Soccer injuries and their relation to physical maturity.

A prospective study of injuries encountered during participation in a summer soccer camp for youths aged 6 through 17 years revealed an injury incidence of 10.6 per 1000 hours for girls (107 injuries in 458 girls) and 7.3 per 1000 hours for boys (109 injuries in 681 boys). For both sexes, the incidence of injury increased at age 14 years. One certified athletic trainer (W.D.C.) assessed and documented all injuries during the course of the study. Seventy percent of injuries involved the lower extremities. Contusions represented 35.2%, strains 27.8%, sprains 19.4%, and fractures and dislocations 2% of all reported injuries. The ankle was the most frequent site of injury in both sexes. Quadriceps strain was a common injury in boys. The boys with the highest incidence of injury were tall (greater than 165 cm) and had a weak grip (less than 25 kg), suggesting that skeletally mature but muscularly weak boys may be more susceptible to injury while playing soccer with peers of the same chronological age.

[1]  G. Hoff,et al.  Outdoor and indoor soccer: Injuries among youth players , 1986, The American journal of sports medicine.

[2]  F. Noyes,et al.  The medical aspects of soccer injury epidemiology , 1987, The American journal of sports medicine.

[3]  A. Roaas,et al.  Soccer injuries in adolescents , 1978, The American journal of sports medicine.

[4]  E. T. Pardon Lower Extremities Are Site of Most Soccer Injuries. , 1977, The Physician and sportsmedicine.

[5]  V. Mathiowetz,et al.  Grip and pinch strength: norms for 6- to 19-year-olds. , 1986, The American journal of occupational therapy : official publication of the American Occupational Therapy Association.

[6]  W. Grana,et al.  Evaluation of injuries in youth soccer , 1980, The American journal of sports medicine.

[7]  R. Kreipe,et al.  Physical maturity screening for participation in sports. , 1985, Pediatrics.

[8]  S. Schmidt-Olsen,et al.  Soccer injuries of youth. , 1985, British journal of sports medicine.

[9]  J. Pritchett Cost of high school soccer injuries , 1981, The American journal of sports medicine.

[10]  G. Gabard,et al.  Soccer Accidents in the French Rhône-Alpes Soccer Association , 1986, Sports medicine.

[11]  B. Ekblom,et al.  Applied Physiology of Soccer , 1986, Sports medicine.