National Collegiate Athletic Association

The NCAA News - News and Features

February 10, 1997

Women's soccer injury rates increase in fall 1996 survey

Game and practice injury rates for women's soccer this year were higher than for the sport's 11-year average, according to the NCAA's Injury Surveillance System (ISS).

The game injury rate was 21.0 for every 1,000 athlete-exposures, while the practice rate was 7.3. The 11-year averages are 17.8 and 6.0.

Injuries to the knee, upper leg and ankle were the most common. Anterior cruciate ligament injuries occurred at a rate 3.5 times that of the men's game, continuing a trend that began in 1988.

Approximately one-third of reported injuries resulted from player contact. Concussions accounted for four percent of injuries. Twenty-seven percent of the reported injuries restricted participation for seven days or more.

In other fall 1996 sports:

  • Men's soccer also showed higher game (26.0) and practice (5.6) injury rates than the sport's 11-year averages. Ankle, upper-leg and knee injuries were the most common. Forty-five percent of reported injuries resulted from player contact. Concussions accounted for five percent of injuries. Twenty-five percent of the reported injuries restricted participation for seven days or more.

  • Fall football injury rates were consistent with the sport's 13-year averages for practice and game injury rates. The most common injuries in fall football were those to the knee and ankle. Six percent of the reported injuries were concussions. The collateral knee ligament was involved in almost one-half of the reported knee injuries. Thirty-three percent of the injuries involved restricted participation for at least seven days.

  • Women's volleyball reported practice and game injury rates that were consistent with its 13-year averages. Ankle, lower-back and knee injuries continued to be the most common injuries. While the majority of injuries were noncontact, 17 percent resulted from contact with the floor. Sixteen percent resulted from player contact. Twenty-eight percent of reported injuries required at least one week of time loss.

  • Field hockey had a higher practice injury rate (5.1) and a lower game injury rate (8.2) than its 11-year averages. The rate of injuries occurring above the neck was well below that of the previous year and consistent with the sport's average. Upper-leg, ankle and knee injuries continued to be the most common. Ten percent of the injuries resulted from player contact and 21 percent resulted from contact with the stick or ball. Twenty-two percent of injuries caused restricted participation of at least one week.

    Baseline of data

    The survey, conducted as part of the ISS, provides a baseline of injury data from a national sampling.

    Researchers should be cautious when comparing ISS results with injury data from other studies. No common definition of injury, measure of severity or evaluation of exposure exists in athletics-injury literature. The information must be evaluated under the definitions and methodology outlined for the ISS.

    The ISS was developed in 1982 to provide current and reliable data on injury trends in intercollegiate athletics. Injury data are collected yearly from a representative sample of member institutions and the resulting data summaries are reviewed by the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports. The committee's goal continues to be to reduce injury rates through suggested changes in rules, protective equipment or coaching techniques, based on ISS data.

    Sampling

    Exposure and injury data were submitted weekly by athletic trainers from institutions selected to represent a cross-section of NCAA membership. The cross-section was based on the three divisions of the NCAA and the four geographical regions of the country. The selected institutions composed a minimum 10 percent sample of the membership sponsoring the sport; therefore, the resulting data should be representative of the total population of NCAA institutions.

    The system does not identify every injury that occurs at NCAA institutions in a particular sport. Rather, it collects a sampling that is representative of a cross-section of the NCAA.

    Exposures

    An athlete exposure (A-E) is one athlete participating in one practice or game in which he or she is exposed to the possibility of athletics injury. For example, five practices, each involving 60 participants, and one game involving 40 participants, would result in a total of 340 A-Es for a particular week.

    Injuries

    A reportable injury in the ISS is defined as one that:

    1. Occurred as a result of participation in an organized intercollegiate practice or game, and

    2. Required medical attention by a team athletic trainer or physician, and

    3. Resulted in restriction of the student-athlete's participation or performance for one or more days beyond the day of injury.

    Injury rate

    An injury rate is a ratio of the number of injuries in a particular category to the number of athlete-exposures in that category. This value is then multiplied by 1,000 to produce an injury rate per 1,000 athlete-exposures. For example, six reportable injuries during a period of 563 athlete-exposures would give an injury rate of 10.7 injuries per 1,000 athlete-exposures [(six divided by 563) times 1,000].

    Additional information on the report is available from the sports sciences staff at the NCAA national office.