Footballers can reduce their risk of injury by a third
Footballers can reduce their risk of injury by 30 percent with 15 minutes of warm-up training. This is shown by a recent study. With Suva's online soccer test, anyone can find out where their potential for improvement lies.
Around 45 000 recognized Football accidents are counted by all UVG insurers per year. For each soccer accident, an injured person is absent from work for an average of 13 working days. The annual costs amount to 190 million Swiss francs. Common injuries are sprains and ligament injuries to the foot or knee joint. Targeted prevention programs can reduce the risk of injury. This is shown by the latest results of a scientific study conducted by the research team of sports expert Oliver Faude. It's not just a matter of warming up well before training or a match: "A player's basic fitness, sufficient sleep, proper nutrition and "fair play" - all these factors are important for an accident-free game of soccer," confirms Samuel Huber, campaign manager for soccer at Suva.
Effective injury prevention programs
A warm-up program of 15 minutes before each match and practice is sufficient to reduce the risk of injury by 30 percent. The training program investigated in the study Injury Prevention Program "11+" by FIFA, takes into account running, strength and balance exercises, among others. "With programs like "11+", the body is permanently well prepared; be it for a training session or a match. Unfortunately, the prevention programs are not yet used everywhere and consistently. Yet it would be a small effort with a big effect," says Huber.
Swiss amateur football gains intensity
"Club soccer is increasingly played harder and faster," confirms Samuel Huber, who plays as an amateur himself. Another study commissioned by Suva shows that contact injuries during games and training sessions have increased sharply by around 20 percent over the last ten years. Injuries without contact with another player have also increased. Here, there has been an increase in muscle tears, strains, injured ligaments, bruises and haematomas, particularly to the ankle, thigh and knee.
Assess your own risk of injury with Suva's online football test
The further development of the game of football also requires a development of prevention programs. Suva's new online soccer test not only allows users to test their own risk of injury, but also to create a personal risk profile and compare it with the community. The integrated fitness test is based, among other things, on exercises from the "11+" injury prevention program. "If you know your strengths and weaknesses and respect them, you play less at the limit and thus reduce the risk of injury," Huber is convinced.
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