Sports injuries of a Portuguese professional football team: a 3-year longitudinal study

Francisco Martins; Cíntia França; Hugo Sarmento; Krzysztof Przednowek; Adilson Marques; Andreas Ihle; Helder Lopes; Élvio Gouveia

doi:10.6063/motricidade.31624

Authors

Francisco Martins ITI/LARSYS https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4838-4931
Cíntia França 1 Department of Physical Education and Sport, University of Madeira, 9020-105 Funchal, Portugal 2 LARSYS, Interactive Technologies Institute, 9020-105 Funchal, Portugal 3 Research Center in Sports Sciences, Health Sciences, and Human Development (CIDESD), 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8364-6832
Hugo Sarmento University of Coimbra, Research Unit for Sport and Physical Education (CIDAF), Faculty of Sport Sciences and Physical Education, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8681-0642
Krzysztof Przednowek Institute of Physical Culture Sciences, Medical College, University of Rzeszów, 35-959 Rzeszów, Poland
Adilson Marques CIPER, Faculty of Human Kinetics, University of Lisbon, 1495‐751 Lisbon, Portugal; ISAMB, Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon, 1649‐020 Lisbon, Portugal https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9850-7771
Andreas Ihle Department of Psychology, University of Geneva, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland; Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Gerontology and Vulnerability, University of Geneva, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland; Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research LIVES—Overcoming Vulnerability: Life Course Perspectives, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
Helder Lopes Department of Physical Education and Sport, University of Madeira, 9020-105 Funchal, Portugal ; Research Center in Sports Sciences, Health Sciences, and Human Development (CIDESD), 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1388-9473
Élvio Rúbio Gouveia Department of Physical Education and Sport, University of Madeira, 9020-105 Funchal, Portugal; LARSYS, Interactive Technologies Institute, 9020-105 Funchal, Portugal; Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Gerontology and Vulnerability, University of Geneva, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6063/motricidade.31624

Keywords:

football injuries, risk factors, epidemiology, sports monitoring, injury prevention

Abstract

Football is known for its fast-paced and intensive activities from a professional standpoint, exposing professional football players to a high injury risk across their sportive careers. This study aimed to describe and characterise the sportive injuries of a First Portuguese Football League professional football team over three consecutive seasons. Seventy-one male professional football players (age = 25.7 ± 3.4 years; stature = 181.6 ± 6.5 cm; body mass = 77 ± 7.2 kg) participated in this study, comprising eight goalkeepers (11.3%), 20 defenders (28.2%), 17 midfielders (23.9%), and 26 forwards (36.6%). All players were followed throughout seasons 2019/2020, 2020/2021, and 2021/2022. Descriptive statistics were used to summarise the data collected. Absolute values present the number of football players and the total number of injuries. The demographic data of the participants are presented by mean and standard deviation. The frequency of the injuries by age, sectorial position, type, zone, specific location, laterality, mechanism, severity, recurrence, and occurrence are represented by absolute values and their percentages. In total, 84 injuries were recorded. Each player missed an average of 16.6 days per injury. Lower limbs were massively affected by injuries across all three seasons, mainly with muscular injuries in the quadriceps and hamstrings and sprains in the tibiotarsal structure. The injury incidence was considerably higher in official matches than in training sessions. The two moments of the season that proved most conducive to injuries were the months of July and January. Our results emphasise the importance of monitoring sports performance, including injury occurrence and assisting in identifying risk factors in professional football. Designing individualised training programs and optimising prevention and recovery protocols are crucial for maximising this global process.