prevalence of knee injuries among first class football players in Iraq

ABSTRACT

A cross-sectional study was done to study the prevalence rate [PR] of knee injuries [KI] over the last six months among 319 first class professional Iraqi football players [study group= SG] from 17 first class football clubs. 125 male individuals were studied as a comparison group [CG] from the college of education. The PR of KI among SG was higher [35.1%] than that in CG [7.2%]. 24.6% of the SG had a torn collateral ligament. An association was found between the occurrence of KI among SG and their age group or duration of playing. The level of education of the players and their age groups were associated inversely with the PR in players with recurrente KI. Defenders and forward players were found to have a high PR of KI among the SG [40.7% and 40.3% respectively]. The study recommends to increase the players knowledge about different types of KI and to improve the medical services for each club