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Int J Sports Med 2020; 41(14): 1017-1023
DOI: 10.1055/a-1192-5399
Training and Testing

Females Sustain more Ankle Injuries than Males in Youth Football

Taru Sokka 
1   UKK Institute, Tampere Research Centre of Sports Medicine, UKK Instituutti, Tampere, Finland
,
Matias Hilska
1   UKK Institute, Tampere Research Centre of Sports Medicine, UKK Instituutti, Tampere, Finland
,
Tommi Vasankari
2   The UKK Institute for Health Promotion Research, UKK Instituutti, Tampere, Finland
,
Mari Leppänen
1   UKK Institute, Tampere Research Centre of Sports Medicine, UKK Instituutti, Tampere, Finland
,
Pekka Kannus
2   The UKK Institute for Health Promotion Research, UKK Instituutti, Tampere, Finland
,
Jari Parkkari
1   UKK Institute, Tampere Research Centre of Sports Medicine, UKK Instituutti, Tampere, Finland
,
Heidi Haapasalo
3   Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland
,
Hannele Forsman
4   Eerikkilä Sports Institute Training Center, Eerikkilä, Tammela, Finland
,
Jani Raitanen
2   The UKK Institute for Health Promotion Research, UKK Instituutti, Tampere, Finland
5   Faculty of Social Sciences (Health Sciences), Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
,
Kati Pasanen
6   Sport Injury Prevention Research Centre Faculty of Kinesiology Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health, Calgary, Canada
› Author Affiliations Funding: This study was financially supported by the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture and the Competitive State Research Financing of the Expert Responsibility Area of Tampere University Hospital (Grant 9S047).
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Abstract

This prospective study evaluated the incidence and pattern of acute injuries in youth (9- to 14-year- old) football players. Ten football clubs [n=730 players (567 males, 163 females)] participated in the 20-week follow-up study (January–June 2015). Data was collected by sending a standardized weekly SMS to players’ parents/guardians with follow-up interviews for injured players. During the study period, 278 players (38%) sustained 410 acute injuries. The overall injury incidence for males and females was 6.47 (95% CI, 5.84–7.09) injuries per 1000 h of football exposure. Most injuries (40%) caused minimal absence from sports. Eighty-four percent of the injuries affected the lower extremities, with the ankle (30%), knee (17%), and thigh (16%) being the most commonly injured body sites. Females had significantly higher ankle injury rate (IRR) 1.85 (95% CI, 1.18–2.91, p=0.007) and non-contact ankle injury rate IRR 2.78 (95% CI, 1.91–4.02, p<0.001) than males. In conclusion, our results showed that the acute injury incidence among youth football is moderately high, and females are at higher risk for ankle injuries. Injury prevention programs aimed at preventing ankle injuries should be considered in the future.

Key words

football - epidemiology - acute injury - sports injury - youth

Supplementary Material



Publication History

Received: 05 February 2019

Accepted: 24 May 2020

Article published online:
20 July 2020

© 2020. Thieme. All rights reserved.

Georg Thieme Verlag KG
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