Ιnjuries in greek amateur soccer players

The purpose of this study was to record retrospectivelythe epidemiology of injuries in amateur Greek soccer players. Three hundred and one (301) amateur soccer playersvoluntarily participated in the study. Participants answered aspecially-designed questionnaire that included questionsabout demographics, playing surface, division, position,hours of training plus participation, the use of stretching orprophylactic tape, the injury mechanism, the location andtype of injury. During the five years these soccer playerssustained a total of 1.745 injuries, that diagnosed by the orthopedist of the team. Most of injuries were strains (33%),overuse (27%) and sprains (25%). The location of injurieswas the thigh (38 %), ankle (27%) and knee (13%). Therewas a significant difference in the total number of injuriesamong soccer players with or without scoliosis (t=3.152,p. 0.05) and players that played on sand/dirt (gravel), whosustained more injuries than the players who played on artificial grass or on grass (t=3.413, p. 0.05). No differenceswere found in the other measurement parameters. The results of our study shows that spine deformities and groundsurfaces are the factors that causes more injuries in amateurGreek soccer players.