Injury and illness epidemiology in professional Asian football: lower general incidence and burden but higher ACL and hamstring injury burden compared with Europe.

BACKGROUND: While football injury and illness epidemiology surveillance at professional club level in Europe is available, epidemiological data from other continents are lacking. PURPOSE: Investigating injury and illness epidemiology in professional Asian football. STUDY DESIGN: Descriptive prospective study. METHODS: Professional teams from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) league were followed prospectively for three consecutive AFC seasons (2017 through 2019, 13 teams per season, 322 team months). Time-loss injuries and illnesses in addition to individual match and training exposure were recorded using standardised digital tools in accordance with international consensus procedures. RESULTS: In total, 232 665 hours of exposure (88.6% training and 11.4% matches) and 1159 injuries were recorded; 496 (42.8%) occurred during matches, 610 (52.6%) during training; 32 (2.8%) were reported as 'not applicable' and for 21 injuries (1.8%) information was missing. Injury incidence was significantly greater during match play (19.2±8.6 injuries per 1000 hours) than training (2.8±1.4, p<0.0001), resulting in a low overall incidence of 5.1±2.2.The injury burden for match injuries was greater than from training injuries (456±336 days per 1000 hours vs 54±34 days, p<0.0001). The two specific injuries causing the greatest burden were complete ACL ruptures (0.14 injuries (95% CI 0.9 to 0.19) and 29.8 days lost (29.1 to 30.5) per 1000 hours) and hamstring strains (0.86 injuries (0.74 to 0.99) and 17.5 days (17.0 to 18.1) lost per 1000 hours).Reinjuries constituted 9.9% of all injuries. Index injuries caused 22.6±40.8 days of absence compared with 25.1±39 for reinjuries (p=0.62). The 175 illnesses recorded resulted in 1.4±2.9 days of time loss per team per month. CONCLUSION: Professional Asian football is characterised by an overall injury incidence similar to that reported from Europe, but with a high rate of ACL ruptures and hamstring injury, warranting further investigations.

Neuropathic pain in athletes: basics of diagnosis and monitoring of a hidden threat.

The aim was to increase awareness about neuropathic pain in athletes and the available diagnostic criteria and explore the relevance to athletes and sports. In the report of its consensus meeting of 2016, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) noted the critical need to raise the awareness about pain and its management amongst sports physicians. The adequate management of pain requires recognition of its type and pathophysiological mechanisms. This is paramount in applying the multi-modal management of pain as a symptom or approach it as a disease. In athletes, the assessment of pain in general, and of neuropathic pain in particular, is more complex due to the impact of physiological, psychological and motivational factors and specific pathophysiological mechanisms on the pain threshold and tolerance. Neuropathic pain is not uncommon to encounter in athletes although not always recognised. Examples of neuropathic pain as a disease include complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), peripheral neuropathy and spinal cord injuries. The recognition and diagnosis of neuropathic pain could be facilitated by the application of screening tools such as DN4 (Douleur Neuropathique 4) and LANSS (Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Signs). Sports injuries may lead to neuropathic pain through different pathologies and mechanisms. Thus, neuropathic pain could be a real threat to athletes' career if not promptly recognised and treated. We therefore believe that early recognition and expert management are mandatory for the best outcome.

Medical recommendations for home-confined footballers' training during the COVID-19 pandemic: from evidence to practical application.

In early 2020, the world is facing a global emergency called COVID-19. Many professional footballers around the world are home confined. The maintenance of physical capacity is a fundamental requirement for the athlete, so the training sessions must be adapted to this unique situation. Specific recommendations must be followed concerning the type of training, its intensity, the precautions that have to be followed to avoid the possibility of contagion, and the restrictions in accordance with the presence of any symptoms. This article analyses the available scientific evidence in order to recommend a practical approach.

Return to football training and competition after lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic: medical recommendations.

The lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic represents a great unknown regarding the physiological changes induced in elite football players. Although it will differ from country to country, the return to sport for professional football players will follow a forced lockdown never experienced and longer than the normal annual season break. Moreover, in addition to an obvious decrease in performance, the lockdown will possibly lead to an increase of the injury risk. In fact, preseason is always a period with a specific football injury epidemiology, with an increase in the incidence and prevalence of overuse injuries. Therefore, it seems appropriate to recommend that specific training and injury prevention programmes be developed, with careful load monitoring. Training sessions should include specific aerobic, resistance, speed and flexibility training programmes. The aerobic, resistance and speed training should respect some specific phases based on the progressiveness of the training load and the consequent physiological adaptation response. These different phases, based on the current evidence found in the literature, are described in their practical details. Moreover, injury prevention exercises should be incorporated, especially focusing on overuse injuries such as tendon and muscle lesions. The aim of this paper is to provide practical recommendations for the preparation of training sessions for professional footballers returning to sport after the lockdown.

