DISTRIBUTION OF INJURIES DURING A MATCH IN THE UEFA STUDY: Implications for training

Table 1 below shows the distribution of injuries during a match as reported in the UEFA injury study recently published by Ekstrand and colleagues (2011). The incidence of muscle injuries showed an increasing tendency towards the end of both halves. This could be attributed to muscle fatigue. Indeed, previous studies show that physical performance is lower towards the end of the second half and this increases the risk for muscle injuries. Another interesting finding from the literature is that hamstring strength declines towards the end of the match and this might be associated with elevated risk of hamstring injury. Injury risk may be greatest with muscle weakness during eccentric contractions.

Together these results suggest that 1) hamstring strength and in particular eccentric strength declines towards the end of a match, 2) training should include eccentric contractions for the hamstrings especially at the end of session.

Table 1. Distribution of injuries during a match: results from the UEFA injury study (adapted from Ekstrand et al., 2011).

	No of Sprains	No of Strains	Total No of Injuries
1-15 min	10	25	50
16-30 min	21	35	90
31-45 min	38	55	140
46-60 min	20	40	80
61-75 min	30	60	145
76-90 min	25	40	120