Epidemiology Of Injury In China Youth School Football League High Level Men's Group

PURPOSE: The China Youth School Football League High Level Men's group is the highest-level competition for university students in China. This study analyzed the incidence and characteristics of injuries in soccer player during this competition in 2021 to guide future protective measures. METHODS: In this study, we followed the rules of FIFA Consensus statement on injury definitions and data collection. During the championship season, the team's doctors recorded the injuries and the illnesses of their team's athletes on a daily basis including the time of injury occurrence, injury location, injury type, and injury severity. The survey was conducted in 9 of the 16 teams participating, for a total of 180 athletes. RESULTS: A total of 114 injuries occurred, for a total injury incidence of 127.95 ph or an average of 2.11 per game. The ankle (23.68%,n = 27), knee (15.79%,n = 18), thigh (10.53%,n = 12), calf (10.53%,n = 12) were the most common location of injury. Joint or ligament sprains (32.46%,n = 37) were the most common injury, followed by contusions (22.81%,n = 26), and strains (16.67%,n = 19. Sprains mainly affected the lower extremities (94.4%), while contusions were occurring most often in the tendon (n = 7). Muscle strains occurred almost exclusively in the groin (n = 8) and thigh (n = 10). The most common cause of injury was contact with other players (47.37%,n = 54) and injuries due to sudden onset of fatigue (17.54%, n = 20.The injuries made the athletes miss practice and games (80%, n = 16), were those of the groin (n = 8) and thigh (n = 7). Most injuries did not result in missing games (62.28%,n = 71), but 40 (35.09%) injuries resulted in missing more than 4 days, probably missing the entire league. CONCLUSION: The incidence of injury during The China Youth School Football League High Level Men's group is higher than that of international matches of the same level. Lower extremity injuries occur most frequently, and sprains are the most predominant type of injury, being ankle the most common. Balance training, proprioceptive training and strengthening can effectively reduce ankle sprains in adolescents.