Incidence of Lower Extremity Injury in the National Football League: 2015 to 2018.
Am J Sports Med
; 48(9): 2287-2294, 2020 07.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-32485114
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Lower extremity injuries are the most common injuries in professional sports and carry a high burden to players and teams in the National Football League (NFL). Injury prevention strategies can be refined by a foundational understanding of the occurrence and effect of these injuries on NFL players.PURPOSE:
To determine the incidence of specific lower extremity injuries sustained by NFL players across 4 NFL seasons. STUDYDESIGN:
Descriptive epidemiology study.METHODS:
This retrospective, observational study included all time-loss lower extremity injuries that occurred during football-related activities during the 2015 through 2018 seasons. Injury data were collected prospectively through a leaguewide electronic health record (EHR) system and linked with NFL game statistics and player participation to calculate injury incidence per season and per 10,000 player-plays for lower extremity injuries overall and for specific injuries. Days lost due to injury were estimated through 2018 for injuries occurring in the 2015 to 2017 seasons.RESULTS:
An average of 2006 time-loss lower extremity injuries were reported each season over this 4-year study, representing a 1-season risk of 41% for an NFL player. Incidence was stable from 2015 to 2018, with an estimated total missed time burden each NFL season of approximately 56,700 player-days lost. Most (58.7%) of these injuries occurred during games, with an overall higher rate of injuries observed in preseason compared with regular season (11.5 vs 9.4 injuries per 10,000 player-plays in games). The knee was the most commonly injured lower extremity region (29.3% of lower body injuries), followed by the ankle (22.4%), thigh (17.2%), and foot (9.1%). Hamstring strains were the most common lower extremity injury, followed by lateral ankle sprains, adductor strains, high ankle sprains, and medial collateral ligament tears.CONCLUSION:
Lower extremity injuries affect a high number of NFL players, and the incidence did not decrease over the 4 seasons studied. Prevention and rehabilitation protocols for these injuries should continue to be prioritized.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Athletic Injuries
/
Lower Extremity
/
Football
Type of study:
Incidence_studies
/
Observational_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limits:
Humans
Language:
En
Journal:
Am J Sports Med
Year:
2020
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
United States