Assessment of exposure to injuries and preferred health behaviours in a group of American football players

Introduction: In almost every sports discipline, injuries in team games are an inseparable part in the world of sports.

Aim of the study: To assess risk factors for injuries in a group of American football players.

Material and methods: The study group comprised 35 American football players. We used the following instruments: the author’s own questionnaire and Juczyński’s Inventory of Healthy Behaviours.

Results: All respondents were non-professional American football players. The most frequent injury was a joint sprain – 26.8% and dislocation, damage to joint structures and tissue haemorrhage – 14.3% of all injuries. Respondents most frequently reported ankle injuries – 14.9% of all injuries. As a result of the injury, 60% of the players obtained professional advice. The majority (85.7%) of respondents used physical exercises as a therapeutic method. 71.4% of them played sports despite a sprained joint and 74.3% of the players did not train when being indisposed. 91.4% of respondents were using more pads during the American football training and matches, and 71.7% of the players used extra protection of joints (taping) and joint stabilizers. The average result of the global Inventory of Healthy Behaviours among players of the American football team was 72.23 ±7.96 score points.

Conclusions: The majority of American football players in Białystok thought that this sport was dangerous. Most of the players in the self-assessment also reported injuries, on average once a year and usually as joint structure strains, sprains, injuries of joint structures and tissue haemorrhages. Most players sought advice from a specialist, mainly a doctor and physiotherapist. Players presented lower than the average adult male health behaviours. Analyzing the different categories of health behaviours it was found that correct eating habits and behaviours related to health and disease were rated the highest, while health practices the lowest.