Clinical Review

Upper Extremity Injuries in Soccer

Publish date: October 9, 2018

References

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Upper limb injuries in association with soccer have been reported to represent only 3% of all time-loss injuries in professional soccer players¹. However, they are considered an increasing problem in recent years^2-4 and have been reported in high proportions in children under the age of 15 years.⁵ Some of the reasons for the increase in upper extremity injuries may be explained by modern soccer tactics that have been characterized by high speed, pressing, and marking.² Furthermore, upper extremity injuries may still be underestimated in soccer, mainly because outfield players are sometimes able to train and play even when they suffer from an upper extremity injury.

Unsurprisingly, upper extremity injuries are reported to be up to 5 times more common in goalkeepers than in outfield players,^1,2 reaching a high rate of up to 18% of all injuries among professional goalkeepers. The usage of upper extremities to stop the ball and repeated reaching to the ball and landing on the ground with changing upper extremity positions are some of the contributors to the increased upper extremity injury risk in goalkeepers.

Following 57 male professional European soccer teams from 16 countries between the years 2001 and 2011, Ekstrand and colleagues¹ showed that 90% of upper extremity injuries are traumatic, and only 10% are related to overuse. They also reported that the most common upper extremity injury location is the shoulder/clavicle (56%), followed by the hand/finger/thumb (24%), elbow (10%), wrist (5%), forearm (4%), and upper arm (1%). Specifically, the 6 most common injuries are acromioclavicular joint (ACJ) sprain (13%), shoulder dislocation (12%), hand metacarpal fracture (8%), shoulder rotator cuff tendinopathy (6%), hand phalanx fracture (6%), and shoulder ACJ dislocation (5%).

This article will discuss common upper extremity injuries observed in soccer players, focusing on proper diagnosis and optimal management.

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