Author(s): ODA, K., BUNGO, A., YAMAGUCHI, T., Institution: SENDAI UNIVERSITY, Country: JAPAN, Abstract-ID: 777

INTRODUCTION:
Football involves physical contact and is therefore associated with numerous injuries in both sexes. Injuries in male football have been extensively studied. However, reports on injuries in adult female football are scarce, and epidemiological data on Japanese collegiate female football players are exceedingly rare. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence and characteristics of injuries in Japanese collegiate female football players over nine seasons.
METHODS:
Time-loss injuries, along with match and training exposure, were collected over nine seasons (2014-2022) from a Japanese collegiate female football team. We investigated the injury rate, the context of injuries (matches or training, contact or non-contact), the type of injury (traumatic or overuse), location, and severity. Injuries were classified into the following categories according to FIFAs severity criteria: minimal (absence from matches or training for 1 to 3 days), mild (absence for 4 to 7 days), moderate (absence for 8 to 28 days), and severe (absence for more than 29 days). Each injury was diagnosed by an orthopedic surgeon. All injuries that resulted in absence from at least one scheduled practice session or game were recorded by the teams physiotherapist.
RESULTS:
A total of 357 injuries were recorded during 66,490.2 hours of exposure, resulting in an injury incidence of 5.4 per 1000 player hours. The overall match injury rate (9.5 per 1000 player hours) was significantly higher than the training injury rate (4.3 per 1000 player hours). Non-contact injury rates (3.4 per 1000 player hours) were significantly higher than contact injury rates (2.0 per 1000 player hours). Traumatic injury rates (4.2 per 1000 player hours) were significantly higher than overuse injuries (1.2 per 1000 player hours). Most injuries were located in the lower extremities, affecting the ankle (26.6%), knee (21.8%), thigh (21.0%), and lower leg/Achilles (7.6%). The single most common injury subtype was thigh muscle strain, representing 16.2% of all injuries. In terms of injury severity, among injuries that occurred during matches, 38.1% were moderate and 26.2% were severe. On the other hand, of the injuries that occurred during training, 41.8% were moderate and 30.1% were severe.
CONCLUSION:
This study highlights the need for injury prevention strategies in Japanese collegiate female football, revealing that match injuries significantly outnumber those during training, with non-contact and traumatic injuries being more prevalent than contact and overuse injuries, respectively. A comprehensive approach focusing on improving physical capabilities, recovery strategies, and player education is essential for effective injury prevention in female collegiate football players.