Epidemiology of time loss groin injuries in a men's professional football league: a 2-year prospective study of 17 clubs and 606 players.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Groin injury epidemiology has not previously been examined in an entire professional football league. We recorded and characterised time loss groin injuries sustained in the Qatar Stars League. METHODS: Male players were observed prospectively from July 2013 to June 2015. Time loss injuries, individual training and match play exposure were recorded by club doctors using standardised surveillance methods. Groin injury incidence per 1000 playing hours was calculated, and descriptive statistics used to determine the prevalence and characteristics of groin injuries. The Doha agreement classification system was used to categorise all groin injuries. RESULTS: 606 footballers from 17 clubs were included, with 206/1145 (18%) time loss groin injuries sustained by 150 players, at an incidence of 1.0/1000 hours (95% CI 0.9 to 1.1). At a club level, 21% (IQR 10%-28%) of players experienced groin injuries each season and 6.6 (IQR 2.9-9.1) injuries were sustained per club per season. Of the 206 injuries, 16% were minimal (1-3 days), 25% mild (4-7 days), 41% moderate (8-28 days) and 18% severe (>28 days), with a median absence of 10 days/injury (IQR 5-22 days). The median days lost due to groin injury per club was 85 days per season (IQR 35-215 days). Adductor-related groin pain was the most common entity (68%) followed by iliopsoas (12%) and pubic-related (9%) groin pain. CONCLUSION: Groin pain caused time loss for one in five players each season. Adductor-related groin pain comprised 2/3 of all groin injuries. Improving treatment outcomes and preventing adductor-related groin pain has the potential to improve player availability in professional football.

The functional movement test 9+ is a poor screening test for lower extremity injuries in professional male football players: a 2-year prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The 9+ screening battery test consists of 11 tests to assess limitations in functional movement. AIM: To examine the association of the 9+ with lower extremity injuries and to identify a cut-off point to predict injury risk. METHODS: Professional male football players in Qatar from 14 teams completed the 9+ at the beginning of the 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 seasons. Time-loss injuries and exposure in training and matches were registered prospectively by club medical staff during these seasons. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were used to calculate HR and 95% CI. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were calculated to determine sensitivity and specificity and identify the optimal cut-off point for risk assessment. RESULTS: 362 players completed the 9+ and had injury and exposure registration. There were 526 injuries among 203 players (56.1%) during the two seasons; injuries to the thigh were the most frequent. There was no association between 9+ total score and the risk of lower extremity injuries (HR 1.02, 95% CI 0.99 to 1.05, p=0.13), even after adjusting for other risk factors in a multivariate analysis (HR 1.01, 95% CI 0.98 to 1.04, p=0.37). ROC curve analysis revealed an area under the curve of 0.48, and there was no cut-off point that distinguished injured from non-injured players. CONCLUSION: The 9+ was not associated with lower extremity injury, and it was no better than chance for distinguishing between injured and uninjured players. Therefore, the 9+ test cannot be recommended as an injury prediction tool in this population.

Intramuscular tendon involvement on MRI has limited value for predicting time to return to play following acute hamstring injury.

BACKGROUND: Hamstring injury with intramuscular tendon involvement is regarded as a serious injury with a delay in return to play (RTP) of more than 50 days and reinjury rates up to 63%. However, this reputation is based on retrospective case series with high risk of bias. OBJECTIVE: Determine whether intramuscular tendon involvement is associated with delayed RTP and elevated rates of reinjury. METHODS: MRI of male athletes with an acute hamstring injury was obtained within 5 days of injury. Evaluation included standardised MRI scoring and scoring of intramuscular tendon involvement. Time to RTP and reinjury rate were prospectively recorded. RESULTS: Out of 70 included participants, intramuscular tendon disruption was present in 29 (41.4%) injuries. Injuries without intramuscular tendon disruption had a mean time to RTP of 22.2±7.4 days. Injuries with <50%, 50%-99% and 100% disruption of tendon cross-sectional area had a mean time to RTP of 24.0±9.7, 25.3±8.6 and 31.6±10.9 days, respectively. Injuries with full-thickness disruption took longer to RTP compared with injuries without disruption (p=0.025). Longitudinal intramuscular tendon disruption was not significantly associated with time to RTP. Waviness was present in 17 (24.3%) injuries. Mean time to RTP for injuries without and with waviness was 22.6±7.5 and 30.2±10.8 days (p=0.014). There were 11 (15.7%) reinjuries within 12 months, five (17.2%) in the group with intramuscular tendon disruption and six (14.6%) in the group without intramuscular tendon disruption. CONCLUSION: Time to RTP for injuries with full-thickness disruption of the intramuscular tendon and waviness is significantly longer (by slightly more than 1 week) compared with injuries without intramuscular tendon involvement. However, due to the considerable overlap in time to RTP between groups with and without intramuscular tendon involvement, its clinical significance for the individual athlete is limited.

