A preliminary assessment of professional footballers' awareness of injury prevention strategies.

Players from five English professional football clubs completed a questionnaire containing 52 items relating to injury prevention practices and advice received on these issues. Responses were received from 55 players, which represents a mean response of 11 (4) and a response rate of 38 (14)% from each club (means (SD)). The main deficiencies in awareness of injury prevention strategies for players were identified as: use of shin pads during training, carbohydrate intake before and after training and after matches, cool downs after training and matches, and flexibility work. These deficiencies indicate a need for wider education of players in current injury prevention strategies.