Examination of the factors that effected frequency of injury and days lost from injury in football at Emporia State University from 1978 to 1997.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if the factors of protective equipment, coaching changes, and win/loss records were related to the frequency of injury and days lost from injury in football at Emporia State University between 1978 to 1997. Participants were all injured football players who missed more than one day of the season. Injuries were classified into 36 different categories and analyzed using Chisquare. Results indicated no significant difference in injury frequency and in the number of days lost because of those injuries prior to and after the advances in helmets. There was no significant difference for shoulder injury frequency between open cell shoulder pads and closed cell shoulder pads, but a significant difference was found in the total number of days lost from shoulder injuries between the two types of shoulder pads. There was also a significant difference among the four head coaches for the total injury frequency and total number of days lost. There was no significant difference in the total number of days lost from injuries between winning and losing season.