Injury and illness epidemiology in soccer - effects of global geographical differences - a call for standardized and consistent research studies.

Soccer is the most popular sport in the world. While injuries and illnesses can affect the players' health and performance, they can also have a major economic impact on teams. Moreover, several studies have shown the favourable association between higher player availability and team success. Therefore, injury prevention could directly impact clubs' financial balance and teams' performance via increased player availability. To be able to develop effective methods of injury prevention, it is vital to first determine the scope and the degree of the problem: the mechanisms and types of injuries, their frequency and severity, etc. According to the most widely known prevention model, systematic injury surveillance is the first and most fundamental step towards injury prevention. Since epidemiological studies have shown that injuries and illnesses in soccer players differ from region to region, it is important to establish a specific injuries and illness database in order to guide specific preventive actions. Since Asia is the largest continent, with the highest number of soccer players, and in the light of the long-term research on injuries performed in UEFA clubs, the authors of the present article present the AFC surveillance. Some methodological issues related to this prospective design study are discussed. The definition of injury and illness and the methods to track players' exposure are described along with the potential challenges related to such a vast scale study. This article is also a call for action to have consistent and standardized epidemiological studies on soccer injuries and illnesses, with the aim to improve their prevention.

Platelet-rich plasma does not enhance return to play in hamstring injuries: a randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the efficacy of a single platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection in reducing the return to sport duration in male athletes, following an acute hamstring injury. METHODS: A randomised, three-arm (double-blind for the injection arms), parallel-group trial, in which 90 professional athletes with MRI positive hamstring injuries were randomised to injection with PRP-intervention, platelet-poor plasma (PPP-control) or no injection. All received an intensive standardised rehabilitation programme. The primary outcome measure was time to return to play, with secondary measures including reinjury rate after 2 and 6 months. RESULTS: The adjusted HR for the PRP group compared with the PPP group was 2.29 (95% CI 1.30 to 4.04) p=0.004; for the PRP group compared with the no injection group 1.48 (95% CI 0.869 to 2.520) p=0.15, and for the PPP group compared with the no injection group 1.57 (95% CI 0.88 to -2.80) p=0.13. The adjusted difference for time to return to sports between the PRP and PPP groups was -5.7 days (95% CI -10.1 to -1.4) p=0.01; between the PRP and no injection groups -2.9 days (95% CI -7.2 to 1.4) p=0.189 and between the PPP and no injection groups 2.8 days (95% CI -1.6 to 7.2) p=0.210. There was no significant difference for the secondary outcome measures. No adverse effects were reported. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that there is no benefit of a single PRP injection over intensive rehabilitation in athletes who have sustained acute, MRI positive hamstring injuries. Intensive physiotherapy led rehabilitation remains the primary means of ensuring an optimal return to sport following muscle injury. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01812564.

Injury and illness surveillance during the 24th Men's Handball World Championship 2015 in Qatar.

BACKGROUND: The IOC encourages international federations to establish systematic athlete injury and illness surveillance programmes. OBJECTIVE: To describe pattern of injuries and illnesses during the 24th Men's Handball World Championship 2015 by implementing the IOC injury and illness surveillance protocol. METHODS: The medical staff of participating teams (n=24) were requested to report all new injuries and illnesses during matches and/or training on a daily basis throughout the event (15 January to 1 February, 2015). Exposure (number of player-hours) during all matches was calculated for all players (n=384) and for each of the 4 player positions (wing, back, line and goalkeeper). RESULTS: Medical staff of all teams submitted 96.7% (n=325) of the daily report forms. In total, 27.1% of the players were injured, and of the 132 injuries reported, 40% were time-loss injuries. The total incidence of injuries was 104.5 per 1000 player-hours. The highest risk of injury was found among line players, and more injuries occurred during the first half of the matches. The most frequent injury location was the ankle, followed by the thigh, knee and head/face. The majority of injuries were contusion, sprain or strain. In total, 10.9% of the players were affected by an illness during the event. Of the 42 cases recorded, 31 (73.8%) were reported as respiratory tract infection. CONCLUSIONS: The risk of injury in handball is high among Olympic sports. Preventive measures should focus on contusions, ankle sprains, and thigh muscle strains, as well as measures aimed to reduce upper respiratory tract infections.

