EPIDEMIOLOGY OF LOWER LIMB INJURIES IN UNIVERSITY LEVEL FOOTBALL AND HOCKEY PLAYERS OF PUNJAB, INDIA

The aim of the study was to find out the effects of epidemiology of lower limb injuries in university level football and hockey players of Punjab aged between 18 to 25 years. The sampling of this study confined to a group of 129 hockey players and 147 football players, (total 276 players) belonging to the state of Punjab. A thorough review of literature was done to develop a questionnaire on the basis of demographic data, predisposing factors, training profiles and extent of injury. Since the questionnaire was originally in English and local language so players were interviewed personally. Mean, standard deviation and percentile were calculated. Statistical significance was set up at p value ≤0.05. This study illustrates that ankle & foot were most affected sites (34.0% football, 36.4% hockey), the most common injuries were sprains (59.2% football, 48.8% hockey), strains (25.9% football, 29.5% hockey) and extent of injury was commonly moderate (51.7% football, 56.6% hockey). This study might be helpful for the players as well as trainers, coaches to formulate effective and appropriate training protocols with minimal risk of injuries