The document provides an injury study conducted by the sports medicine department of Football Club Barcelona. It analyzed injury data from 1713 athletes and 4 seasons from 2008-2013. The objectives were to quantify workload, compare injury incidence to other databases, identify most common and severe injuries by sport and age. Data was collected using a standardized method and stored in an internal database, allowing comparison to external studies. The results section analyzed medical assistance rates by month and annual rates per athlete. The conclusions and messages likely identified injury patterns and prevention recommendations.

1. Football
Club
Barcelona
Injury
Study
Lluís
Til
Sports
Medicine
&
Orthopedics
FCBarcelona
Olympic
Training
Center
(CAR)
Consorci
Sanitari
de
Terrassa
(CST)

2. 1. IntroducFon
why
2. ObjecFve
what
3. Method
how
4. Results
5. Conclusions
6. Messages

3. 1. IntroducFon
• To
know
what
are
the
most
common
and
the
most
serious
injuries
that
our
athletes
suffer
is
the
first
step
to
improve
our
medical
resources
to
treat
and
prevent
them
• In
view
of
the
frequency
of
injury,
the
resulFng
costs
and
not
least
the
personal
suffering
of
the
injured
players,
we
are
focused
in
sports
injury
study
• FCBarcelona
wants
to
share
its
experience
to
improve
the
athletes
health

4. 2012-2013 CENSUS SUMMARY
Sports Sections
Athletes
Staff
TOTAL people
CATEGORIES
TEAMS
ATHLETICS
210
7
217
18
18
BASKETBALL
WHEELCHAIR
BASKETBALL
BASEBALL
FOOTBALL
Female
FOOTBALL
FUTSAL
HANDBALL
ICE
HOCKEY
FIELD
HOCKEY
ROLLER
HOCKEY
FIGURE
SKATING
&
ICE
DANCE
RUGBY
VOLLEYBALL
Female
VOLLEYBALL
170
13
107
283
75
146
80
130
95
36
79
206
59
24
37
4
16
42
17
36
27
7
10
15
7
20
9
-­‐
207
17
123
325
92
182
107
137
105
51
86
226
68
24
14
1
6
12
4
6
3
6
6
4
8
7
4
2
16
1
7
17
4
12
5
6
6
5
7
8
4
2
1713
254
1967
101
118
14
More
than
4,000
matches
a
year.

5. FINANCIAL
DATA:
2012/2013
BUDGET
6,8200,000
Euros
1.5%
total
90%
Expenditures
for
services
and
salaries
HUMAN
RESOURCES
Structural
20
Physicians
Sports
medicine,
Orthopedics,
Cardiology,
26
Physiotherapists
-­‐
Qualified
nurses
Physiotherapy,
Nursing,
Osteopathy,
RecuperaFon
Chiropodist
1
Youth
football
physiotherapists
(matches)
16/20
SERVICES
HR
–
Match
days
at
Camp
Nou
HR
–
Weekend
coverage
17/30
20/25
matches
As
we
work
in
an
internal
and
external
network:
trainers,
coaches,
external
health
providers…

6. 2.
ObjecFves
• To
quanFfy
workload
• To
compare
the
injury
incidence
with
others
databases
• To
know
wich
are
the
most
common
and
most
severe
injuries
for
each
sport
and
age
• Quality
control
It
will
allow
us
to
develop
appropiate
prevenFon
programs

7. • 1713
athletes
we
take
care.
• 20
Physicians
ad
26
physiotherapist
who
work
as
a
Service,
sharing
experiences,
protocols
,…
• Working
in
a
network
is
the
easier
way
for
us
• In
each
team
• In
the
sports
medicine
group
• With
external
colleagues,
friends
and
insFtuFons
from
everywhere
• The
FCB
interest
in
sports
medicine
• Excellent
sport
Fme
To
improve
the
knowledge
in
sports
medicine
is
the
only
opFon

8. 3.
Methods
Shared
external
databases
– Standarized
collecFon
data
method
– The
UCL
study
allows
to
compare
the
injury
epidemiology
between
similar
elite
teams
and
it
shows
how
has
been
the
evoluFon
along
the
seasons
at
each
team
– Different
medical
staffs
maybe
record
the
data
with
some
differences
between
them

