Injury incidence and prevalence in Finnish top-level football - one-season prospective cohort study

Ojective: To investigate the injury characteristics in Finnish male football players. Design: One-season prospective epidemiological study. Data were collected via injury reports from the medical staff and directly from the players using the Olso Sports Trauma Research Center Health Questionnaire. Participants: The first team squads of Finnish football league (n = 12 teams, 236 players). Main outcome measurement: Injury incidence. Results: A total of 541 injuries occurred during the exposure of 62 878 hours. Injury incidence per 1000 exposure hours was 8.6 (30.6 in matches and 3.4 in training). A player sustained on average 2.3 (median 2, range 0-13) injuries during the study. Thigh and ankle were the most commonly injured body parts for acute injuries and hip/groin were the most commonly injured body part for overuse injuries. The median absence time for all injuries was 12 (range 0-107) days, 12 (range 0-107) for acute, and 8 (range 0-61) for overuse injuries. Thigh injuries caused the greatest consequences in terms of absence from full participation (median 5 days, range 0-88). Conclusion: Lower limb muscle injuries were the most prevalent injuries in the study. Collecting data directly from the players enabled to report more injuries compared to what was reported only by the medical staff.Peer reviewe

Physical Activity, Screen Time and Sleep among Youth Participating and Non-Participating in Organized Sports - The Finnish Health Promoting Sports Club (FHPSC) Study

Objectives: The aim of this Health Promoting Sport Club (HPSC) study was to compare physical activity (PA), sleep time and screen time (ST) between sports club participants (n = 1200) and non-participants (n = 913). Design: A cross-sectional survey design was employed to assess PA, sleep and ST of adolescents.Methods: Information on these was collected from 14 to 16 year old adolescents (1200 sport club participants and 913 non-participants) through a standardized questionnaire. Results: Boys were more physically active than girls and met the PA guidelines more often than girls (p Conclusions: Youth participating in organized sports met the recommendations for PA, ST and sleep more often than nonparticipants, supporting sports clubs’ contribution to health promotion. At the same time, only minor portion of sporting youth met the recommendations, therefore more attention should be focused on sport club participants’ PA, sleep and ST especially in coaching.</p

Health promotion activities of sports clubs and coaches, and health and health behaviours in youth participating in sports clubs: the Health Promoting Sports Club study

Introduction: Sports clubs form a potential setting for health promotion, but the research is limited. The aim of the Health Promoting Sports Club (HPSC) study was to elucidate the current health promotion activities of youth sports clubs and coaches, and to investigate the health behaviours and health status of youth participating in sports clubs compared to non-participants.Methods and analysis: The study design employs cross-sectional multilevel and multimethod research with aspirations to a prospective cohort study in the next phase. The setting-based variables at sports clubs and coaching levels, and health behaviour variables at the individual level, are investigated using surveys; and total levels of physical activity are assessed using objective accelerometer measurements. Health status variables will be measured by preparticipation screening. The health promotion activity of sports clubs (n=154) is evaluated by club officials (n=313) and coaches (n=281). Coaches and young athletes aged 14-16 (n=759) years evaluate the coaches' health promotion activity. The survey of the adolescents' health behaviours consist of two data sets-the first is on their health behaviours and the second is on musculoskeletal complaints and injuries. Data are collected via sports clubs (759 participants) and schools 1650 (665 participants and 983 non-participants). 591 (418 athletes and 173 non-athletes) youth, have already participated in preparticipation screening. Screening consists of detailed personal medical history, electrocardiography, flow-volume spirometry, basic laboratory analyses and health status screening, including posture, muscle balance, and static and dynamic postural control tests, conducted by sports and exercise medicine specialists.Ethics and dissemination: The HPSC study is carried out conforming with the declaration of Helsinki. Ethical approval was received from the Ethics Committee of Health Care District of Central Finland. The HPSC study is close-to-practice, which generates foundations for development work within youth sports clubs.</p

Injury incidence and prevalence in Finnish top-level football – one-season prospective cohort study

