@article{ref1,
title="Countrywide Campaign to Prevent Soccer Injuries in Swiss Amateur Players",
journal="American journal of sports medicine",
year="2011",
author="Junge, Astrid and Lamprecht, Markus and Stamm, H. and Hasler, Hansruedi and Bizzini, Mario and Tschopp, Markus and Reuter, H. and Wyss, Heinz and Chilvers, Chris and Dvorak, Jiri",
volume="39",
number="1",
pages="57-63",
abstract="BACKGROUND: In Switzerland, the national accident insurance company registered a total of 42 262 soccer injuries, resulting in costs of approximately 145 million Swiss francs (~US$130 million) in 2003. Research on injury prevention has shown that exercise-based programs can reduce the incidence of soccer injuries. PURPOSE: This study was conducted to assess the implementation and effects of a countrywide campaign to reduce the incidence of soccer injuries in Swiss amateur players. STUDY DESIGN: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. METHODS: All coaches of the Schweizerischer Fussballverband (SFV) received information material and were instructed to implement the injury prevention program &quot;The 11&quot; in their training of amateur players. After the instruction, the coaches were asked to rate the quality and the feasibility of &quot;The 11.&quot; Before the start of the intervention and 4 years later, a representative sample of about 1000 Swiss soccer coaches were interviewed about the frequency and characteristics of injuries in their teams. Teams that did or did not practice &quot;The 11&quot; were compared with respect to the incidence of soccer injuries. RESULTS: A total of 5549 coaches for amateur players were instructed to perform &quot;The 11&quot; in the training with their teams. The ratings of the teaching session and the prevention program were overall very positive. In 2008, 80% of all SFV coaches knew the prevention campaign &quot;The 11&quot; and 57% performed the program or most parts of it. Teams performing &quot;The 11&quot; had an 11.5% lower incidence of match injuries and a 25.3% lower incidence of training injuries than other teams; noncontact injuries in particular were prevented by the program. CONCLUSION: &quot;The 11&quot; was successfully implemented in a countrywide campaign and proved effective in reducing soccer injuries in amateur players. An effect of the prevention program was also observed in the population-based insurance data and health-care costs.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0363-5465",
doi="10.1177/0363546510377424",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0363546510377424"
}