Epidemiology of Sports-Related Concussion in Japanese University Soccer Players

In recent years, sports-related concussion (SRC) in soccer has been extensively researched worldwide. However, there have been no reports of large-scale SRC studies among soccer players in Japan. The purpose of this study is to investigate the epidemiology of SRC among university soccer players in Japan. This descriptive epidemiological study collected data on the history of SRC and details of SRC injuries during soccer. The participants were university male soccer players belonging to the Japan University Football Association. SRC rates were calculated per 1000 athlete-exposures (AEs). A total of 5953 students participated in this study. The SRC rate was 0.10/1000 AE during total activities. The SRC rate during competition (0.42/1000 AE) was higher than in practice (0.04/1000 AE). The most frequent mechanism of SRC was “head-to-head” (26.9%), followed by “head-to-ball” (24.2%). During competition, the most frequent mechanism was “head-to-head” (30.8%), followed by “head-to-ground” (23.8%), and “head-to-ball” (19.3%) followed, while in practice, it was “head-to-ball” (34.8%), followed by “head-to-ground” (23.8%), and “head-to-head” (17.2%). Thus, there was a difference in the mechanism of injury between competition and practice. In this study, among Japanese university soccer players, the SRC rate was to be approximately ten times higher in competition than in practice.