• Beyer Wert EB
• Bates NA
• Krill MK
• Krill ML
• Chaney GK
• Hewett TE
• Schilaty ND

• Athletic Injuries
• Epidemiologic Factors
• Football / injuries
• Open Access Document

American professional football has one of the highest rates of sport injury. Despite this high rate of injuries, little is known on injury occurrence from unconventional game schedules or shortened rest periods. To determine whether time between games in the National Football League was associated with injury occurrence, time missed, body part injured, and player position, we examined injuries and game schedules from 32 NFL teams from 2012-2016. Data was collected from online resources and summarized by regular-season weeks and quarters. Time between games was classified as short: <7 days, regular: 7 days, or long: >9 days. Chi-square determined significance and true relationships between variables.
Secondary analyses were performed to assess time between games and anatomical location, player position, and time missed. A total of 4,228 injuries were observed over 5 seasons. Longer rest periods between games resulted in a higher frequency of injuries in the second and third quarters of the season, but fewer injuries at the beginning and end. Shorter rest periods and regular game schedules did not show a difference in injury occurrence. There was no difference in injury occurrence when analyzing rest between games and player position, anatomical body region, or amount of time missed by players.

Author keywords: epidemiology, game schedules, injury, national football league

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