Shining a light on soccer injuries in Africa : A descriptive and comparative Cohort study on soccer injuries in Rwanda and Swaziland

Sammanfattning: Background/Problem definition There are few epidemiological studies on soccer injuries in Africa.The prevalence and variables linked to injuries needs to be recognized. Better mapping and knowledge about injury prevalence/incidence could play an important role in helping players sustain a career in soccer without major injuries.  Objective To explore prevalence, mechanism, severity of injuries and injured body parts in players from top divisions of Rwanda and Swaziland during season 2012/2013. Methods The study was of a retrospective, descriptive, comparative design with a quantitative approach on a cohort of n=738 players from Rwanda and Swaziland. Injury frequencies from data sets was analyzed. Data was analyzed using the F-MARC injury-questionnaire. Results The subpopulations had varying frequencies of injuries. Age 18-24 sustained the most injuries in both countries, n=215. There was a significant difference of injury prevalence, 71,8% of the Swaziland players sustained injuries. In Rwanda 34,8% sustained injuries. However, the severity of injuries was significantly higher in the Rwanda. Conclusion The results of the findings in this study shows that the players in Swaziland had almost a two-time higher injury prevalence. Although the reason to this can only be speculated in by the authors. Further research is encouraged to increase the mapping of injuries in Africa, and factors associated to them.