@article{ref1,
title="Fewer ligament injuries but no preventive effect on muscle injuries and severe injuries: an 11-year follow-up of the UEFA Champions League injury study",
journal="British journal of sports medicine",
year="2013",
author="Ekstrand, Jan and Hägglund, Martin and Kristenson, Karolina and Magnusson, Henrik and Waldén, Markus",
volume="47",
number="12",
pages="732-737",
abstract="BACKGROUND: Limited information is available on the variation in injury rates over multiple seasons of professional football (soccer). <br><br>AIM: To analyse time-trends in injury characteristics of male professional football players over 11 consecutive seasons. <br><br>METHODS: A total of 1743 players comprising 27 teams from 10 countries were followed prospectively between 2001 and 2012. Team medical staff recorded individual player exposure and time loss injuries. <br><br>RESULTS: A total of 8029 time loss injuries were recorded. The match unavailability due to injury was 14% and constant over the study period. On average, a player sustained two injuries per season, resulting in approximately 50 injuries per team and season. The ligament injury rate decreased during the study period (R(2)=0.608, b=-0.040, 95% CI -0.065 to -0.016, p=0.005), whereas the rate of muscle injury (R(2)=0.228, b=-0.013, 95% CI -0.032 to 0.005, p=0.138) and severe injury (R(2)=0.141, b=0.015, 95% CI -0.013 to 0.043, p=0.255) did not change over the study period. In addition, no changes in injury rates over the 11-year period were found for either training (R(2)=0.000, b=0.000, 95% CI -0.035 to 0.034, p=0.988) or match play (R(2)=0.282, b=-0.015, 95% CI -0.032 to 0.003, p=0.093). <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: The injury rate has decreased for ligament injuries over the last 11 years, but overall training, match injury rates and the rates of muscle injury and severe injury remain high.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0306-3674",
doi="10.1136/bjsports-2013-092394",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2013-092394"
}