Studying the Predictive Power of Common FIFA Pre-Season Medical Assessments and Functional Tests With the Rate and Severity of Injuries to Elite Football Players

The number and severity of injuries in football matches have increased in recent years. On average, the injury rate is 10 to 35 injuries per 1000 hours matching, half of which are severe and cause more than 4 weeks of absence from football matches. Recent studies have reported that pre-season functional tests may predict the future injuries to athletes; however, the related findings are contradictory. This study aims to investigate common pre-season musculoskeletal assessments approved by FIFA and functional tests to predict the rate and severity of injuries to elite football players. A total of 92 elite football players aged 17-35 years who were members of three professional football clubs were selected for the study using purposeful sampling method. Then, five functional tests including the Y-Balance Test (YBT), Functional Movement Screen (FMS), Single-Leg Hop (SLH), Carioca and Co-Contraction Tests were performed and the pre-season medical assessment forms were collected by the club medical staff. The training and match times of the teams were recorded during the research period along with the number of players’ injuries. To predict severity and rate of injuries, univariate regression analysis was used. In total, 3120 hours of activity was recorded. Univariate regression analysis results showed that, of functional test, just SLH test could predict the severity of injury (P=0.035), and Carolina test (combination of Carioca and Co-Contraction Tests) predicted the injury rate (P=0.010). SLH test was able to predict mild injuries (time-loss injuries with less than 10 days), and Carolina test could predict injury rate. Screening tests for functional and medical activities have very limited application in identifying athletes who are at risk of injury in various sports.