Corey L1, Hirschhorn AD2,3, Mungovan SF1,2,3, Breckenridge J1,2,3

1
Musculoskeletal pain in Hyundai A-League and
Westfield W-League match officials An
observational study

• Corey L1, Hirschhorn AD2,3, Mungovan SF1,2,3,
  Breckenridge J1,2,3
• 1Central West Orthopaedic and Sports
  Physiotherapy, Sydney
• 2The Clinical Research Institute, Sydney
• 3Westmead Private Physiotherapy Services, Sydney

2
Introduction

• Musculoskeletal pain and injury patterns among
  elite football (soccer) players have been
  extensively researched
• There are limited data on musculoskeletal pain
  and injury patterns among elite football match
  officials
• The physical demands of match officiating at the
  elite level are comparable to those of playing.1
• Study questions
• How prevalent is musculoskeletal pain among elite
  (Hyundai A-League, Westfield W-League) football
  match officials?
• Does pain prevalence change over the course of
  the season?
• Are there differences between referees and
  assistant referees (linesmen)?

3
Subjects

• Football Federation of Australia (FFA) contracted
  match officials (n45)
• 2012/13 Hyundai A-League and Westfield W-League
• MF 2817
• Age 28 4 years (range 19 to 41 years)
• Referees (n26)
• Assistant referees (n19)
• All match officials undertook a mandated fitness
  program both before and during the football season

4
Methods

• Match officials completed self-report pain
  surveys on three occasions
• Pre-season
• Mid-season
• End-season
• Presence/severity of musculoskeletal pain across
  11 anatomical sites in four body regions (spinal,
  hip, knee, foot/ankle) were assessed using 0 to
  10 Likert scales
• Scores 4/10 were considered positive for
  (moderate or greater) pain

5
Results Prevalence of musculoskeletal pain

• Pre-season, 40/45 referees (89) reported pain at
  one site. End-season, 32/45 (71) reported pain
  at one site (p 0.063 vs pre-season). There
  was a significant reduction in the reported
  number of painful sites across the football
  season (pre-season 3.6 2.8 sites vs
  end-season 2.1 2.1 sites, p 0.004) see
  Figure 1

6
Results Change in pain prevalence over season

• There was a significant reduction in the
  prevalence of hip (p0.017), knee (p0.010) and
  ankle (p0.017) pain from pre-season to
  end-season see Figure 2

7
Results Differences between referees and
assistant referees

• A significantly higher proportion of assistant
  referees than referees reported end-season knee
  pain (p 0.008) see Figure 3

8
Conclusions and implications

• Musculoskeletal pain is common in elite football
  match officials
• Pain prevalence decreases across the course of
  the football season
• Knee pain is more prevalent in assistant referees
  than referees
• As with players, match officials may benefit from
  formalised training and injury prevention
  programs

9
Directions for future research

• What are the causative mechanisms of pain for
  assistant referees vs referees?
• What are the optimal training and injury
  prevention programs for elite football match
  officials?

10
Injury-time reading

• 1. Drayton, J, REVEALED Refs run more than the
  Premier League stars (yes, really!) and get 99
  of offside calls correct, media release, 13th
  August, Associated Newspapers Ltd, viewed 22nd
  August 2013,
  lthttp//www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article
  -2391215/Referees-run-players-99-cent-offsides-cor
  rect-claims-report.htmlixzz2cehv76begt.