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A better insight into injuries in elite-youth football may inform prevention strategies. The purpose of this prospective cohort study was to investigate the frequency, incidence, and pattern of time-loss injuries in an elite male football academy, exploring injuries in relation to age and maturation status. Across four consecutive playing seasons, playing exposure and injuries to all academy players (U'9 to U'21) were recorded by club medical staff. Maturation status at the time of injury was also calculated for players competing in U'13 to U'16 aged squads. Time-loss injury occurrence and maturation status at time of injury were the main outcome measures. A total of 603 time-loss injuries were recorded, from 190 different players. Playing exposure was 229 317 hours resulting in an overall injury rate of 2.4 p/1000 h, ranging from 0.7 p/1000 h (U'11) to 4.8 p/1000 h (U'21). Most injuries were traumatic in mechanism (73%). The most common injury location was the thigh (23%), and the most common injury type was muscle injury (29%) combining to provide the most common injury diagnosis; thigh muscle injury (17%). In U'13-U'16 players, a higher number of injuries to early-maturing players were observed in U'13-U'14 players, while more injuries to U'15-U'16 players occurred when classed as "on-time" in maturity status. Maturation status did not statistically relate to injury pattern; however, knee bone (not-fracture) injuries peaked in U'13 players while hip/groin muscle injuries peaked in U'15 players., (© 2021 The Authors. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science In Sports published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The incidence of Achilles tendon (AT) rupture, especially nonsport-related rupture, is increasing, while the reasons for this increase are largely unknown. The association between the AT rupture and the use of various drug treatments was studied. We collected AT rupture patients from the Finnish Hospital Discharge Register. We also acquired information about all the doctor-prescribed drugs they had purchased within 1 year before the rupture. For comparison, we randomly selected age- and sex-matched controls from the Finnish Population Register. There were 1118 AT rupture patients. Several drug groups had a statistically significant association with the AT rupture. Our study confirmed an association between fluoroquinolone antibiotics and AT rupture (OR 2.20, P = 0.005). A statistically significant association of renin-angiotensin II receptor antagonists with tendon rupture (OR 7.59, P = 0.003) was a previously unreported finding. The increasing incidence of AT rupture, especially in middle-aged and elderly patients, might partially be a consequence of the increased use of certain drug treatments. Some associations are probably explained by the symptomatic treatment of the painful tendon before the rupture., (© 2018 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Several previous studies have shown that floorball belongs to a high-risk group of sports in terms of eye injuries. Protective eyewear is available, but the extent of its use and impact on eye injuries are unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate the current incidence of eye injuries caused by floorball and to compare it with the present use of protective eyewear. Medical records were used to identify all eye injuries suffered while playing floorball in Jönköping County from 2008 to 2011 (N = 167). All these patients were sent a questionnaire that included inquiries about the use of protective eyewear. The study shows that floorball caused more eye injuries than all other sports combined (56%). Prolonged decreased visual acuity was very unusual (0.5%), but moderate eye injuries with some risk of future problems were seen in 62% of the sample. More than one fifth of the injured patients reported some kind of vision-related problem 2-7 years after the original injury. Only one player had been using protective eyewear at the time of injury. Our results underline the importance of protective eyewear to prevent floorball-related injuries., (© 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

We investigated the epidemiology of total Achilles tendon ruptures and complication rates after operative and nonoperative treatments over a 33-year period in Oulu, Finland. Patients with Achilles tendon ruptures from 1979 to 2011 in Oulu were identified from hospital patient records. Demographic data, treatment method, and complications were collected retrospectively from medical records. Overall and sex- and age-specific incidence rates were calculated with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The overall incidence per 100,000 person-years increased from 2.1 (95% CI 0.3-7.7) in 1979 to 21.5 (95% CI 14.6-30.6) in 2011. The incidence increased in all age groups. The mean annual increase in incidence was 2.4% (95% CI 1.3-4.7) higher for non-sports-related ruptures than for sports-related ruptures (P = 0.036). The incidence of sports-related ruptures increased during the second 11-year period whereas the incidence of non-sports-related ruptures increased steadily over the entire study period. Infection was four times more common after operative treatment compared with nonoperative treatment, re-rupture rates were similar. The incidence of Achilles tendon ruptures increased in all age groups over a 33-year period. Increases were mainly due to sports-related injuries in the second 11-year period and non-sports-related injuries in the last 11-year period., (© 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The Swedish male senior national football team was followed prospectively between 1991 and 1997. During these 6 years, the team played 73 official matches and had three training camps. The senior author (J. E.) attended 57 of these matches and the three training camps and these matches and training camps, are included in the present study. Exposure to football was recorded individually for each player. The team physician examined all injuries. Total exposure was 7245 h (6235 training and 1010 match hours) and there were 71 injuries (40 training and 31 match injuries). Five (16%) of the match injuries were major, with more than 4 weeks of absence from football. The injury incidence during training was 6.5/1000 h and the injury risk during matchplay was 30.3/1000 h. A significantly higher injury incidence was found for matches lost compared to matches won or drawn (52.5 vs. 22.7/1000 h, P=0.026). No statistically significant difference for injury was found between competitive matches and friendly matches. No difference was found between home and away matches or matches on neutral ground. The risk for injury when playing in a national team compares with previously reported figures for professional football at a high level.

The purpose of this study was to examine the outcome after surgery for an acute Achilles tendon rupture. In particular, we wanted to study whether persons who have suffered an Achilles tendon rupture are at greater risk of a contralateral tendon rupture. From September 1990 to April 1997, 168 acute Achilles tendon ruptures in 26 women and 142 men were treated operatively. In August 1998 (median: 4.2 years post injury), 154 of these patients (92%) responded to a follow-up questionnaire. Local symptoms (pain, decreased strength and/or reduced range of motion) were reported pre injury by 25% of the patients; at follow-up this had increased to 52%. Ten patients (6%) experienced a rupture on the contralateral side during the follow-up period (OR: 176 [70-282] vs. the expected rate based on the general population risk of this injury, P<0.001). Thus, this study suggests that patients with an Achilles tendon rupture are at significantly increased risk of a contralateral tendon rupture, as well. Also, as many as half of the patients suffered from post-injury problems at long-term follow-up.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the events leading to acute traumatic extension deficit of the knee and the arthroscopic findings in these patients. A total of 78 consecutive patients treated in the Turku university hospital during the years 1994-1996 were included. The mean annual incidence of acute traumatic extension deficits of the knee in our study was 1.1 per 10 000 inhabitants. The single most common (33%) event causing the extension deficit was non-sports related twisting of the knee. Various sports related activities accounted for 42% of the extension deficits, and soccer was the most common sport in this group. In conclusion, acute traumatic extension deficit of the knee is usually a sign of serious intra-articular damage, and the most likely finding (in 82% of the patients in our study) is either a meniscal rupture, an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture, a patellar dislocation, or a combination of these. The lesions in these knees require prompt evaluation by an orthopaedic surgeon mainly because of the high number of bucket-handle and menisco-capsular insertion ruptures of the menisci, which are possibly suitable for repair.