Educational level and injury treatment response: an observational study with football players

BACKGROUND: Education level is an item that is not usually considered when talking about injury prevention and treatment in football. Different education levels can influence the perception of the players about their careers and in consequence the risks they take in the field, and no studies are found about this influence. Injuries are considered important problems in football, with individual and team consequences. This study examined whether primary or university studies could condition this rehabilitation process.METHODS: An observational study was carried with football players of professional clubs of second division. 52 injured players of these clubs were recruited. A questionnaire created ad-hoc was passed to the players measuring the number of injuries, number of games played and type of treatment.RESULTS: Meaningful interactions were found between the treatment and education on number of games (F=5.99; P=0.018) and injuries and educational levels of players (F=3.96; P=0.052).CONCLUSIONS: We can conclude that higher education levels may contribute to improve rehabilitation processes after soccer injuries.