Epidemiology of 3825 injuries sustained in six seasons of National Collegiate Athletic Association men's and women's soccer (2009/2010-2014/2015)

Aim To describe the epidemiology of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men9s and women9s soccer injuries during the 2009/2010–2014/2015 academic years. Methods This descriptive epidemiology study used NCAA Injury Surveillance Program (NCAA-ISP) data during the 2009/2010–2014/2015 academic years, from 44 men9s and 64 women9s soccer programmes (104 and 167 team seasons of data, respectively). Non-time-loss injuries were defined as resulting in Results There were 1554 men9s soccer and 2271 women9s soccer injuries with injury rates of 8.07/1000 athlete exposures (AE) and 8.44/1000AE, respectively. Injury rates for men and women did not differ in competitions (17.53 vs 17.04/1000AE; RR=1.03; 95% CI 0.94 to 1.13) or practices (5.47 vs 5.69/1000AE; RR=0.96; 95% CI 0.88 to 1.05). In total, 47.2% (n=733) of men9s soccer injuries and 47.5% (n=1079) of women9s were non-time loss. Most injuries occurred to the lower extremity and were diagnosed as sprains. Women had higher concussion rates (0.59 vs 0.34/1000AE; RR=1.76; 95% CI 1.32 to 2.35) than men. Conclusions Non-time-loss injuries accounted for nearly half of the injuries in men9s and women9s soccer. Sex differences were found in competition injuries, specifically for concussion. Further study into the incidence, treatment and outcome of non-time-loss injuries may identify a more accurate burden of these injuries.