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. 2019 Jan 28;3(1):E6-E11.
doi: 10.1055/a-0808-2551. eCollection 2019 Jan.

Time Trends of Head Injuries Over Multiple Seasons in Professional Male Football (Soccer)

Florian Beaudouin  1 , Karen Aus der Fünten  1 , Tobias Tröß  1 , Claus Reinsberger  2 , Tim Meyer  1
Affiliations

Time Trends of Head Injuries Over Multiple Seasons in Professional Male Football (Soccer)

Florian Beaudouin et al. Sports Med Int Open. .

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate time trends of head injuries and their injury mechanisms since a rule change as monitoring may help to identify causes of head injuries and may advance head injury prevention efforts. Based on continuously recorded data from the German football magazine "kicker Sportmagazin ® " as well as other media sources, a database of head injuries in the 1 st German male Bundesliga was generated comprising 11 seasons (2006/07-2016/17). Injury mechanisms were analysed from video recordings. Injury incidence rates (IR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated. Time trends were analysed via linear regression. Two hundred thirty-eight match head injuries occurred (IR 1.77/1000 match hours, 95% CI 1.56-2.01). There were no significant seasonal changes, expressed as annual average year-on-year change, in IRs over the 11-year period for total head injuries (p=0.693), facial/head fractures (p=0.455), lacerations/abrasions (p=0.162), and head contusions (p=0.106). The annual average year-on-year increase for concussion was 6.4% (p=0.004). Five head injury mechanisms were identified. There were no seasonal changes in injury mechanisms over the study period. The concussion subcategory increased slightly over the seasons, which may either be a result of increasing match dynamics or raised awareness among team physicians and players.

Keywords: concussion; epidemiology; sport injury.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Seasonal variation in head injury rates in 11 consecutive seasons. *p<0.05.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Seasonal variation in head injury mechanisms in 11 consecutive seasons.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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