Predictors of Muscle Injury Risk in Non-professional Football Players

Background. Football accounts for 30% of all sports injuries. Muscle injuries in football are the most common non-traumatic and non-contact injuries. A comprehensive approach to injury prevention must consider the design of the footwear and the environmental conditions in which the match is played. Objective. To assess the risk of injury as a function of footwear and field of play in non-professional football players and to identify the best predictive model of muscle injury in these athletes. Method. Ambispective cohort study. Ninety-seven players will be recruited. The primary variable will be the number of lower limb muscle injuries in the last 3 seasons. Secondary and modifying variables will be: age, body mass index, boot type, pitch turf, training load and field position. Potential confounding variables will be motivation for choice of footwear, date of muscle injuries, time playing in the category and presence in the starting team. The analysis will calculate the risk of adverse effects in these patients and assess the influence of confounders and trend analysis on the primary variable, stratified by potential confounders. Expected outcomes. To calculate the risk of muscle injury as a function of anthropometric variables, and footwear and turf type. To identify the predictive model of muscle injuries in football players.