Concussion surveillance: do low concussion rates in the Qatar Professional Football League reflect a true difference or emphasize challenges in knowledge translation?

OBJECTIVE: To investigate concussion epidemiology in the first football (soccer) division of Qatar. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Professional First Division Football League of Qatar. PARTICIPANTS: All first team players were included at the beginning of each season. INTERVENTIONS: Daily collection of training and match exposure from August 2008 until April 2012 by club medical staff. Head injuries during training and match play were recorded on standardized injury cards. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Injury incidence was calculated as number of injuries per hour exposed to risk and expressed as rate per 1000 hours. RESULTS: The incidence of concussions in professional club football in Qatar is 0.016 (0.000-0.033) per 1000 hours of exposure. CONCLUSIONS: The concussion incidence is only 25% of that in the previous European studies using the same time loss injury definition. This raises the possibility that concussions are underreported. Further research is necessary. In the meantime, concussion education of players, club medical, and support staff is warranted, in keeping with the Zurich concussion consensus call for the need for an increase in knowledge translation.

At return to play following hamstring injury the majority of professional football players have residual isokinetic deficits.

BACKGROUND: There is an ongoing debate regarding the optimal criteria for return to sport after an acute hamstring injury. Less than 10% isokinetic strength deficit is generally recommended but this has never been documented in professional football players after rehabilitation. Our aim was to evaluate isokinetic measurements in MRI-positive hamstring injuries. METHODS: Isokinetic measurements of professional football players were obtained after completing a standardised rehabilitation programme. An isokinetic strength deficit of more than 10% compared with the contralateral site was considered abnormal. Reinjuries within 2 months were recorded. RESULTS: 52 players had a complete set of isokinetic testing before clinical discharge. There were 27 (52%) grade 1 and 25 (48%) grade 2 injuries. 35 of 52 players (67%) had at least one of the three hamstring-related isokinetic parameters that display a deficit of more than 10%. The percentage of players with 10% deficit for hamstring concentric 60°/s, 300°/s and hamstring eccentric was respectively 39%, 29% and 28%. There was no significant difference of mean isokinetic peak torques and 10% isokinetic deficits in players without reinjury (N=46) compared with players with reinjury (N=6). CONCLUSIONS: When compared with the uninjured leg, 67% of the clinically recovered hamstring injuries showed at least one hamstring isokinetic testing deficit of more than 10%. Normalisation of isokinetic strength seems not to be a necessary result of the successful completion of a football-specific rehabilitation programme. The possible association between isokinetic strength deficit and increased reinjury risk remains unknown.

Groin Pain Syndrome Italian Consensus Conference update 2023.

Groin pain syndrome (GPS) is a controversial topic in Sports Medicine. The GPS Italian Consensus Conference on terminology, clinical evaluation and imaging assessment of groin pain in athletes was organized by the Italian Society of Arthroscopy in Milan, on 5 February 2016. In this Consensus Conference (CC) GPS etiology was divided into 11 different categories for a total of 63 pathologies. The GPS Italian Consensus Conference update 2023 is an update of the 2016 CC. The CC was based on a sequential, two-round online Delphi survey, followed by a final CC in the presence of all panelists. The panel was composed of 55 experts from different scientific and clinical backgrounds. Each expert discussed 6 different documents, one of which regarded the clinical and imaging definition of sports hernias, and the other 5 dealt with 5 new clinical situations thought to result in GPS. The panelists came to an agreement on the definition of a sports hernia. Furthermore, an agreement was reached, recognizing 4 of the 5 possible proposed pathologies as causes to GPS. On the contrary, the sixth pathology discussed did not find consensus given the insufficient evidence in the available scientific literature. The final document includes a new clinical and imaging definition of sports hernia. Furthermore, the etiology of GPS was updated compared to the previous CC of 2016. The new taxonomic classification includes 12 categories (versus 11 in the previous CC) and 67 pathologies (versus 63 in the previous CC).

Low injury rate strongly correlates with team success in Qatari professional football.

