Injury data suggests that soccer players are heading to emergency rooms across the country at much higher rates than in years past, and it seems concussions are playing a big role in this increase.
Although ankle sprains and fractures are still the most common injuries suffered during soccer matches, the data suggests that concussions are also fueling a large increase in the number of players who head to the ER each year. However, researchers say that the true rate of concussions might not be much different than it was a decade ago; We’re just doing a better job of spotting, managing and caring for concussed players.
The findings, which explored 25 years of injury data, show that nearly 3 million soccer players visited the emergency room for treatment of soccer-related injuries between 2000-2014. That number is astounding, but researchers were more interested in the rate of injury per player. According to the numbers, the rate of soccer players needing to head to the emergency room for treatment was 220 per 10,000 in 2013. Looking back to 1990, that rate has more than doubled, as the rate used to be 106 per 10,000.
Concussions in Soccer
As we mentioned above, sprains and fractures were still the most common injuries, but the data shows that more than 200,000 players were treated in emergency departments for concussions between 2000 and 2014. That only equates to roughly 7 percent of documented injuries, but again, it’s the rate of concussions that’s alarming. The rate of concussion equated to about 30 per 10,000 players in 2013. Back in 1990, that number sat at under 2 per 10,000.
Why have concussion rates skyrocketed in 2015 years? Has the sport become that much faster and violent that it accounts for a 1500% increase in concussions rates? Researchers don’t think so. They believe the reason for the increase is two-fold. They believe trainers and coaches are getting better at spotting, diagnosing and managing concussions during games and practices, and that the growth of soccer means more kids are playing, and these younger kids who are joining soccer programs may lack the strength, conditioning and coordination to fully protect their heads while playing.
“Everyone’s so eager to join the soccer team. They’re signing up because they want to be with their buddies,” said Dr. Cynthia LaBella, a sport medicine specialist at Chicago’s Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital. “The range of athleticism especially at the youth and preteen level is pretty broad.”
Soccer has even taken steps to reduce concussions at the younger levels. The U.S. Soccer Federation recently banned headers for kids under the age of 11, and they placed restrictions on headers for children between the ages of 11 and 13. It will be interesting to see if this change has an impact on concussion rates going forward.
