The incidence of injuries in female elite football players: a study in the Thai women premier league

Abstract

Introduction: Femal Football is now a popular female team but the number of studies on epidemiologic data of sports injuries of female football players in Thailand is still rather low. Objective: To determine the injury incidence, and anatomic location of injuries in Thai elite female football players. Methods: All 6 female football clubs, 146 players (age, 19.96 ± 2.23 years), in the Thai Women Premier League was held during the 2010 season. Retrospective study with a standardized questionnaire design was used for collecting the data of injuries such as type, location, and mechanism of injuries during competition. Results: A total of 210 injuries occurred in 112 players with an overall injury incidence rate of 6.23 injuries per 1000 player hours. Injury incidence was found high during match play. The thigh and the knee were most commonly injuries region in female players. The majority of injuries were muscle strain and hematoma. The mechanisms of injuries were being tackled, kicked, and collision. Conclusion: Female elite players had a high injury incidence in both sprain and strain. We recommend that preventive strategy should be focused on pre-season training design, especially in appropriate stretching techniques, and proper injury management in order to reduce the recurrence rate of incidence in the future.