BACKGROUND: Although the incidence of football injuries should relate to team success there is little empirical evidence. OBJECTIVE: We investigated the relationship between injury incidence and team success in Qatar first-division football clubs. METHODS: Using a prospective cohort study design, we captured exposure and injuries in Qatar male elite football for a season. Club performance was measured by total league points, ranking, goal scored, goals conceded and number of matches won, drawn or lost. RESULTS: Lower injury incidence was strongly correlated with team ranking position (r=0.929, p=0.003), more games won (r=0.883, p=0.008), more goals scored (r=0.893, p=0.007), greater goal difference (r=0.821, p=0.003) and total points (r=0.929, p=0.003). CONCLUSIONS: Lower incidence rate was strongly correlated with team success. Prevention of injuries may contribute to team success.

Does Ramadan affect the risk of injury in professional football?

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether fasting during Ramadan influences injury incidence in professional Muslim and non-Muslim footballers. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Professional First Division League of Qatar. PARTICIPANTS: About 527 male football players (462 Muslim and 65 non-Muslim) from 7 league clubs (first year of data collection) and 8 clubs (second and third years). INTERVENTIONS: Daily collection of training and match exposure from August 2008 until April 2011 by club medical staff. Injuries during training and match play were recorded on standardized injury cards. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Injury incidence was calculated as number of injuries per hour exposed to risk, and expressed as rate per 1000 hours. The probability of injury for different Arabic months between Muslims and non-Muslims was calculated using Generalized Estimating Equations (GEEs). RESULTS: There was no significant difference in total, match, and training injury incidence between the Ramadan and non-Ramadan periods. Non-Muslim footballers had a significantly higher injury incidence rate than Muslim footballers both during Ramadan (8.5 vs 4.0 injuries/1000 hours, P = 0.009) and non Ramadan (6.6 vs 4.9 injuries/1000 hours, P = 0.004) periods. The GEE analysis revealed that after adjusting for age and random factors (month and club), the probability of match injury among non-Muslims was the highest in Ramadan and the 2 consecutive following months (adjusted odds ratio of injury among non-Muslims compared with Muslims was 3.7 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.7-7.9], P = 0.001 during Ramadan (ninth) month; 2.4 (95% CI, 1.1-4.9), P = 0.021 during 10th month; and 2.7 (95% CI, 1.2-5.8), P = 0.013 during 11th month). Finally, there was no change in injury patterns over the months of the Islamic calendar. CONCLUSIONS: Ramadan does not impact injury incidence for Muslim footballers in Qatar, suggesting the current adjustments and scheduling of football activities during Ramadan are sufficient. The increased match injury among non-Muslims during and 2 months post-Ramadan may suggest less effective coping strategies.

Achilles Tendon Repair after Tenorraphy Imaging and the Doughnut Metaphor.

After Achilles tendon tenorraphy, tendon tissue undergoes a long period of biological healing. During this period, tissue turnover shows heterogeneity between its peripheral and central regions. This case report concerns the description of the tendon healing process of an athlete who underwent an Achilles tendon tenorraphy. As the reparative processes progressed, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed centralization of the hyperintensity area and the tendon assumed a doughnut-like appearance. At the same time, ultrasound (US) assessment showed a progressive reorganization of the tendon fibrillar structure. Therefore, for the athlete, MRI and US assessment together represent a useful tool for the decision-making process after Achilles tendon tenorraphy.

Prepubic aponeurotic complex injuries: a structured narrative review.

The prepubic aponeurotic complex anatomy (PPAC) consists in a fibrous capsule, which anteriorly lines the pubic symphysis, formed by the interconnection of different anatomical structures. Research of the studies (original articles, case series and review articles) was conducted without publication data limitation or language restriction on the following databases: PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, ISI, EXCERPTA. To date, evidence from the literature suggests that: 1) the PPAC is formed by interconnection between the tendons of the adductor longus, adductor brevis, gracilis and pectineus muscles, the aponeurosis of rectus abdominis, pyramidalis and external oblique muscles, the articular disc, the anterior pubic periostium and by the superior, inferior and anterior pubic ligament; 2) the PPAC clinical presentation may mimic a adductor longus tendon injury, the MRI examination can help to differentiate the two different clinical frameworks; 3) the PPAC injuries show a typical MRI presentation which must be differentiated from other similar but clinically different imaging frameworks; 4) the PACC injury can be treated conservatively, with medical therapies or surgically. This narrative structured review provides an insight into the PPAC the anatomy, the clinical presentation, the imaging and the treatment of the PPAC injuries.