Head and neck injuries in football (soccer)

Epidemiology Head injuries are estimated to comprise from 4% to 22% of the total injuries in football (Tysvaer, 1992; Powell and Barber-Foss, 1999; Kirkendall et al., 2001). While most of the research regarding head injuries in football has focused on concussions, more severe head injuries do occur. Injuries such as skull fractures and internal head injuries are too infrequent to study prospectively and are best examined by referring to emergency department (ED) data, where these more serious injuries are almost always treated. In a recent 10-year review of head injuries from different sports resulting in a visit to emergency departments in the USA, it was estimated that there were 28 000 injuries that occurred during participation in Trauma 2006; 8: 189–195