TY - JOUR

T1 - Field conditions is a risk factor for traumatic injury in youth football—A joint venture of medicine and hydrology

AU - Jordt, Ida

AU - Thygesen, Mathias Møller

AU - Johansen, Tau Alfred

AU - Jensen, Karsten Høgh

AU - Agger, Peter

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2023 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

PY - 2023

Y1 - 2023

N2 - Introduction: The risk of traumatic injury in football has been suggested to be affected by field conditions. This study, therefore, aimed to investigate whether near surface water content of the football field, influenced the risk of traumatic injuries during a youth football tournament. Methods: At Dana Cup, an annual international youth football tournament in Denmark, all injuries were registered and classified at the on-site emergency department over 7 years. The incidence rate of traumatic injury was computed. Meteorological data and soil characteristics were used to simulate near surface water content of the playing fields. The incidence rate ratio (IRR) between water content and injury incidence rate was analyzed using a multivariate Poisson regression, controlling for tournament stage and demographical parameters. Results: About 2704 injuries were recorded corresponding to a risk time of 284 905 player hours. An inverse relation between water contents and the incidence rate of traumatic injury was found (IRR = 0.24 95% CI 0.1–0.7, p = 0.01). The incidence rate of traumatic injury increased with advancing tournament stage, that is, for the finals (IRR = 4.30 95% CI 2.8–6.6, p < 0.001). Also we found an interaction between dry fields and the final stage of tournament, further exacerbating this effect. Conclusions: Our data suggest that the incidence rate of traumatic injury is increased with drier field conditions and advanced tournament stages.

AB - Introduction: The risk of traumatic injury in football has been suggested to be affected by field conditions. This study, therefore, aimed to investigate whether near surface water content of the football field, influenced the risk of traumatic injuries during a youth football tournament. Methods: At Dana Cup, an annual international youth football tournament in Denmark, all injuries were registered and classified at the on-site emergency department over 7 years. The incidence rate of traumatic injury was computed. Meteorological data and soil characteristics were used to simulate near surface water content of the playing fields. The incidence rate ratio (IRR) between water content and injury incidence rate was analyzed using a multivariate Poisson regression, controlling for tournament stage and demographical parameters. Results: About 2704 injuries were recorded corresponding to a risk time of 284 905 player hours. An inverse relation between water contents and the incidence rate of traumatic injury was found (IRR = 0.24 95% CI 0.1–0.7, p = 0.01). The incidence rate of traumatic injury increased with advancing tournament stage, that is, for the finals (IRR = 4.30 95% CI 2.8–6.6, p < 0.001). Also we found an interaction between dry fields and the final stage of tournament, further exacerbating this effect. Conclusions: Our data suggest that the incidence rate of traumatic injury is increased with drier field conditions and advanced tournament stages.

KW - playing field conditions

KW - sport injuries

KW - tournament

KW - trauma

U2 - 10.1111/sms.14461

DO - 10.1111/sms.14461

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 37534783

AN - SCOPUS:85167328271

VL - 33

SP - 2091

EP - 2390

JO - Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports

JF - Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports

SN - 0905-7188

IS - 22

ER -