Identify the impact of some intrinsic and extrinsic risk factors on the incidence of anterior cruciate ligament injuries in professional soccer players

Introduction: Anterior Cruciate Ligament(ACL)rapture is one of the most common injuries in soccer players, so the purpose of this study was to identify the effect of some intrinsic and extrinsic risk factors on the incidence of ACL injuries in professional soccer players. Material and Methods: For this study 100professional soccer players(Mean± SD:age:25.05±4.1y,height:1.81±0.06m) who had ACL injury considered as research sample from several countries of the world. The informations about intrinsic and extrinsic risk factors, gathered from studing the medical files, interviewing with the team physicians and authoritative internet databases. The chi squares (χ2)(P<0.05) test was used to analyze the data. Results: The result showed that incidence of ACL injury between several positions was significantly different (P<0.05), as midfielders had the higher number of injury (38%)and goalkeepers(6%)had the lowest. The incidence of injury in dominance leg(52%)was more than non-dominance leg(48%), but this differences was not significant(P>0.05). The players with 1.79-1.83meter height had  the most number of injuries(26%)and players with 1.69-1.73meter height had the least (13%), no significant differences were find between the 5 groups of height(P>0.05). The injuries that occurred during the away games(50.6%) were not significantly(P>0.05) more than home games(49.4%). The ACL injury in initial of season(34%)was significantly more than other times (P<0.05). In relation to age the significant difference was found between the different age groups (P<0.05), so players with 22-27 years (50%) had more injuries and players with 34-39 years(2%)had the least. The injuries during the game(85%)was significantly more than training(P<0.05)(15%). Conclusion: Midfielder players with 22-27 years in initial of season especially during the game are more prone to ACL injury. So coach, players and medical staff should pay attentive to these important point to design preventive program to minimize ACL injuries. Key words: Anterior cruciate ligament,soccer,injury,professional soccer player