(54) INJURY CHARACTERISTICS AMONG NCAA DIVISION I FOOTBALL PLAYERS OVER THE COURSE OF ONE YEAR

Introduction: Injury surveillance may be a useful tool for maintaining optimal health and performance of American football players. Monitoring injury rates throughout the year can help identify periods of higher injury risk. This information may guide necessary adjustments to training programs in attempts to decrease injury risk and maximize in-season performance.

Purpose: To outline the differences in the rate and type of injury between season segments among NCAA Division I football players.



Methods: Football-related athlete exposure (AE) and injury data were collected throughout 2023 from 120 athletes (age = 20.9±1.7 y, height = 187.96±5.9 cm, weight = 107.7±21.3 kg). One AE was defined as one athlete participating in one exposure event, which was defined as a team strength and conditioning session, practice session, or game session. An injury was defined as an occurrence that required medical attention during an exposure event. A time-loss injury was defined as any injury in which an athlete missed either >2 practice sessions or >1 game sessions. Injury characteristics were compiled, and injuries were categorized by the segment of the season during which they occurred: winter off-season, spring season, summer off-season, preseason, and fall season. Injury rates are presented as the number of injuries per 1000 AEs.

Results: The overall injury rate was 6.52 per 1000 AEs with a total of 183 injuries from 28,080 AEs throughout the year. The majority of injuries occurred during preseason (12.34 per 1000 AEs), followed by fall season (11.48 per 1000 AEs), summer off-season (4.92 per 1000 AEs), spring season (0.69 per 1000 AEs), and winter off-season (0.19 per 1000 AEs). The majority of injuries occurred during practice sessions (51.91%), followed by games (33.33%), and team strength and conditioning sessions (14.75%). Time-loss injuries accounted for 27.87% of all reported injuries with 31.37% of time-loss injuries being season-ending. Knees (24.04%), shoulders (13.66%), and hamstrings (9.29%) were the most commonly reported injured body parts.

Conclusion: The highest injury rates occurred during the preseason period when athletes typically experience dramatic increases in workload and contact forces, or may be impacted by the workload of the summer segment. Given the majority of injuries occurred during preseason with knee and shoulder injuries being the most common, coaches and practitioners may want to focus on specific prehabilitation exercises leading up to and during preseason. Future work should also consider these findings within the context of the number of contact events as well as external and internal workloads during each season segment. 

PRACTICAL APPLICATION: NCAA DI football players appear to have the highest injury risk during preseason and in-season segments of the year. Strength coaches and athletic trainers can help mitigate these risks by developing off-season strength and conditioning programs, especially targeting knees and shoulders, to appropriately prepare athletes for the increased physical demands experienced during preseason and in-season while also facilitating adaptation. Future studies should investigate workloads during the different segments of the year to better understand the variable demands placed on these athletes. In addition, coaches should appropriately periodize training programs to adjust for the heightened risk of injury during preseason and in-season segments.

Acknowledgements: This abstract was made possible in part by Grant Number T32-GM081740 from NIH-NIGMS. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the NIGMS or NIH.