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Applying a holistic hamstring injury prevention approach in elite football: 12 seasons, single club study
Author(s) -
SuarezArrones Luis,
Nakamura Fábio Yuzo,
Maldonado Rafael A.,
Torreno Nacho,
Di Salvo Valter,
MendezVillanueva Alberto
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of medicine and science in sports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.575
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1600-0838
pISSN - 0905-7188
DOI - 10.1111/sms.13913
Subject(s) - hamstring , hamstring injury , medicine , physical therapy , club , injury prevention , psychological intervention , intervention (counseling) , poison control , football , nursing , emergency medicine , geography , archaeology , anatomy
The aim was to investigate the preventive effect of a complex training program based on holistic hamstring health understanding in elite professional soccer players. This study involved an elite club in Europe and was conducted over 12 seasons. The last 2 seasons were the intervention period, and the others were the control seasons. During the intervention period, players performed a complex program organized into different interventions throughout the week having as a priority the player health. Hamstring injuries, absenteeism, injury rates, and injury burden between the control and intervention seasons were compared using a rate ratio (RR) with 95% CI. Players had a mean exposure of 333.5 ± 18.6 hours per season with no significant differences between the intervention and control seasons. The overall injury rate was 3 times lower during the two intervention seasons than during the previous seasons ( P < .01); the match injury rate was 2.7 times lower ( P < .01) and the training rate 4.3 times ( P < .01). Injury burden was almost 4 times lower during the two intervention seasons than during the previous seasons ( P < .01), and recurrences in the control group were 10% vs 0% in the intervention group. Hamstring injuries were reduced ~3 times during the seasons in which elite football players were exposed to multicomponent, complex prevention training with individual approaches based on player needs, management of training load, individualized physiotherapy treatment, and planned staff communication, in comparison to the control seasons without a clearly defined and structured injury prevention intervention.