Head And Neck Injuries With Focus On Concussions In Qatar Professional Football Over 8 Seasons

PURPOSE: To describe the head and neck injuries with a focus on sports related concussion (SRC) in Qatar professional football (2012/13-2020/21). METHODS: This study was conducted as prospective observational study using injury database for training and match exposure over 8 seasons (2012/13-2020/21) in Qatar professional football. Seventeen teams (12 first division league teams and 5 second division league teams) were included, representing all professional football in Qatar. The data were collected by club medical staff using standardized protocols. All injuries that prevented a player from taking part in training or match play (i.e. time-loss injuries) were recorded by using the Sport Medicine Diagnostic Coding System (SMDCS) to classify injuries. Players were considered injured until the team's medical staff cleared him to fully participate in training and be available for match selection. RESULTS: Data was obtained from 119 teams’ seasons dispatched from season 2013/14 to 2020/21. A total of 87 (1.8 %) head and neck injuries were recorded out of the 4736 time-loss injuries. Head and neck injury rate were 0.57 injury/squad-season (95%CI: 0.56 - 0.59), representing 0.12 injury/1000 hours (95%CI: 0.09 - 0.14). Thirty-three concussions were recorded. Concussion rates were 0.25 injury/squad-season (95%CI: 0.23 - 0.26), representing 0.04 injury/1000 hours (95%CI: 0.03 - 0.06). CONCLUSIONS: This study investigated long-term data for head and neck injuries and SRC rates in professional football in Qatar in the 2013/2014 to 2020/2021 seasons. Injury rates in this cohort remain lower than in comparable leagues elsewhere. Even though the incidence rate of SRC did not change significantly over the 8 seasons, seasonal variations may indicate that the medical staff are more aware of diagnosing head and neck injuries, including concussion. Future studies should continue to establish long-term dataset for head and neck injuries and SRC rates in professional football in Qatar with the purpose of protecting the health of the players, allow them to perform at their full potential, and to monitor changes in reporting of concussion with increased awareness.