Ojective: To investigate the injury characteristics in Finnish male football players. Design: One-season prospective epidemiological study. Data were collected via injury reports from the medical staff and directly from the players using the Olso Sports Trauma Research Center Health Questionnaire. Participants: The first team squads of Finnish football league (n = 12 teams, 236 players). Main outcome measurement: Injury incidence. Results: A total of 541 injuries occurred during the exposure of 62 878 hours. Injury incidence per 1000 exposure hours was 8.6 (30.6 in matches and 3.4 in training). A player sustained on average 2.3 (median 2, range 0-13) injuries during the study. Thigh and ankle were the most commonly injured body parts for acute injuries and hip/groin were the most commonly injured body part for overuse injuries. The median absence time for all injuries was 12 (range 0-107) days, 12 (range 0-107) for acute, and 8 (range 0-61) for overuse injuries. Thigh injuries caused the greatest consequences in terms of absence from full participation (median 5 days, range 0-88). Conclusion: Lower limb muscle injuries were the most prevalent injuries in the study. Collecting data directly from the players enabled to report more injuries compared to what was reported only by the medical staff.</div

The associations between adolescents' sports club participation and dietary habits

For adolescent athletes, data on nutrition behaviors are limited. The present study aimed to evaluate the dietary habits of adolescent sports club participants (SPs) compared with those of non-participants (NPs). The cross-sectional study of 1917 adolescents aged 14-16 was based on data from the Finnish Health Promoting Sports Club (FHPSC) study. The health behavior surveys were conducted among SPs (n = 1093) and NPs (n = 824). Logistic regression was used to test statistical significance of the differences in dietary habits between SPs and NPs. SPs were more likely than NPs to eat breakfast on weekends [89% vs 79%, odds ratio (OR) 1.46, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.07-2.01] and to report daily consumption of vegetables (46% vs 32%, OR 1.33, 95% CI 1.04-1.69) and fat-free or semi-skimmed milk (72% vs 55%, OR 1.33, 95% CI 1.04-1.68). Dietary habits regarded as unhealthy, such as sugared soft drink consumption, were similar between the groups. The aforementioned healthy dietary habits are more frequent in SPs than NPs, and unhealthy dietary habits are equally frequent in the groups. Both adolescent SPs' and NPs' dietary habits have deficiencies, like inadequate vegetable and fruit consumption. Sports clubs' opportunities for adolescents' healthy eating promotion should be examined

Musculoskeletal examination in young athletes and non-athletes: the Finnish Health Promoting Sports Club (FHPSC) study

Objectives: To determine the inter-rater repeatability of a musculoskeletal examination and to compare findings between adolescent athletes and non-athletes in Finland.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a musculoskeletal examination assessing posture, mobility and movement control was carried out by a sports and exercise medicine physician on 399 athletes aged 14–17 years and 177 non-athletes. Within 2 weeks another sports and exercise medicine physician repeated the examination for 41 adolescents to test the inter-rater repeatability.Results: In total, 10 of the 11 tests performed had at least moderate inter-rater reliability (κ ≥0.4 or percentage agreement >80%). Athletes more often than non-athletes had one shoulder protruded (8.0% vs 4.0%, OR 2.81, 95% CI 1.16 to 6.81). Forty-six per cent of athletes had good knee control in the two-legged vertical drop jump test compared with 32% of non-athletes (OR 1.99, 95% CI 1.29 to 3.06). Athletes had better core muscle control with 86.3% being able to remain in the correct plank position for 30 s compared with 68.6% of non-athletes (OR 2.70, 95% CI 1.67 to 4.36). In the deep squat test, good lumbar spine control was maintained only by 35.8% of athletes and 38.4% of non-athletes.Conclusion: A basic musculoskeletal examination is sufficiently reliable to be performed by trained physicians as a part of a periodic health evaluation. Shortfalls in mobility, posture and movement control are common in both athletes and non-athletes. These deficits could have been caused by sedentary behaviour, monotonous training, or both.</p

Training Volume and Intensity of Physical Activity among Young Athletes: The Health Promoting Sports Club (HPSC) Study

Both training volume and overall physical activity (PA) play a role in young athletes’ sports performance and athletic development. The purpose of this study was to describe the training volume and PA of young athletes in endurance, aesthetics, ball games, and power sports. Questionnaire data (n = 671) were obtained from 15-year-old Finnish athletes on sports participation, along with accelerometer data (n = 350) assessing the amount and intensity of their PA. The athletes’ mean weekly training volume was 11 h 41 min. Objectively assessed PA amounted to 4 h 31 min daily, out of which 1 h 31 min was at a level of moderate-to-vigorous intensity (MVPA). Among 24% of the athletes, the weekly training volume (in hours) exceeded the recommended level of age-in-years, which might increase their risk of sports injuries. At the same time, one in six athletes (16%) did not—on average—reach the internationally recommended threshold level of at least 60 minutes of MVPA per day. Compared to girls, boys averaged 2.5 more hours of training per week, and had 21 more minutes of MVPA per day. Moreover, boys had a higher goal orientation than girls, with 52% of the boys and only 29% of the girls focused on success at adult level. Although total training volume and PA did not differ among sports types, there were differences in training forms, and in the proportions of MVPA. The young athletes were found to vary greatly in training forms, training volumes, MVPA, and goal orientation; hence, training should be planned individually, both for team sports and individual sports.</p

