ECSS Position Statement 2009: Prevention of acute sports injuries

Best Practice & Research Clinical Rheumatology

American Journal of Sports Science, 2015

Sports injury occurs during a sporting activity caused by overuse, direct impact, or the application of force that is greater than the body part can structurally withstand. Soccer is usually defined as a body contact outdoor game and therefore there is a chance of being injured by the opponents or due to not following proper playing rule or not using protective equipment. To maximize the health benefits of sports and exercise and to minimize the direct and indirect costs associated with injuries, developing and adopting injury prevention strategies is an important goal. Successful sports injury prevention programme requires successful implementation of effective interventions. This paper reviews the main mechanisms and risk factors for injuries to the head, groin, knee, ankle, muscle as well as the evidence supporting various strategies to prevent them. Approaches that have been shown to be successful include: (1) using protective equipment to reduce injury risk, (2) adopting the rules of play, and (3) specific exercise programmes developed to reduce injury risk.

Archives of Internal Medicine, 2007

Third International Conference on Current Trends in Engineering Science and Technology ICCTEST-2017, 2017

There is a saying in sport that "injury is just part of the game". In other words, injury in sport is seen as inevitable. To examine progress toward reaching the contrary position that "injury prevention is just part of the game". The four steps of van Mechelen's "sequence of prevention" model provide a structure for examining progress. What is known about the size of the problem (step 1)? Most is known about more serious injuries and about injuries in élite and professional sport. Least is known about less serious injuries, injury in community level and amateur sport, and injury occurring in recreational activities. What is known about risk factors (step 2)? Despite calls for analytic studies since the early 1980s, few such studies have been reported in the literature. What is known about the effectiveness of preventive measures (step 3)? Few randomized controlled trials have been reported in the literature. Are there systems in place to monitor sports injury (step 4)? Examples are given of systems in North America, Europe, and Australasia. With a few exceptions, progress has not gone beyond step 1 in van Mechelen's model. Challenges for the future include: deciding where research efforts should be placed, standardization of definitions and methods of data collection and reporting, identification of risk factors and mechanisms of injury, and the evaluation of interventions. Finally, if the field of sports injury prevention is to advance, multidisciplinary collaboration will be required, along with the involvement of the sports community.

1960

Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine, 2021

Background: A large volume of systematic reviews and meta-analyses has been published on the effectiveness of sports injury prevention programs. Purpose: To provide a qualitative summary of published systematic reviews and meta-analyses that have examined the effectiveness of sports injury prevention programs on reducing musculoskeletal injuries. Study Design: Systematic review; Level of evidence, 4. Methods: We searched the PubMed, CINAHL, EMBASE, and the Cochrane databases for systematic reviews and meta-analyses that evaluated the effectiveness of sports injury prevention programs. We excluded published abstracts, narrative reviews, articles not published in English, commentaries, studies that described sports injury prevention strategies but did not assess their effectiveness, studies that did not assess musculoskeletal injuries, and studies that did not assess sports-related injuries. The most relevant results were extracted and summarized. Levels of evidence were determined pe...

2015

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Deutsche Zeitschrift für Sportmedizin, 2014

Sports Medicine - Open, 2020

Soccer is the most popular sport in the world. Expectedly, the incidence of soccer-related injuries is high and these injuries exert a significant burden on individuals and families, including health and financial burdens, and on the socioeconomic and healthcare systems. Using established injury prevention frameworks, we present a concise synthesis of the most recent scientific evidence regarding injury rates, characteristics, mechanisms, risk and protective factors, interventions for prevention, and implementation of interventions in soccer. In this umbrella review, we elucidate the most recent available evidence gleaned primarily from systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Further, we express the exigent need to move current soccer injury prevention research evidence into action for improved player outcomes and widespread impact through increased attention to dissemination and implementation research. Additionally, we highlight the importance of an enabling context and effective implementation strategies for the successful integration of evidence-based injury prevention programs into real-world soccer settings. This narrative umbrella review provides guidance to inform future research, practice, and policy towards reducing injuries among soccer players. This review provides a one-stop evidence reference regarding the prevention of soccer injuries, including evidence and perspectives on the implementation of proven interventions. Overall evidence supports the use of the 11+ neuromuscular training warm-up and focused strength training, and there is emerging evidence for load management programs to mitigate injury risk among soccer players. Theory-driven dissemination and implementation studies are needed to improve the adoption, adherence, appropriate adaptation, scale-up, and sustainment of evidence-based injury prevention interventions in soccer. The findings from this review provide guidance to inform future research, practice, and policy towards reducing injuries among soccer players.

British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2012

Objective To analyse published articles that used interventions aimed at investigating biomechanical/ physiological outcomes (ie, intermediate risk factors) for sport injury prevention in order to characterise the state of the fi eld and identify important areas not covered in the literature. Data sources PubMed, Cinahl, Web of Science and Embase were searched using a broad search strategy. Main results Only 144 of 2525 articles retrieved by the search strategy met the inclusion criteria. Crossover study designs increased by 175% in the late 1980s until 2005 but have declined 32% since then. Randomised controlled trial (RCT) study designs increased by 650% since the early 1980s. Protective equipment studies (61.8% of all studies) declined by 35% since 2000, and training studies (35.4% of all studies) increased by 213%. Equipment research studied stability devices (83.1%) and attenuating devices (13.5%) whereas training research studied balance and coordination (54.9%), strength and power (43.1%) and stretching (15.7%). Almost all (92.1%) studies investigated the lower extremity and 78.1% were of the joint (non-bone)-ligament type. Finally, 57.5% of the reports studied contact sports, 24.2% collision and 25.8% non-contact sports. Conclusion The decrease in crossover study design and increase in RCTs over time suggest a shift in study design for injury prevention articles. Another notable fi nding was the change in research focus from equipment interventions, which have been decreasing since 2000 (35% decline), to training interventions, which have been increasing (213% increase). Finally, there is very little research on overuse or upper extremity injuries.

