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Orthopedic Unit and "Kirk Kilgour" Sports Injury Centre, S. Andrea Hospital, University of Rome "Sapienza," Rome, Italy.
Published: June 2022
AI Article Synopsis
Article Abstract
Background: The injury rate in professional soccer players may be influenced by match frequency.
Purpose: To assess how changes in match frequency that occurred because of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) influenced training and match injuries in the Italian Serie A league.
Study Design: Descriptive epidemiology study
Methods: Three phases in the Serie A league, each 41 days long, were evaluated: phase A was the beginning of the 2019-2020 season; phase B was a period after the COVID-19 lockdown was lifted, when the remaining matches of the season were played with greater frequency; and phase C was the beginning of the 2020-2021 season. All male professional soccer players who were injured during the 3 phases were included. Player age, height, position, injury history, and return to play (RTP) were retrieved from a publicly available website. Training- and match-related injuries during each of the 3 phases were collected and compared. Moreover, match injuries that occurred after the lockdown phase (phase B), in which there were 12 days designated for playing matches ("match-days"), were compared with injuries in the first 12 match-days of phases A and C.
Results: When comparing 41-day periods, we observed the injury burden (per 1000 exposure-hours) was significantly lower in phase B (278.99 days absent) than in phase A (425.4 days absent; < .05) and phase C (484.76 days absent; < .05). A longer mean RTP period was recorded in phase A than in phase B (44.6 vs 23.1 days; < .05). Regarding 12-match day periods (81 days in phase A, 41 days in phase B, and 89 days in phase C), there was a significantly higher match injury rate (0.56 vs 0.39 injuries/1000 exposure-hours; < .05) and incidence (11.8% vs 9.3%; < .05) in phase B than in phase A and a longer mean RTP period in phase A than in phase B (41.8 vs 23.1 days; < .05). Finally, the rate and incidence of training-related injuries were significantly higher in phase B (4.6 injuries/1000 exposure-hours and 6.5, respectively) than in phase A (1.41 injuries/1000 exposure-hours and 2.04, respectively) ( < .05).
Conclusion: Both training- and match-related injuries were greater during the abbreviated period after the COVID-19 lockdown. These may be linked to the greater match frequency of that period.
