Perceptions of Professional Football Players on Injury Risk Factors and Prevention Strategies

Background: Considering individual beliefs and preferences is a pillar of the evidence-based practice and determines compliance and outcomes of an intervention. However, little is known about the professional football (soccer) players' perceptions on injury issues. Objective: The aim of this study was to describe the professional football players' perceptions towards injury risk factors and prevention strategies. Methods: One-hundred male professional football players answered an online questionnaire. Results: The top-five risk factors included poor muscle strength/power; poor rest/sleep; short interval between matches; high number of matches in season; and excessive training. More than 3/4 of football players in our study considered the following strategies as being effective in reducing injury risk: workload monitoring; warm-up; lumbo-pelvic stability training; proprioceptive training; functional training; monitoring diet; flexibility training; and conventional strength training. Conclusion: Perceptions of professional male football players regarding injury risk factors and prevention strategies are only partially in line with current scientific evidence. These perceptions have been usually overlooked, and should be considered by medical/coaching staffs in order to get greater compliance to injury prevention programs.