Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center

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Information about project titled '#ReadyToPlay - The association between preseason fitness level and injuries in female football'

#ReadyToPlay - The association between preseason fitness level and injuries in female football

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Project status: Ongoing
Project manager: Anine Nordstrøm
Coworker(s): Roald Bahr, Håvard Moksnes, Roar Amundsen, Solveig Thorarindsdottir, Ingvild Grønvold Kåshagen, Thor Einar Andersen, Merete Møller, Birkir Mar Sigurbjörnsson, Raju Rimal, Sondre Nysether

Description

Background: Little is known about the association between physical fitness and the risk of health problems in women’s football.

Purpose: To examine the association between preseason fitness level and injury or illness risk among female football players during the regular season.

Methods: A total of 200-250 female players in Toppserien (the premier professional women’s league in Norway) was followed in a prospective cohort study for four seasons. The players used the OSTRC-H2 to report all health problems during the seasons 2020, 2021, 2023 and 2024. The players performed a test battery for periodic health evaluations to establish baseline performance before and at the end of every season.

Implications: This project will examine the association between preseason fitness level and injury or illness risk among female football players during the regular season. These data can provide guidance when developing injury prevention interventions for female football in the future. Our findings may also be highly relevant for female athletes in different sports.