DISCUSSION
This study characterized the injury profile in a training center for
soccer athletes from a club of the first Brazilian division. It was
observed that the incidence of injuries was 50% for the Sub15 team,
47.61% for the Sub 17 team, and 39.53% for the Sub 20 team. Although
no correlation was found between the injury index and anthropometric
factors and with the position of the athletes, specific training
characteristics in each category, as well as preventive and regenerative
programs and financial interests can explain the difference in the
incidence of injury and time off in each category.
The incidence of injuries observed during games 13 (21%) was lower than
those that occurred in training 49 (79%). However, when we analyze the
ratio of injuries that occurred every thousand hours of training and
playing, we have higher values of injuries that occurred in games;
25.98 and 42.27 respectively. These data coincide with those of a study
carried out in a professional club of the first division of Brazilian
football, which shows an 18 times higher rate of injuries in games
[5]. Other studies have reported lower values: an average of 27.5 /
1000 hours by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA)
[14] and 21.8 / 1000 hours by teams from the Japanese first division
[15]. This fact can be explained by the high number of matches
played in Brazilian football when compared to other countries.
In the present study, the mean BMI value was 22.8 and there was no
correlation between this variable and the number of injuries, different
from what was shown in the study by Rodrigues et al. [18], where a
higher injury rate was found in the group of athletes with a BMI of 18.5
to 24.9 and in the group of athletes with a BMI <18, a lower
number of injuries was found, and this study was conducted in basic
categories. There were no athletes with a BMI <18 to observe
the number of injuries in this BMI range.
In this study, the anatomical region most affected was the lower limbs,
where a number of 18 injuries were found in the thigh, 12 injuries in
the ankle, 12 injuries in the knee, 7 injuries in the groin, and one
injury in the calf. A smaller number of injuries were found in the upper
limbs, with 2 being documented on the shoulder, 4 on the hand, and 2 on
the elbow. These results are related to those of Rodrigues et al.
[18] where similar data were found in baseline categories: 18 ankle
injuries, followed by 14 knee injuries, 13 hip/thigh injuries, and 5
wrist, hand, and fingers injuries. However, these findings do not agree
with a study carried out in a professional club, where only lower limb
injuries were found. Most of the injuries found in this study were
non-contact and non-recurring. The recurrence rate (21%) is within what
is reported in the literature (20-25%) [18]. Other authors have
found even lower recurrence values in professional elite football
[5].
Regarding the severity of the injuries, no correlation was found with
age, BMI, position, recurrence, and time when the injury occurred. This
can be explained by the fact that the sample is homogeneous with respect
to BMI. In addition, although the athletes have a defined position in
their respective teams, most of the activities performed in training
situations are similar for all positions. Although no correlation was
found between severity and the time when the injuries occurred, all knee
sprains that resulted in rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament
occurred during official matches.
In this context, a systematic review and meta-analysis of
epidemiological data on injuries in professional male soccer were
carried out. The overall incidence of injuries in professional male
soccer players was 8.1 injuries/1000 hours of exposure. The incidence of
gambling injuries (36 injuries/1000 hours of exposure) was almost 10
times higher than the incidence rate of training injuries (3.7
injuries/1000 hours of exposure). Lower extremity injuries had the
highest incidence rates (6.8 injuries / 1000 hours of exposure). The
most common types of injury were muscle/tendon (4.6 injuries/1000 hours
of exposure), often associated with traumatic incidents. Mild injuries
(1-3 days wasted) were the most common. The injury incidence rate in the
top 5 European professional leagues was not different from the
professional leagues in other countries (6.8 vs 7.6 injuries/1000 hours
of exposure, respectively) [19].