The role of pre-season health characteristics as injury risk factors in female adolescent soccer players.
Brent Harper, Adrian Aron, Emmanuel John
PMID 34083885WHAT IT FOUND
History of concussion correlated with more injuries in female high school soccer players.
Pre-season neck pain and dizziness were associated with slower eye movement test scores, but subjective complaints alone did not predict injury count in this small sample.
Key findings
01A history of concussion showed a moderate positive correlation with the number of injuries sustained during the season.
02Athletes with pre-season dizziness had slower baseline eye movement test scores compared to those without.
03Pre-season subjective complaints of headache, neck pain, or dizziness were not significantly correlated with the number of injuries.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The sample size was very small (23 athletes) and homogeneous (female high school soccer players), limiting generalizability. Only three injuries occurred during the season, making statistical power low for injury prediction. The study did not control for extrinsic factors like playing surface, time, or equipment. Details regarding previous concussions (date, severity, recovery) were not collected, relying on self-report. Testing environments differed between pre- and post-season, potentially affecting K-D scores.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest, and the study was not funded.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that pre-season complaints of headache, neck pain, or dizziness predict future injury in this population. The study found no significant correlation between these subjective measures and injury count, despite linking them to slower eye movement scores.