9. 3.
Methods
Shared
external
databases
– The
less
injuries
the
team
has
got,
more
opFons
it
has
to
get
a
good
ressult
0
1
Liga
2
Liga
0
0
6
1
Liga
Cup
Liga
3
Liga
1
Cup

10. 3.
Methods
Interal
database
(GEM)
– 5
seasons
2008/09
to
2012/13
– Less
homogenous
in
sports,
more
consistent
in
collecFon
data
– Players:
4260:
• 682
(16.0
%)
football
• 3578
(84.0
%)
no
football
– Age:
17
y.o
• OSICS
1st
&
2nd
leler
• Same
injury
definiFon
(Fme
loss)

11. 4.
Medical
assistance
per
athlete
per
year

12. 4.
Results
by
month

13. 4.
Medical
assistance
per
athlete
per
year
Anual
rate
of
medical
assistance
0.79
/
player
*
year
(0-­‐16)
Anual
rate
of
sport
injury
(Fme
loss)0.39
/
player
*
year
(0-­‐8)
Medical
assistance
per
athlete*year
38.4
%
(3711/9670)
Sports
injury
per
athlete*year
26.6
%
(2569/9670)

14. 4.
Medical
assistance
per
athlete
per
year
4.
Sports
injury
per
athlete
per
year

15. 4.
Sports
injury
per
athlete
per
year

16. 4.
Sports
injury
per
athlete
per
year

17. 4.
Sport
injury
per
athlete
per
year

18. 4.
Sports
injury
per
athlete
per
year
(sports)

19. 4.
Medical
assistance
and
Sports
injury
per
athlete
per
year

20. 4.
Medical
assistance
and
Sports
injury
per
athlete
per
year
in
some
sports

21. 4.
Severity
of
injury
and
age

22. 4.
Severity
of
injury
and
month

23. 4.
Severity
of
injury
and
sport
B
F
H
F
FF
F
R
H

24. 4.
Severity
of
injury
and
sport
B
F
H
F
FF
F
R
H

25. 4.
Site
of
sports
injury

26. 4.
Site
of
sports
injury
&
age

27. 4.
Site
of
sports
injury
&
age

28. 4.
Site
of
sports
injury
&
season

29. 4.
Site
of
sports
injury
&
sport

30. 4.
Site
of
sports
injury
&
sport

31. 4.
Site
of
sports
injury
&
severity

32. 4.
Type
of
sports
injury

33. 4.
Type
of
sports
injury
&
age

34. 4.
Type
of
sports
injury
&
season

35. 4.
Site
of
sports
injury
&
sport

36. 4.
Type
of
sports
injury
&
severity

37. 5.
Conclusions
• Our
athletes
are
so
young
17
y.o
(
8-­‐42)
• Every
athlete
in
FCB
has
a
rate
of
Medical
assistance
0,79
/
season
and
a
rate
of
sports
injury
with
Fme
loss
0,39
/season
• The
injury
are
distributed
during
the
year
with
a
bimodal
distribuFon
(like
many
illness)
• The
data
are
so
constant
and
consistent
last
5
seasons
• The
rates
are
diferents
between
ages
and
sports

38. 5.
Conclusions
• The
older
athletes
have
more
Fme
loss
injuries
• Basket
&
handball
have
less
severe
injuries
(>28d)
than
football,
it
could
be
due
than
the
players
can
return
faster
to
play
because
the
changes
in
compeFFon
are
unlimited
• The
most
frequent
sites
are
Thigh,
knee
and
ankle
• The
most
frequent
types
are
muscles,
joint
and
tendon
• The
apophysiFs
appear
in
young
football
players
• The
types
and
the
sites
of
the
injury
show
different
tendencies
in
each
sport

39. 5.
Message
• The
injury
incidence
is
constant
in
FCBarcelona
• Our
interest
areas
are
Thigh
muscles,
knee,
ankle,
patellar
and
Achilles
tendon
• To
improve
our
data
we
need
to
collect
the
exposure
to
train
and
compeFFon
• We
must
conFnue
analyzing
data
to
understand
some
links
between
injuries
• More
deeper
analysis
of
risk
factors
are
been
done
in
some
teams
(
u-­‐19
and
Female
football
teams)

40. Football
Club
Barcelona
Injury
Study
Lluis
Til
Mauricio
Monaco
Ramon
Canal
Bruno
Montoro