Percepções de jogadores de futebol profissional sobre fatores de risco de lesão, uso e preferência das estratégias de prevenção

Abstract

Soccer is characterized by intermittent, non-linear efforts with a high rate of energy expended for the execution of tasks and game events that require acceleration and deceleration, jumps, ball competition, rapid filling of spaces on the field of play, and opposition to opponents. Therefore, managers, soccer technical committees and club support staff have been increasingly concerned with epidemiological aspects of the game considering incidence, causes, and severity of injuries and preventive strategies in athletes of different age groups and competitive levels, given the impact that this sport has on society as a means of leisure and physical activity. Considering such context, this study aimed to investigate the magnitude of perception of professional soccer players about prevalence career injury; frequency of use and preferences on injury prevention strategies. An anonymous questionnaire was used and web answers were requested by a researcher not involved in the training routines or medical practice of clubs by the Survey MonkeyTM platform. Our sample consisted of 113 professional players (18-39 years, 7 ± 5 years of career) who returned responses (rate = 94.2%). It was observed a career injury prevalence of 80% (injury rate, 1.84 per player). It was observed a higher average age (p<0.05) and career time (p<0.01) in players with a career injury history. It was observed that the hamstrings (~26%) and ankle joint (~24%) were the most affected anatomical regions. As an external risk factor for injury, for approximately 43% of respondents there is an agreement that soccer is a "high risk" for injury; approximately 48% "totally agree" that "muscle imbalance" and "fatigue" are the major internal factors for injury risks in soccer players. As strategies of prevention of injuries in soccer, the athletes had a main preference for small-sided games and training-oriented work involving the ball. Athletes corroborate the collective perception that soccer is a high risk for injuries, with older players being the most exposed. It is recommended that health- and training load professionals pay attention to the divergences between application and preference of athletes over preventive injury programs through the training proposed daily.