Skip to main content

Football Injury Prevention

  • Chapter
Book cover Football Traumatology

Abstract

Playing football has many health benefits but it is also associated with a certain risk of injury. There is extensive literature on the frequency and characteristics of football injuries, and several scientific studies on injury prevention programmes in amateur football players have been published. Research has shown that noncontact injuries in football can be prevented by at least one third and up to a half by the means of specific injury prevention programmes (such as FIFA 11+), whereas contact injuries can only be prevented by enhanced fair play and stricter refereeing. However, the implementation of injury prevention programmes in the real world of football represents a major challenge. All involved individuals and associations should endorse and promote injury prevention, thus optimising the beneficial health and social effects of this sport and reducing the economic burden caused by the management of injuries.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. FIFA Big count. http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/bigcount/2006. Cited 2013 21 Feb 2013

  2. Dvorak J (2009) Give Hippocrates a jersey: promoting health through football/sport. Br J Sports Med 43(5):317–322

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Bizzini M, Junge A, Dvorak J (2013) Implementation of the FIFA 11+ football warm up program: how to approach and convince the football associations to invest in prevention. Br J Sports Med 47(12):803–806

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  4. Bizzini M, Silvers HJ (2014) Return to competitive football after major knee surgery: more questions than answers? J Sports Sci 32(13):1209–1216

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Hagglund M et al (2013) Injuries affect team performance negatively in professional football: an 11-year follow-up of the UEFA Champions League injury study. Br J Sports Med 47(12):738–742

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Bizzini M et al (2013) Physiological and performance responses to the “FIFA 11 + ” (part 1): is it an appropriate warm-up? J Sports Sci 31(13):1481–1490

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. SUVA Ball sport statistics http://www.suva.ch/startseite-suva/praevention-suva/sichere-freizeit-suva/kampagne-ballsport-fitness-suva/statistik-ballsport-suva.htm

  8. van Mechelen W, Hlobil H, Kemper HC (1992) Incidence, severity, aetiology and prevention of sports injuries. A review of concepts. Sports Med 14(2):82–99

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Sackett D, Strauss S, Richardson W (2000) Evidence-based medicine. How to practice and teach EBM, 2nd edn. Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh/New York

    Google Scholar 

  10. Scherrington C (2012) Integrating evidence into clinical practice to make quality decisions. In: Brukner P et al (ed) Brukner & Khan’s clinical sports medicine. McGraw Hill, Sydney, pp 11–13

    Google Scholar 

  11. Junge A, Dvorak J (2004) Soccer injuries: a review on incidence and prevention. Sports Med 34(13):929–938

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Bahr R (2009) No injuries, but plenty of pain? On the methodology for recording overuse symptoms in sports. Br J Sports Med 43(13):966–972

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Ekstrand J, Gillquist J, Liljedahl SO (1983) Prevention of soccer injuries. Supervision by doctor and physiotherapist. Am J Sports Med 11(3):116–120

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Junge A et al (2002) Prevention of soccer injuries: a prospective intervention study in youth amateur players. Am J Sports Med 30(5):652–659

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Heidt RS Jr et al (2000) Avoidance of soccer injuries with preseason conditioning. Am J Sports Med 28(5):659–662

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Lehnhard R et al (1996) Monitoring injuries in a college soccer team: the effect of strength training. J Strength Cond Res 10:115–119

    Google Scholar 

  17. Emery CA, Meeuwisse WH (2010) The effectiveness of a neuromuscular prevention strategy to reduce injuries in youth soccer: a cluster-randomised controlled trial. Br J Sports Med 44(8):555–562

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Junge A et al (2011) Countrywide campaign to prevent soccer injuries in Swiss amateur players. Am J Sports Med 39(1):57–63

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Soligard T et al (2008) Comprehensive warm-up programme to prevent injuries in young female footballers: cluster randomised controlled trial. BMJ 337:a2469

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  20. Soligard T et al (2010) Compliance with a comprehensive warm-up programme to prevent injuries in youth football. Br J Sports Med 44(11):787–793

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Handoll HH et al (2001) Interventions for preventing ankle ligament injuries. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 3:CD000018

