Understanding the Acute Skin Injury Mechanism Caused by Player-Surface Contact During Soccer

Abstract

Background:Superficial skin injuries are considered minor, and their incidence is probably underestimated. Insight into the incidence and mechanism of acute skin injury can be helpful in developing suitable preventive measures and safer playing surfaces for soccer and other field sports.Purpose:To gain insight into the incidence and severity of skin injuries related to soccer and to describe the skin injury mechanism due to player-surface contact.Study Design:Systematic review; Level of evidence, 4.Methods:The prevention model by van Mechelen et al (1992) combined with the injury causation model of Bahr and Krosshaug (2005) were used as a framework for the survey to describe the skin injury incidence and mechanism caused by player-surface contact.Results:The reviewed literature showed that common injury reporting methods are mainly based on time lost from participation or the need for medical attention. Because skin abrasions seldom lead to absence or medical attention, they are often not reported. When reported, the incidence of abrasion/laceration injuries varies from 0.8 to 6.1 injuries per 1000 player-hours. Wound assessment techniques such as the Skin Damage Area and Severity Index can be a valuable tool to obtain a more accurate estimation of the incidence and severity of acute skin injuries.Conclusion:The use of protective equipment, a skin lubricant, or wet surface conditions has a positive effect on preventing abrasion-type injuries from artificial turf surfaces. The literature also shows that essential biomechanical information of the sliding event is lacking, such as how energy is transferred to the area of contact. From a clinical and histological perspective, there are strong indications that a sliding-induced skin lesion is caused by mechanical rather than thermal injury to the skin.

Comparison of prolonged antibacterial activity and release profile of propolis‐incorporated PVA nanofibrous mat, microfibrous mat, and film

“…Skin, as a defense mechanism against the penetration of harmful microorganisms into the body, may be damaged by various factors such as heat, cold, electricity, and mechanical forces . Burns are one category of skin damages which expose the patient to infection caused by gram‐positive bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus and gram‐negative bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa .…”

Prevalence of laceration injuries in professional and amateur rugby union: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Financial rewards were suggested to raise the overall injury rate and increase the pressure on athletes to return to play as soon as possible, making recurrent injuries more likely. The lower risk of skin injuries found in professional players could indicate that this type of injury is frequently ignored in professional rugby injury counts, therefore underestimating the extent of the injury problem 12 13. Approximately one-third of amateur rugby union players have found their own studs sharpened due to wear 6.…”

“…This document recommends using the 1-day time-loss injury definition and laceration injuries are recommended to have their own injury type category. If a time-loss injury definition is used, minor injuries and injuries which fall under the blood injury rule11 could be treated on the side of the field (stitched or glued) and therefore be ignored in the injury count, leading to a likely underestimation of the skin injury prevalence 12 13. An example of such a situation is given in the consensus statement,10 p330:…”

“…In a review on skin injuries in football, van den Eijnde et al 12 warned that skin injuries were under-reported in the current literature and suggested that this resulted from restrictive injury definitions. The use of a medical attention injury definition rather than a time-loss injury definition led to a twofold to fourfold increase in the injury prevalence of abrasions and lacerations compared with the use of a time-loss injury definition 12…”

Abrasion injuries on artificial turf: A real risk or not?

“…[1] Strategies to reduce the incidence of abrasion injuries in sport are therefore desirable. While it is difficult to replicate natural turf fully, the perceived fear of abrasion-type injuries on artificial turf is surprising given the fact that, unlike natural turf, artificial turf fields are required to satisfy a set of safety and performance standards that include an abrasion measure.…”