Common lower extremity injuries in female high school soccer players in Johannesburg east district

摘要

ABSTRACTudCommon lower extremity injuries in female high school soccer players in Johannesburgudeast districtudMtshali P.T.S.udBackground and purpose of researchudAs the number of females participating in sports has increased, so has the necessity ofudunderstanding the effect of female growth and development in participation, athletic ability andudinjury patterns. Soccer is one of the sports where South Africa has seen an increase of youth andudadult femalesâu80u99 participation.udAim: To establish the prevalence of and extrinsic risk factors contributing to injuries in the lowerudextremity in female high school soccer players in the Johannesburg east district.udMethod: A retrospective descriptive questionnaire âu80u93 based study of 103 first team high schooludfemale soccer players in the Johannesburg east district was conducted. This was to determineudpoint and one year prevalence of injuries, profile of injuries that affect female soccer players,udassociations between injuries and player position, age, use of equipment, frequency of play, andudtraining duration and also to identify possible risk factors that contribute to injuries.udResults: The one year prevalence of injured players was 46.1% and point prevalence was 37.8%.udKnee injuries (18.6%) and ankle injuries (17.6%) were reported for one year prevalence and forudpoint prevalence knee injuries were 13.3% and ankle injuries 18.9%. An extended duration ofudskills (p=0.0001) and fitness (p=0.02) training in this population reduced the likelihood ofudincurring an injury and the older (p=0.01) the players, the more chances of sustaining injuries.udThe players who wore shin guards were less prone to shin/leg injuries (p=0.01) and the relativeudodds were 0.35 (CI 0.16-0.79). The midfielders had more foot and toe injuries (p = 0.05). Startingudage (p=0.78), frequency of play (p=0.83) wearing of shoes (p=0.54) and stretching had noudinfluence on injury.udConclusion: The knee and ankle were the main locations of injury with defenders and midfieldersudmostly being injured. The increased duration of training for both skills and fitness and notudwearing shin guards are risk factors for injury in female soccer players in high school.