Injury incidence, injury burden, and movement quality in young elite soccer players: a seasonal prospective study

Purpose: Maturation may have substantial effects on movement quality, which would result low or high in relation to an individual’s age at peak height velocity (APHV) (Portas et al., 2016). Considering that the way an individual moves can affect the risk of injury, there needs to provide additional and extended knowledge on injury-related representative data along with movement quality in youth soccer. The aim of the present study was to examine the injury incidence rate (IR), injury incidence burden (IB), and movement quality in young elite soccer players during a competitive season. Methods: One-hundred and forty-three soccer players voluntarily participated in the study and located into five groups: under-13 (U13, n = 26, under-14 (U14, n = 41), under-15 (U15, n = 28), under-16 (U16, n = 26), and under-17 (U17, n = 22). Total IR and IB were computed for each group. Maturity offset (MO) was derived by a somatic equation at pre, mid and at the end of the season and used to separate pre/circa (MO\1) from post pubertal (MO[1) participants by average values. Movement quality was assessed by the Functional Movement ScreenTM (FMS) for each time point. A cut-off score of 13 was adopted to detect ‘‘low’’ (B 13) and ‘‘high’’ ([13) quality performers. Results: IR (injuries per 1000 h) and IB (days absent per 1000 h) were 3.78 and 44.57 for U13, 3.27 and 32.23 for U14, 3.00 and 40.17 for U15, 2.69 and 38.25 for U16, and 3.67 and 45.93 for U17, respectively. FMS average score tended to increase in all groups across the season. Specifically, U13 and U17 exhibited the lowest and highest score, respectively. By controlling for APHV, FMS did not show any significant difference among the age-categories. Players with MO \1 presented significantly higher frequent distribution in fractures & bones injuries (p = 0.041, u = 0.16) and lower joint & ligament injuries (p = 0.015, u = 0.19) than players with MO [1. Players with FMS score B 13 presented significantly higher frequent S16 Sport Sci Health (2023) 19 (Suppl 1):S1–S149 123 distribution in fractures & bones injuries (p = 0.034, u=0.17) than players with FMS score [13. Conclusions: Practitioners should be aware about their athletes’ maturation and level of movement quality due to the different injury distribution across the season. Of note, U13 and U17 would benefit from specific recommendations to implement injury prevention strategies aimed to mitigate IR and IB.