Incidence of injuries of male football players in Thammasat University football club during training and tournaments

Abstract

Introduction: Football is one of the most popular games in the world, with a growing interest in the medical aspects of soccer-related injuries. Objective was to determine the incidence of injuries in male football players in Thammasat University football club during training and tournaments 2013.

Method: Twenty-eight subjects were participated in this study. General data and the incidence of injury data during training and tournaments were recorded by the injury report form applied from FIFA Medical Assessment and Research Centre (F-MARC).

Results: There were 229 injuries, equivalent to 118.19 injuries/1,000 training and match hour exposure. The incidence of injury during match was higher than those in training (312.60 injuries/1,000 match hour exposure and 80.67 injuries/1,000 training hour exposure, respectively). The most common type of injury was cramp and spasm (25%) in match and sprain (29%) in training. The most common location of injury was thigh (23%) in match and thigh and ankle (each 31%) in training. The most common mechanism of injury was contact (54%) in match and non-contact (56%) in training.

Discussion and Conclusion: The incidence of injuries during training and competition in amateur were higher than professional. Because amateurs were lacks of muscle strength and flexibility, warm-up, and stretching resulting in fatigue and injury. Therefore, we could plan strategies to avoid potential sport injuries in Thammasat University football club.

Key words: Incidence of injury, Football, Thammasat University football club