HOME HELP CONTACT US SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:
Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Junge, A. Articles by Dvorak, J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Junge, A. Articles by Dvorak, J. Related Collections Epidemiology Soccer Children and Adolescents

Incidence of Football Injuries in Youth Players

Comparison of Players from Two European Regions

Astrid Junge, PhD^*, Jiri Chomiak, MD and Jiri Dvorak, MD^*,

^* Schulthess Clinic, Zurich, Switzerland
Orthopedic Clinic Bulovka, Praha, the Czech Republic

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Jiri Dvorak, MD, Spine Unit, Schulthess Clinic, Lengghalde 2, CH-8008 Zurich, Switzerland

Several authors have investigated the frequency of football injuries in youth players. However, the results of these studies are inconsistent because of the different age groups investigated and the different methods applied. The aim of the present study was to compare the incidence and characteristics of football injuries in youth players of two European regions. A total of 444 youth players from the Czech Republic and the Alsace region of France and Germany were followed weekly for 1 year. In 311 players (70%), complete weekly follow-ups over the 1-year period were available. The comparison of injury data revealed no substantial differences between players from the Alsace region and the Czech Republic in injury incidence per 1000 hours of exposure, degree of injury severity, or the circumstances in which the injuries occurred. However, players from the Czech Republic spent more time in training and playing football than did players from the Alsace region, and in the Czech Republic a higher proportion of injuries was caused by foul play. With only a few exceptions, the statistics were similar in the amount of football played as well as in the incidence of injury between different age and skill levels in both European regions.