Breaking down injuries in the NFL during preseason and training camp
The five-weeks of training camp and preseason games prior to the start of the regular season are vital to a well-functioning, organized and prepared NFL team. The same period of time, unfortunately, is rife with injuries for most organizations, resulting in certain players being forced to undergo surgery and potentially sit out the entire season. To investigate which injuries were most prevalent for which positions and at what time in the preseason, a team of researchers studied a single NFL team from 1998-2007, focusing their attention on the details of every occurrence of injury and patterns that arose over the 10-year span. The injuries recorded were strains, sprains, concussions, contusions, fractures and dislocations. An athletic exposure (AE) was defined as one player participating in one practice or game.
A total of 696 different players participated in the NFL training camp, with an average of about 90 players in camp each year, whose age averaged about 25.8 years. Over the span, there were 41 games and 427 practices, with 42,030 AEs. Among those, a total of 489 injuries occurred in practices and 239 during preseason games, making the overall rate of injury 17.3 per 1,000 AEs. The rate of injury was significantly higher in preseason games than it was in practices (64.7/1,000 AE vs. 12.7/1,000 AE). There were 35 major injuries, which were defined as injuries that resulted in the player undergoing surgery or being placed on the injured reserve for the year. The average number of injuries per year was 72.8, with the fewest being 58 and the most being 109.
The most common injury over the 10-year span overall was a knee sprain, followed by hamstring strains and contusions; but the injury pattern differed between games and practices, with many more injuries during games than practices. Muscle strains were the most common injuries during practices, particularly hamstring strains, and accounted for an average of 8.3 days of practice lost. Another notable finding was the rate of injury during the first two weeks of training compared to the final three weeks. Both the amount of injuries and their level of severity were significantly higher in the first two weeks of training than the next three, which could be a result of overwork in the early days of camp. Injuries in the first stages of camp can sideline a player and cause them to miss valuable periods of time prior to the season. In terms of the position with the most injuries, tight ends and defensive secondary players notched the two top slots, likely due to both positions emphasizing speed and contact during drills. Protected positions (i.e. quarterback, kicker, punter) received the fewest injuries, and though running backs had a higher rate of hamstring injuries than other positions, muscle strains occurred relatively similarly between contact positions (linemen, linebackers) and skill positions (running backs, wide receivers, defensive secondary).
Researchers who conducted the study suggest that the rate of injury can be reduced by an increase in pre-camp conditioning such as eccentric exercises. The high rate of injury during preseason games should also give rise to another possible study, one that looks into the difference between regular season game injuries and preseason ones. Given all of this information and the subsequent research that may be performed, trainers and coaches can enter training camp more knowledgeable and aware as to what injuries are most likely to occur, and in effect, what types of preventative efforts be made.
-As reported in the Aug. '08 edition of The American Journal of Sports Medicine
-By Greg Gargiulo
