Soccer Leads to More Injuries
Reported April 25, 2005

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A new study out of Great Britain suggests young people who play soccer at an elite level suffer more sports-related injuries than their counterparts in tennis, swimming or gymnastics.

The investigation started in the late 1980s, when researchers conducted a three-year study of around 450 elite young athletes between the ages of 8 and 16. Those results showed a low incidence of injuries among the group. A follow-up study conducted 10 years later, however, painted a much different picture.

About 200 of the athletes from the original study responded to a questionnaire on musculoskeletal problems related to their participation in their sport. About half the group was still involved in their sport in some respect, a few even competing on an international or national level.

Results show about 63 percent of the soccer players in the group had suffered an injury, compared to about 50 percent of both the gymnasts and tennis players and about 28 percent of the swimmers. Soccer players were more likely to have sustained lower-limb injuries while tennis players most often experienced upper-limb injuries.

The highest injury levels were seen in athletes competing at the highest levels, about 87 percent for those competing at the international level and about 64 percent for those competing at the national level.

The authors write, "Elite young sport performers who continued to train are at a greater risk of musculoskeletal injury than those who did not. The injuries sustained, though not serious, may interfere with the sporting career of an elite young athlete."

SOURCE: Archives of Disease in Childhood, 2005;90:525-527