Evaluation of sports injuries to football players by individual factors

Aim: Today football is the most popular sport in the world. Recently, modern football is played faster and more aggressively. Therefore, there is an increased risk of injury. The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of Individual Factors on the injury of amateur footballers. Material and Metod: 188 athletes who are playing in the 1. and 2. Elazığ amateur football leagues participated in this study. The mean age of the participants was 21.2 ± 3.7 years, average height was 174.4 ± 6.5 cm and body weight was 66.3 ± 7.0 kg. Personal information about the athletes was obtained from the personal information form which inquired about the branch and the disability information. The personality traits of the players were determined by five factor personality traits scale. Among the physical fitness characteristics, durability was determined by Cooper test, anaerobic power vertical jump test, speed and agility feature 10x5m shuttle running test and flexibility feature sit-access test. IBM SPSS 22.0 package program was used in the analysis of the data and cases with p <0.05 were considered statistically significant. The mean ± standard deviation (SD), median, minimum (min) and maximum (max) values are presented when summarizing categorical variables and summarizing descriptive statistics for continuous variables. Chi-square cut was used in the analysis of categorical variables. In continuous variables with normal distribution, comparisons were made in two independent groups while t-test was used in independent groups and Mann-Whitney U test was used in cases where the variable did not show normal distribution. Logistic regression analysis was performed to investigate the multiple interaction of risk factors affecting injury. In the comparisons at the end of the single analysis (t test, chi-square test, etc.), variables with p <0.25 were taken into the regression equation. In the multiple logistic model, Forward LR (likelihood Ratio) method, one of the variable selection methods, was used to determine the inclusion or subtraction of variables. Odds Ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals are presented while presenting the risks of the variables. Results: Taking into account the factors that influence the occurrence of injuries to football players in the season; the position on the field, weekly exercise time, warm-up time, cool down, well-balanced diet, knowledge about sports disabilities, body weight, height, body mass index, personality traits, speed and motility variables, so we note that there is no risk of developing injury these factors occur. Football playing time (p=0.044), average duty time in competitions (p=0.006), using warmer cream (p<0.05), athlete's age (p=0.007), aerobic capacity (p=0.040), anaerobic power (p<0.001) as a risk factor for the development of disability and flexibility (p=0.001). Conclusion: In this study, it was determined that athletes were mostly injured during the competition and the highest injury rate was seen in lower extremities. The most important risk factor for injury to amateur players is to have a history of disability. Similarly, it was concluded that the use of warming cream was a risk factor for disability. Anaerobic power and flexibility variables are protective factors that reduce the risk of injury.