International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, 2021

The number one goal of the sports physical therapist is to make sure that the athlete is in optimal shape to perform, but with a minimal risk for developing an injury at the same time. The aim of this International Federation of Sports Physical Therapy (IFSPT) Perspective is to raise awareness about the importance of contextual and behavioral factors when planning and implementing injury prevention. Also, it outlines the potential role of the IFSPT as a facilitator of data and information exchange among sports physical therapists worldwide.

Sports Medicine, 2014

Background The effects of methods to prevent injuries have been studied in several systematic reviews. However, no meta-analysis taking into account all randomised controlled intervention trials aiming at the prevention of sports injuries has been published. Objective To summarise the effects of sports injury prevention interventions. Design Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Data Sources PubMed, MEDLINE, SPORTDiscus, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, CINAHL, PEDro, and Web of Science, searched in September 2013. The reference lists of retrieved articles and reviews were hand searched. Eligibility Criteria for Selecting Studies To be selected articles had to examine the effects of any preventive intervention on sports injuries, be randomised/quasi-randomised and controlled trials, published in a peer-reviewed journal. The outcome of the trial had to be injury rate or the number of injured individuals. Results Of the 5580 articles retrieved after a search of databases and the relevant bibliography, 68 randomised controlled trials were included in the systematic review and 60 trials were included in the meta-analysis. Insoles (OR 0.51, 95 % CI 0.32-0.81), external joint supports (OR 0.40, 95 % CI 0.30-0.53), and specific training programmes (OR 0.55, 95 % CI 0.46-0.66) appeared to be effective in reducing the risk of sports injuries. Stretching (OR 0.92, 95 % CI 0.80-1.06), modified shoes (OR 1.23, 95 % CI 0.81-1.87), and preventive videos (OR 0.86, 95 % CI 0.44-1.68) seemed not to be effective. Conclusions This meta-analysis showed that certain interventions can reduce the risk of sports injuries. There were limitations regarding the quality of the trials, generalisability of the results, and heterogeneity of the study designs. In future, the mechanisms behind effective methods and the most beneficial elements of preventive training programmes need to be clarified.

British Medical Journal, 1995

Objective-To determine the acute injury profile in each of six sports and compare the injury rates between the sports. Design-Analysis of national sports injury insurance registry data. Setting-Finland during 1987-91. Subjects-621 691 person years of exposure among participants in soccer, ice hockey, volleyball, basketball, judo, or karate. Main outcome measures-Acute sports injuries requiring medical treatment and reported to the insurance company on structured forms by the patients and their doctors. Results-54 186 sports injuries were recorded. Injury rates were low in athletes aged under 15, while 20-24 year olds had the highest rates. Differences in injury rates between the sports were minor in this adult age group. Overall injury rates were higher in sports entailing more frequent and powerful body contact. Each sport had a specific injury profile. Fractures and dental injuries were most common in ice hockey and karate and least frequent in volleyball. Knee injuries were the most common cause of permanent disability. Conclusions-Based on the defined injury profiles in the different sports it is recommended that sports specific preventive measures should be employed to decrease the number of violent contacts between athletes, including improved game rules supported by careful refereeing. To prevent dental injuries the wearing of mouth guards should be encouraged, especially in ice hockey, karate, and basketball.

Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, 2010

Objective: To analyze differences in sports injury characteristics of the upper and lower extremity and to identify factors that contribute to the risk of sustaining an upper extremity injury compared with the risk of sustaining a lower extremity injury.

Injury Prevention, 2009

Background: Knee injuries are a major injury concern for Australian Football players and participants of many other sports worldwide. There is increasing evidence from laboratory and biomechanically focused studies about the likely benefit of targeted exercise programmes to prevent knee injuries. However, there have been few international studies that have evaluated the effectiveness of such programmes in the real-world context of community sport that have combined epidemiological, behavioural and biomechanical approaches. Objective: To implement a fully piloted and tested exercise training intervention to reduce the number of football-related knee injuries. In so doing, to evaluate the intervention's effectiveness in the real-world context of community football and to determine if the underlying neural and biomechanical training adaptations are associated with decreased risk of injury. Setting: Adult players from community-level Australian Football clubs in two Australian states over the 2007-08 playing seasons. Methods: A group-clustered randomised controlled trial with teams of players randomly allocated to either a coach-delivered targeted exercise programme or usual behaviour (control). Epidemiological component: fieldbased injury surveillance and monitoring of training/game exposures. Behavioural component: evaluation of player and coach attitudes, knowledge, behaviours and compliance, both before and after the intervention is implemented. Biomechanical component: biomechanical, game mobility and neuromuscular parameters assessed to determine the fundamental effect of training on these factors and injury risk. Outcome measures: The rate and severity of injury in the intervention group compared with the control group. Changes, if any, in behavioural components. Process evaluation: coach delivery factors and likely sustainability.