Injury prevalence and functional movement screen™ scores in young football players

The high rate of injury in football is indicative of the importance of injury prevention, especially in young football players. The primary aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of musculoskeletal injuries over one 12-month period in junior male South African football players, attending a local football academy. The functional movement ability of the players was evaluated using FMSTM testing. The possible correlation between football injuries in this group and pre-season FMSTM scores was investigated. One hundred and nineteen (119) players participated. This study adopted a quantitative descriptive research approach. A questionnaire was used to record injuries that occurred in the previous 12 months. The Functional Movement ScreenTM (FMSTM) was used to assess the functional movement patterns of the players. The relationship between previous injury and FMSTM score was analysed and the confidence level was set at p<0.05. There was a high prevalence (88.2%) of injuries within this group. Lower-limb injuries were the most common (78.3%) and most injuries occurred at the knee joint (42%). The mean FMSTM score was 12.9±1.56, which was lower than that of similar groups tested. There was no significant correlation between previous injury and FMSTM score.