Abstract

During a soccer tournament with participation of 6,600 boys and girls (9-19 years) all injuries were evaluated, 5.2 of the players were injured; out of these 51 had slight injuries, 42 moderate injuries and 7 severe injuries. For the individual player the incidence of injury was 19.1/1,000 playing hours including all degrees of injuries; if slight injuries were excluded the incidence was 9.4/1,000 playing hours. The incidence rose with increasing age, girls were injured more often than boys. There were 81 of all injuries localised to the lower extremity, especially the ankle and foot. Contusion was the most frequent diagnosis, amounting to a third of all injuries. Blisters and exoriations amounted to nearly a fifth, 4 of the injuries were fractures, especially in the upper extremity; overuse injuries were seen only in 5.2 of the cases. Based on examination of the injury pattern in these children, injuries of youth seem to be relatively rare and mostly of a non-severe character. Verf.-Referat