Correlation between preseason body composition and sports injury in an English Premier League professional football team

Abstract

ObjectivesTo identify the correlation between preseason body composition and incidence coupled with injury burden throughout the season in adult male professional football players.MethodsA retrospective case series was performed for linear regression analysis of preseason body composition variables and injury data. R2 >0.10 was deemed of adequate correlation.ResultsAll 36 professional football players in the male first team of an English Premier League professional football team were recruited, with none lost to follow-up. The total and mean incidence of injuries was 83.00 and 2.31 (95% CI 1.72 to 2.89), respectively. The mean injury burden was 58.32 (95% CI 37.67 to 78.98) days missed. Simple linear regression analysis indicated no significant or adequate correlations between incidence and preseason body composition variables. Injury burden revealed non-significant adequate negative correlations to body mass (R2=0.17), body mass index (BMI) (R2=0.15), waist circumference (R2=0.17), total bone mineral density (BMD) (R2=0.11) and mean embedded structures (R2=0.10).ConclusionsPlayers with decreased body mass, BMI, waist circumference, total BMD and mean embedded structures may be prone to greater injury burden. Further studies with a larger sample size that incorporates multiple football teams are warranted to investigate this.