Association Between Injury History and Navicular Drop in Male Youth Soccer Players

Objective Youth soccer players are in a period of rapid physical growth, raising concerns that the synergistic effect of rapid physical growth and high training intensity may increase the risk of injury. It has been shown that navicular drop (ND) is associated with injuries in various athletes, but there are no studies that have examined the association between ND and a history of injury in youth soccer players. This study aimed to examine the association between a history of injury and ND in male youth soccer players. The study's results offer new injury prevention strategies for male youth soccer players. Methods This is a cross-sectional study. The study included 63 male youth soccer players (16 ± 1 years). Participants self-reported their injury history. ND was determined by measuring the navicular bone height with a caliper and calculating the difference between sitting and standing positions. Statistical analysis was conducted using binary logistic regression, with injury history (reference number) as the dependent variable and ND as the independent variable. Results The no-injury group included 34 participants (age: 16 ± 1 years), while the injury group included 29 participants (age: 16 ± 1 years). Comparison of measurement items showed that the ND was significantly lower in the no-injury group than in the injury group (p = 0.006, effect size (ES) = -0.74), with no significant differences in the other variables. The analysis revealed a significant association between injury history and ND (odds ratio (OR): 13.8 (1.8-103.6), p = 0.011). This finding was also observed in Model 2, which was adjusted for propensity scores (PS) (OR: 16.7 (1.8-158.4), p = 0.014). Conclusions It was found that a greater ND in male youth soccer players was associated with higher odds of injury history. To prevent injury, evaluating ND and implementing interventions to maintain and improve it was recommended.