Prevalence and commonly sustained injuries among male football players at the Olympic Youth Development Centre in Lusaka, Zambia

Keywords: football player, prevalence, injury, collision, strain, sprain

Abstract

Background: Football is an extremely popular, high speed, contact sport enjoyed by millions of people worldwide. Unfortunately, there is a high risk of injury during training and competition on the field of play caused by players colliding or falling awkwardly, while tackling or being tackled by an opponent. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and commonly sustained injuries among football players at the Olympic Youth Development Centre in Lusaka, Zambia Methods: Data was collected retrospectively from player records, from February to November 2016 using a record review checklist. Analysis of data was done using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 20.0 for windows. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used while association of variables was tested using the chi-square test and the t-test for categorical and continuous variables respectively. The significance level was set at 5%. Results: The overall injury prevalence during the 2016 playing season at OYDC was 31.7%. Majority 42.5% of these injuries were seen in participants aged 20 years and above. Factors that influenced injuries included collision with another player (P<0.001), previous injury (P-0.023) and level of competition (P-0.018). Conclusion: From the outcomes of this study, it is evident that football is associated with a high risk of injuries, especially on the thigh, and affecting those aged 20 years and above. It is paramount that further research focuses on modalities of injury prevention.
Published
2023-05-07