

“…66 69 71 Talented players are likely to possess superior athletic ability; however, when coupled with sudden increases in strength, muscle mass and training load, it may prove to further amplify their risk of developing acute and overload injuries. [69][70][71] Mismatches in biological maturity in addition to excessive and rapid increases in training loads are likely responsible for a large proportion of injuries. 69 71 72 Also, many of the most talented athletes are competing for several teams or in higher age groups, which leads to a mismatch between competition participation and training/recovery and presumably to an increased injury risk.…”

Vitamin D receptor gene polymorphisms and musculoskeletal injuries in professional football players

“…MI was defined as any physical condition that occurred during practice that prevented a player from participating in training or match play for at least one day following onset (38). Injuries were categorized under four degrees of severity based on the number of days absence incurred: Minimal (code 1), 1-3 days; mild (code 2), 4-7 days; moderate (code 3), 8-28 days; and severe (code 4), >28 days.…”