Adolescents' health and health behaviour as predictors of injury death. A prospective cohort follow-up of 652,530 person-years

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Injuries represent an important cause of mortality among young adults. Longitudinal studies on risk factors are scarce. We studied associations between adolescents' perceived health and health behaviour and injury death.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A prospective cohort of 57,407 Finns aged 14 to 18 years was followed for an average of 11.4 years. The end-point of study was injury death or termination of follow-up in 2001. The relationships of eight health and health behaviour characteristics with injury death were studied with adjusted Cox's proportional hazard model.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We identified 298 (0.5%) injury deaths, 232 (0.9%) in men and 66 (0.2%) in women. The mean age at death was 23.8 years. In the models adjusted for age, sex and socioeconomic background, the strongest risk factors for injury death were recurring drunkenness (HR 2.1; 95% CI: 1.4–3.1) and daily smoking (HR 1.7; 95% CI: 1.3–2.2). Poor health did not predict injury death. Unintentional and intentional injury deaths had similar health and health behavioural risk factors.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Health compromising behaviour adopted at adolescence has a clear impact on the risk of injury death in adulthood independent from socioeconomic background. On the other hand, poor health as such is not a significant predictor of injury death. Promotion of healthy lifestyle among adolescents as part of public health programmes would seem an appropriate way to contribute to adolescent injury prevention.</p

Haemoglobin, iron status and lung function of adolescents participating in organised sports in the Finnish Health Promoting Sports Club Study

Objectives To compare laboratory test results and lung function of adolescent organised sports participants (SP) with non-participants (NP).Methods In this cross-sectional study, laboratory tests (haemoglobin, iron status), and flow-volume spirometry were performed on SP youths (199 boys, 203 girls) and their NP peers (62 boys, 114 girls) aged 14-17.Results Haemoglobin concentration Conclusions Screening for iron deficiency is recommended for symptomatic persons and persons engaging in sports. Lung function testing is recommended for symptomatic persons and persons participating in sports in which asthma is more prevalent.</div

Neuromuscular training with injury prevention counselling to decrease the risk of acute musculoskeletal injury in young men during military service: a population-based, randomised study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The rapidly increasing number of activity-induced musculoskeletal injuries among adolescents and young adults is currently a true public health burden. The objective of this study was to investigate whether a neuromuscular training programme with injury prevention counselling is effective in preventing acute musculoskeletal injuries in young men during military service.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The trial design was a population-based, randomised study. Two successive cohorts of male conscripts in four companies of one brigade in the Finnish Defence Forces were first followed prospectively for one 6-month term to determine the baseline incidence of injury. After this period, two new successive cohorts in the same four companies were randomised into two groups and followed prospectively for 6 months. Military service is compulsory for about 90% of 19-year-old Finnish men annually, who comprised the cohort in this study. This randomised, controlled trial included 968 conscripts comprising 501 conscripts in the intervention group and 467 conscripts in the control group. A neuromuscular training programme was used to enhance conscripts' motor skills and body control, and an educational injury prevention programme was used to increase knowledge and awareness of acute musculoskeletal injuries. The main outcome measures were acute injuries of the lower and upper limbs.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In the intervention groups, the risk for acute ankle injury decreased significantly compared to control groups (adjusted hazards ratio (HR) = 0.34, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) = 0.15 to 0.78, <it>P </it>= 0.011). This risk decline was observed in conscripts with low as well as moderate to high baseline fitness levels. In the latter group of conscripts, the risk of upper-extremity injuries also decreased significantly (adjusted HR = 0.37, 95% CI 0.14 to 0.99, <it>P </it>= 0.047). In addition, the intervention groups tended to have less time loss due to injuries (adjusted HR = 0.55, 95% CI 0.29 to 1.04).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A neuromuscular training and injury prevention counselling programme was effective in preventing acute ankle and upper-extremity injuries in young male army conscripts. A similar programme could be useful for all young individuals by initiating a regular exercise routine.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>ClinicalTrials.gov identifier number <a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00595816">NCT00595816</a>.</p