Longitudinal analysis of the incidence rate of injury in elite youth football: Trends over six years including the COVID-19 pandemic period

Abstract

Objectives: We aimed to analyze injury trends and the possible effects of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on the incidence rates of injury in young elite football players.

Design: A prospective cohort study design was adopted.

Participants: Our study included 832 male football players who suffered an injury during any of the six competitive seasons.

Setting: An elite youth football academy.

Main outcome measure: Descriptive data and the incidence of injury were calculated. A generalized linear mixed model was used to assess differences in the occurrence of injury among the various age groups. Joinpoint regression was used to analyze injury trends.

Results: Joinpoint regression models showed a statistically significant decrease in the incidence of injury in all age groups with an average annual percent change (AAPC) of 13.9 (95 %Confidence Interval [CI]:-23.2 - 3.4) and -13.5 (95 %CI:-24.5 to -0.9) for models with zero and one joinpoint, respectively. Football players in older age groups sustain a higher number of injuries, probably due to a higher number of matches and greater training intensity.

Conclusion: This study showed a downward trend in injuries in the participants prior to the pandemic, with an evident increase in the incidence rate of injury during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; Football; Injury incidence; Training; Youth.