Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center

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Information about project titled 'Injury and lower extremity muscle strength in academy football players'

Injury and lower extremity muscle strength in academy football players

Details about the project - category Details about the project - value
Project status: Ongoing
Project manager: Steven Jones
Supervisor(s): Morgan Williams, Rich Mullen, Thor Einar Andersen
Coworker(s): Zoe Clare, Russ Wrigley, Sania Almousa

Description

Background: Football clubs worldwide have invested in academy structures in an attempt to develop talented young players.  The aim of these academies is to prepare those youngsters deemed as talented through systematic practice and competition for senior football.  Exposing these youth players to regular training and competition increases the risk of sustaining injury. Sustaining injury can have negative economic impacts, which has been reported to be as high as a combined £221 million for season 2018/19 for Premier League football clubs.  Furthermore, injury can harmfully impact on team performance and have long consequences for health and well-being for players individually.  Specific physical qualities such as flexibility, strength, aerobic fitness and repeated sprint performance have also been documented to be detrimentally affected by injury and ultimately impair a player’s development.  Given the economic and performance-based implications for injury further exploration of aetiology and mechanisms responsible particularly at youth level is warranted.

Aims: (1) systematically review the literature pertaining to youth football injury incidence, prevalence and severity (2) quantify the effect of injury upon muscle activation and the role of muscle strength screening to predict future injury (3) explore the role of novel muscle strength test in the performance of linear and change of direction speed.         

Methods: (1) literature relating to injury incidence, prevalence and severity in high-level youth football was conducted in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) Statement.  Using published incidence rates, pooled injury incidence rates were calculated were injury definition allowed.  (2) 195 academy football players were assessed at preseason (2018/19) for muscle strength using novel field-based tests (NordbordTM and GroinbarTM, Vald Performance, Albion, Australia) to commonly injured locations.  Strength testing was repeated at the end of season (2018/19) to explore the effect of injury on muscle activation.  (3) Male academy football players (146) performed counter movement jump, Nordic hamstring and isometric hip strength (adduction/abduction), 5m, 10m, 20m and modified 505 agility sprints test.

Implications: It is anticipated that such information gained from this program of study will address gaps in the literature and may assist those responsible for player development involved in academy football to plan training and rehabilitation.