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Mohammadi F (2007) Comparison of 3 preventive methods to reduce the recurrence of ankle inversion sprains in male soccer players. Am J Sports Med 35(6):922–926

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Sharpe SR, Knapik J, Jones B (1997) Ankle braces effectively reduce recurrence of ankle sprains in female soccer players. J Athl Train 32(1):21–24

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  24. Surve I et al (1994) A fivefold reduction in the incidence of recurrent ankle sprains in soccer players using the Sport-Stirrup orthosis. Am J Sports Med 22(5):601–606

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Tropp H, Askling C, Gillquist J (1985) Prevention of ankle sprains. Am J Sports Med 13(4):259–262

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Arnason A et al (2008) Prevention of hamstring strains in elite soccer: an intervention study. Scand J Med Sci Sports 18(1):40–48

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Askling C, Karlsson J, Thorstensson A (2003) Hamstring injury occurrence in elite soccer players after preseason strength training with eccentric overload. Scand J Med Sci Sports 13(4):244–250

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Petersen J et al (2011) Preventive effect of eccentric training on acute hamstring injuries in men’s soccer: a cluster-randomized controlled trial. Am J Sports Med 39(11):2296–2303

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Croisier JL et al (2008) Strength imbalances and prevention of hamstring injury in professional soccer players: a prospective study. Am J Sports Med 36(8):1469–1475

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Holmich P et al (2010) Exercise program for prevention of groin pain in football players: a cluster-randomized trial. Scand J Med Sci Sports 20(6):814–821

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Caraffa A et al (1996) Prevention of anterior cruciate ligament injuries in soccer. A prospective controlled study of proprioceptive training. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 4(1):19–21

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Soderman K et al (2000) Balance board training: prevention of traumatic injuries of the lower extremities in female soccer players? A prospective randomized intervention study. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 8(6):356–363

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Hewett TE et al (1996) Plyometric training in female athletes. Decreased impact forces and increased hamstring torques. Am J Sports Med 24(6):765–773

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. Hewett TE et al (1999) The effect of neuromuscular training on the incidence of knee injury in female athletes. A prospective study. Am J Sports Med 27(6):699–706

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Gilchrist J et al (2008) A randomized controlled trial to prevent noncontact anterior cruciate ligament injury in female collegiate soccer players. Am J Sports Med 36(8):1476–1483

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Mandelbaum BR et al (2005) Effectiveness of a neuromuscular and proprioceptive training program in preventing anterior cruciate ligament injuries in female athletes: 2-year follow-up. Am J Sports Med 33(7):1003–1010

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Walden M et al (2012) Prevention of acute knee injuries in adolescent female football players: cluster randomised controlled trial. BMJ 344, e3042

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  38. Kiani A et al (2010) Prevention of soccer-related knee injuries in teenaged girls. Arch Intern Med 170(1):43–49

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Hagglund M, Walden M, Ekstrand J (2007) Lower reinjury rate with a coach-controlled rehabilitation program in amateur male soccer: a randomized controlled trial. Am J Sports Med 35(9):1433–1442

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  40. Fredberg U, Bolvig L, Andersen NT (2008) Prophylactic training in asymptomatic soccer players with ultrasonographic abnormalities in Achilles and patellar tendons: the Danish Super League Study. Am J Sports Med 36(3):451–460

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  41. Johnson U, Ekengren J, Andersen M (2005) Helping soccer players at risk. J Sport Exerc Psychol 27:32–38

    Google Scholar 

  42. Andersen TE et al (2004) Mechanisms of head injuries in elite football. Br J Sports Med 38(6):690–696

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  43. Arnason A et al (2004) A prospective video-based analysis of injury situations in elite male football: football incident analysis. Am J Sports Med 32(6):1459–1465

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  44. Fuller CW, Junge A, Dvorak J (2005) A six year prospective study of the incidence and causes of head and neck injuries in international football. Br J Sports Med 39(Suppl 1):i3–i9

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  45. Fuller CW et al (2004) The influence of tackle parameters on the propensity for injury in international football. Am J Sports Med 32(1 Suppl):43S–53S

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  46. Tscholl P et al (2007) Causation of injuries in female football players in top-level tournaments. Br J Sports Med 41(Suppl 1):i8–i14

