[Accidental injuries in soccer]

Frequency and severity of football related injuries have been registered on 90 swiss championship players. A multifactorial evaluation was then done, taking into account age, duration of football practice and number of training hours. Analysis was made of type and place of the injury, its origin as well as the length of the recovery period. The highest injury rate occurs in August (start of the championship). In the national leagues, a team will be hit by 20 injuries on average every half season, 20% of which require a break in the sports activity. The incidence of injuries depends on the performance level. Its values varies between 2.1 and 10.7 per 1000 hours of football play, the highest frequency being seen in the lower leagues. 40% of the mishaps happen during training sessions and 70% of all injuries require a recovery period of more than one week. The best protection rests on a mix of thorough warming up, regular stretching sessions for the legs and a well applied taping, even for preventive purposes.