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  47. Dvorak J et al (2011) Injuries and illnesses of football players during the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Br J Sports Med 45(8):626–630

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  48. Dvorak J et al (2007) Medical report from the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany. Br J Sports Med 41(9):578–581, discussion 581

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  49. Owoeye OB et al (2014) Efficacy of the FIFA 11+ warm-Up programme in male youth football: a cluster randomised controlled trial. J Sports Sci Med 13(2):321–328

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  50. Gianotti S, Hume PA (2007) A cost-outcome approach to pre and post-implementation of national sports injury prevention programmes. J Sci Med Sport 10(6):436–446

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  51. Gianotti S, Hume PA, Tunstall H (2010) Efficacy of injury prevention related coach education within netball and soccer. J Sci Med Sport 13(1):32–35

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  52. Steffen K et al (2008) Preventing injuries in female youth football–a cluster-randomized controlled trial. Scand J Med Sci Sports 18(5):605–614

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  53. van Beijsterveldt AM et al (2012) Effectiveness of an injury prevention programme for adult male amateur soccer players: a cluster-randomised controlled trial. Br J Sports Med 46(16):1114–1118

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  54. Silvers H et al The efficacy of the FIFA 11+ program in the collegiate male soccer players (USA) (in press)

    Google Scholar 

  55. Steffen K et al (2013) High adherence to a neuromuscular injury prevention programme (FIFA 11+) improves functional balance and reduces injury risk in Canadian youth female football players: a cluster randomised trial. Br J Sports Med 47(12):794–802

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  56. Impellizzeri FM et al (2013) Physiological and performance responses to the FIFA 11+ (part 2): a randomised controlled trial on the training effects. J Sports Sci 31(13):1491–1502

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  57. Brito J, Figueiredo P, Fernandes L (2010) Isokinetic strength effects of FIFA’s “The 11+” injury prevention training programme. Isokinetics Exerc Sci 18:211–215

    Google Scholar 

  58. Daneshjoo A et al (2012) The effects of comprehensive warm-up programs on proprioception, static and dynamic balance on male soccer players. PLoS One 7(12):e51568

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  59. Daneshjoo A et al (2012) The effects of injury preventive warm-up programs on knee strength ratio in young male professional soccer players. PLoS One 7(12):e50979

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  60. Reis I et al (2013) Performance enhancement effects of federation internationale de football association’s “the 11 + ” injury prevention training program in youth futsal players. Clin J Sport Med 23(4):318–320

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  61. Steffen K et al (2013) Evaluation of how different implementation strategies of an injury prevention programme (FIFA 11+) impact team adherence and injury risk in Canadian female youth football players: a cluster-randomised trial. Br J Sports Med 47(8):480–487

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  62. Chalmers DJ, Simpson JC, Depree R (2004) Tackling Rugby injury: lessons learned from the implementation of a five-year sports injury prevention program. J Sci Med Sport 7(1):74–84

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  63. Gianotti SM, Quarrie KL, Hume PA (2009) Evaluation of RugbySmart: a rugby union community injury prevention programme. J Sci Med Sport 12(3):371–375

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  64. Ekstrand J et al (2013) Fewer ligament injuries but no preventive effect on muscle injuries and severe injuries: an 11-year follow-up of the UEFA Champions League injury study. Br J Sports Med 47(12):732–737

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  65. McCall A et al (2014) Risk factors, testing and preventative strategies for non-contact injuries in professional football: current perceptions and practices of 44 teams from various premier leagues. Br J Sports Med 48(18):1352–1357

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  66. Weston M et al (2012) Science and medicine applied to soccer refereeing: an update. Sports Med 42(7):615–631

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  67. Bizzini M et al (2009) Female soccer referees selected for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2007: survey of injuries and musculoskeletal problems. Br J Sports Med 43(12):936–942

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  68. Bizzini M et al (2009) Injuries and musculoskeletal complaints in referees and assistant referees selected for the 2006 FIFA World Cup: retrospective and prospective survey. Br J Sports Med 43(7):490–497

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mario Bizzini .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Bizzini, M., Dvorak, J. (2015). Football Injury Prevention. In: Volpi, P. (eds) Football Traumatology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-18245-2_5

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-18245-2_5

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-18244-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-18245-2

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics