Implementation of an evidence-based injury prevention program in professional and semi-professional soccer

The ideal implementation of soccer injury prevention programs is essential knowledge for soccer coaches. The objective of this study was to investigate and compare the implementation of injury prevention programs, specially the FIFA 11+ program, among Australian and Saudi Arabian soccer coaches. A Web-based survey was used to obtain information regarding the coaches’ implementation of injury prevention programs, the FIFA 11+ program, the Nordic hamstring exercise, pre- and post-training exercises. Sixty coaches—30 from both selected countries—responded to the survey (response rate = 75%). In Australia, 93% of the coaches implemented an injury prevention program; while 73% implemented the FIFA 11+ program, only 51% implemented all the FIFA 11+ exercise components as recommended. In Saudi Arabia, 70% of the coaches stated that they followed an injury prevention program, but only 40% followed the FIFA 11+ program. However, 70% reported using all the FIFA 11+ exercise components in their current practices, which they may have adapted from different exercise-based injury prevention programs. The Australian coaches were significantly more likely to implement injury prevention programs ( p = 0.020) and the FIFA 11+ program ( p = 0.009). Nonetheless, no significant difference in the full implementation of the FIFA 11+ exercises components was found ( p = 0.114). The Australian coaches had greater awareness of injury prevention programs and more familiarity with the FIFA 11+ program than the Saudi Arabian coaches. Nevertheless, there was a gap between the coaches’ knowledge and their actual practice.

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EARLY RESULTS OF AN INJURY-PREVENTION PROGRAM IN HIGH SCHOOL TRACK ATHLETES

Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine ◽

10.1177/2325967119s00141 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 (3_suppl) ◽

pp. 2325967119S0014

Author(s):

Celeste Quitiquit Dickason ◽

Whitney Marois ◽

Hannah Santos ◽

Sadie Grace ◽

Brian Krabak ◽

...

Keyword(s):

High School ◽

Injury Prevention ◽

Prevention Program ◽

Prevention Programs ◽

Years Of Experience ◽

Chi Square ◽

Injury Rates ◽

Injury Prevention Program ◽

Chi Square Analysis ◽

The Impact

Background Injury prevention programs have been shown to be effective for adolescent soccer, basketball, and handball athletes. Though injuries are common in high school runners, injury prevention programs have not been described for this population. Our objective was to trial an injury-prevention program styled after those found to be successful in other running and jumping sports to see if a group of running athletes sustained fewer and or less serious injuries during the course of a single high school track season. Methods Two suburban high school track coaches volunteered to participate in a program consisting of either injury-prevention exercises or no additional exercises as a part of pre-and in-season practice programs. All runners at each school were invited to participate, with informed consent obtained. The injury prevention program consisted of five jumping and plyometric exercises taught by a physical therapist, with a video of the exercises made available to the coach and team members throughout the season. Surveys pre- and post-season were collected which included demographic information, running history, diet, and injuries. Injuries were reported to coach and trainer at each school. Days of missed practice constituted an injured day, tallied for each runner and each team. A Chi-square analysis compared injury rates by team, and hence by intervention; injury rates by years of experience running; and injury rates by dietary preference. Results 24 runners, 13 from the intervention school and 11 from the control school participated. There was no significant difference in the number of running injuries reported when comparing the intervention group (4/13 runners) to the control group (3/11 runners, Chi-square = 0.035, p = 0.9). Runners with a greater number of years of competitive running experience trended towards having fewer injuries (p = 0.06). Those describing their diet as vegetarian (3/24) were significantly more likely to sustain an injury (p = 0.002). Conclusions / Significance With this limited comparison study examining the impact of an injury-prevention pre-season and in-season training program for running athletes participating on their high school track team, there was no evidence that the addition of a program of jumping and plyometric exercises had an impact on injury rates. However, combining the data from the two schools, we found a trend towards decreased injury likelihood in those with more years of experience running, and a significantly greater incidence of injuries in those who described their diet as vegetarian. These results suggest that novice runners should perhaps have a different set of expectations regarding the pre- and in-season training regimen, and that those whose diet is vegetarian consider review of their nutrition to optimize their energy level and reparative capacity with the increased activity of a high school track running program.

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The Implementation of a National Strategy to Encourage Injury Prevention Program Uptake in a Community Female Sport in Ireland: A Camogie Case Study

International Sport Coaching Journal ◽

10.1123/iscj.2021-0020 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-8

Author(s):

Siobhán O’Connor ◽

Wesley O’Brien ◽

Peter Lacey

Keyword(s):

Injury Prevention ◽

Prevention Program ◽

Prevention Programs ◽

Education Workshop ◽

Coaching Training ◽

Injury Prevention Program ◽

Age Appropriate ◽

Short And Long Term ◽

Community Sports ◽

The Individual

Community sports play an important role in maintaining sporting participation across all ages, from childhood to adulthood. Maintaining participation for females, however, can be a challenge. Injuries can negatively impact sporting participation, both in the short and long term. Thus, reducing the risk of injuries in community sports is essential. While there are developed injury prevention programs available, the uptake of such programs in community sports can be limited. Here, we outline how a female community sport in Ireland, namely, the Camogie Association, has developed and implemented an evidence-based strategy to improve the uptake of an injury prevention program nationally across all ages of their membership. We use the RE-AIM (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance) sports setting matrix as a guiding tool for evaluating this strategy. Varying settings and levels were targeted in this six-step implementation sequence, including the national sporting organisation, regional sporting organisations, alongside the individual coaches and players. The main outcomes of the strategy were that the Camogie Association formally adopted the developed injury prevention program (the Camogie Injury Prevention Program) and the adapted age appropriate programs from 8 years of age and upward. The Camogie Association also embedded this program within their coaching training course. The developed education workshop successfully improved coaches’ attitudes and perceived ability to implement the Camogie Injury Prevention Program. The majority (72.5%) of coaches, 4 weeks after conducting the workshop, had implemented the program, and 95% felt the program could be maintained over multiple seasons. This program may provide guidance to similar national or regional sporting bodies that want to embed injury prevention programs within their respective governing body and maximise the implementation of an injury prevention program by their coaches and players.

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Injury Prevention Programs for Throwing Injuries in Softball Players: A Systematic Review

Sports Health A Multidisciplinary Approach ◽

10.1177/1941738120978161 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 194173812097816

Author(s):

Jonathan Paul ◽

Symone M. Brown ◽

Mary K. Mulcahey

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Systematic Review ◽

Range Of Motion ◽

Injury Prevention ◽

Prevention Program ◽

Dynamic Range ◽

Lower Extremities ◽

Prevention Programs ◽

Level Of Evidence ◽

Injury Prevention Program

Context: Throwing-related injuries occur commonly in softball players. Preventative programs can be implemented to assist in identifying and correcting risk factors that could potentially lead to injury and therefore time missed from both practice and games. Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine if position-specific injury prevention programs have been developed to decrease the risk of throwing-related injuries in softball players. Data Sources: A systematic review was performed using the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. PubMed, PMC, and EBSCO were searched for articles on injury prevention programs using the following key terms: softball, injury prevention, throwing injuries, pitcher, and shoulder. Study Selection: Studies that involved fast-pitch softball and included female participants as well as rehabilitation programs were included. Articles that highlighted slow-pitch softball or did not include female participants were excluded. Level of Evidence: Level 1. Data Extraction: The initial search identified 1605 articles. After implementing a filter, 131 articles remained. Thirteen articles were screened out as duplicates. After screening for inclusion criteria, 7 articles remained and were included in the systematic review. Results: Decreased range of motion (ROM) in both the upper and the lower extremities, unbalanced muscular strength, and fatigue were identified as risk factors for throwing injuries in softball players. Within the upper extremity, strength and ROM of the rotator cuff muscles, biceps, and extensors of the forearm were emphasized. The main focus of the lower extremity was the strength of the gluteal muscles and ROM of the lumbopelvic-hip complex. Only 1 study detailed an injury prevention program for softball players. The prevention program outlined was generalized for all softball players and was not position specific. Conclusion: There is a paucity of information about injury prevention programs for softball players. Of the evidence analyzed, balanced strengthening of the upper and lower extremities while maintaining dynamic range of motion was frequently utilized in developing an injury prevention program.

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Associations between player age and club soccer coaches’ perceptions of injury risk and lower extremity injury prevention program use

International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching ◽

10.1177/1747954117707480 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

pp. 122-128 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Elle A Morgan ◽

Samuel T Johnson ◽

Viktor E Bovbjerg ◽

Marc F Norcross

Keyword(s):

Lower Extremity ◽

Injury Prevention ◽

Prevention Program ◽

Injury Risk ◽

Prevention Programs ◽

Soccer Players ◽

Lower Extremity Injury ◽

Injury Prevention Program ◽

Program Awareness

The use of a lower extremity injury prevention program by female soccer players before the completion of puberty may mitigate movement changes that develop during puberty and contribute to post-pubescent females’ greater anterior cruciate ligament-injury risk. It is unknown whether club soccer coaches are using injury prevention programs with younger athletes and if player age is associated with soccer coaches’ knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors surrounding injury prevention programs. Fifty-four coaches of female soccer teams from Oregon and Washington states (USA) completed a web-based survey. Associations between team age (U9–U14 teams = 57 and U15–U19 teams = 19 teams) and coaches’ (a) attitudes and perceptions; and (b) injury prevention program awareness, adoption, and implementation fidelity were assessed. Coaches of U15–U19 teams perceived injuries to be more of a problem and soccer to present a high risk of injury. Coaches of older teams more strongly agreed that preventive exercises should be performed by their players during training. Injury prevention program awareness among coaches of U15–U19 and U9–U14 age groups was 79% and 60%, respectively. Injury prevention program-aware coaches of U15–U19 teams were more likely to use an injury prevention program than injury prevention program-aware coaches of U9–U14 teams (67% vs. 38%), but they were not more likely to do so with high fidelity (60% vs. 54%). Team age is associated with coaches’ short-term perceptions of injury risk, but not perceptions about the long-term ramifications of injury. Educating coaches about the potential benefits of injury prevention programs for mitigating injury-related maturational changes and the long-term ramifications of lower extremity injuries may facilitate greater use of injury prevention programs by coaches of younger female soccer players.

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Infrared Thermography Protocol on Reducing the Incidence of Soccer Injuries

Journal of Sport Rehabilitation ◽

10.1123/jsr.2019-0056 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 29 (8) ◽

pp. 1222-1227 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Pedro Gómez-Carmona ◽

Ismael Fernández-Cuevas ◽

Manuel Sillero-Quintana ◽

Javier Arnaiz-Lastras ◽

Archit Navandar

Keyword(s):

Injury Prevention ◽

Infrared Thermography ◽

Prevention Program ◽

Injury Severity ◽

Injury Incidence ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Professional Soccer ◽

Injury Prevention Program ◽

Prospective Study Design ◽

Injury Classification

Context: Infrared thermography has been used to detect skeletal muscle overload and fatigue in athletes, but its use in injury prevention in professional soccer has not been studied to date. Objectives: To establish a novel injury prevention program based on infrared thermography and to determine its influence on the injury incidence in professional soccer players in the preseason. Design: A cross-sectional, prospective study design was used to compare a conventional injury prevention program (CPP) applied over the first preseason and an infrared thermography injury prevention program (IRTPP) carried out in the following preseason. Setting: Soccer training ground. Participants: Twenty-four players belonging to a first division soccer team from Spain. Main Outcome Measures: Injury incidences of each player were recorded according to the Orchard Sports Injury Classification System (version 10.0) convention to determine the injury classification, location, and type. Results: The incidence of injuries decreased from 15 injuries in the CPP preseason (0.63 [0.77] injuries per player) to 6 injuries in the second preseason when the IRTPP was applied (0.25 [0.53] injuries per player). The days of absence due to injuries also decreased from the CPP preseason (156 d, 10.4 [11.0] d per injury) to the IRTPP preseason (14 d, 2.3 [2.8] d per injury). The injury severity also decreased from the first preseason to the second preseason, and fewer musculoskeletal injuries in the thigh, hip, and groin were reported. Conclusions: The implementation of an IRTPP can reduce the presence of injuries by identifying players potentially at risk and as a result, reducing the injury severity and days lost as a consequence.

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Awareness and use of the 11+ injury prevention program among coaches of adolescent female football teams

International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching ◽

10.1177/1747954118787654 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 13 (6) ◽

pp. 929-938 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Alex Donaldson ◽

Aisling Callaghan ◽

Mario Bizzini ◽

Andrew Jowett ◽

Patrick Keyzer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Injury Prevention ◽

Real World ◽

Prevention Program ◽

Online Survey ◽

Prevention Programs ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Adolescent Female ◽

Implementation Barriers ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Injury Prevention Program

Coaches are essential to participant safety, particularly by implementing injury prevention programs. The evidence-based injury prevention programs developed by sports scientists will not prevent injuries in real-world sports settings if they are not properly implemented. This study investigated the knowledge and use of the highly efficacious 11+ injury prevention program among coaches of adolescent, female football teams, in Victoria, Australia. A cross-sectional online survey based on the RE-AIM framework identified that nearly half (42%) of the 64 respondents (response rate = 36%) were not aware of the 11+, and only one-third (31%) reported using it. Three-quarters (74%) of the 19 respondents who reported on the 11+ components they used, did not use the entire program. Nearly half (44%) of the 18 respondents who reported the frequency with which they used the 11+, used it less than the recommended twice a week. Barriers to implementing the 11+ included: limited awareness of the 11+; lack of knowledge about how to implement it; not having time to implement it; and believing that the 11+ does not incorporate appropriate progression. This study suggests that it is unlikely that the 11+ prevents a significant number of injuries in real-world football settings due to the lack of awareness and use among coaches. Football-governing bodies should use evidence-based strategies to raise awareness of the 11+, build coach competency to implement it, and address time-related implementation barriers that coaches experience. Coaches should keep up-to-date with injury prevention research evidence and prioritize injury prevention at training, including allocating time to implement injury prevention programs properly.

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Understanding Injury and Injury Prevention in Para Sport Athletes

Journal of Sport Rehabilitation ◽

10.1123/jsr.2020-0477 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-7

Author(s):

Shana E. Harrington ◽

Sean McQueeney ◽

Marcus Fearing

Keyword(s):

Injury Prevention ◽

Prevention Program ◽

Prevention Programs ◽

The United States ◽

Survey Study ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Descriptive Information ◽

Cross Training ◽

Injury Prevention Program

Context: Training loads, injury, and injury prevention in the Para sports population has not been well established. Objective: The purpose of this study was to survey elite-level swimming, cycling, and athletic Para sport athletes in the United States who were competing in the 2016 US Paralympic trials to better understand common injuries among athletes in each sport and to determine whether injury prevention programs were being utilized. Design: Cross-sectional, survey study. Setting: The 2016 US Paralympic trials for swimming, cycling, and athletics. Participants: Athletes who competed in swimming, cycling, and/or athletics at the 2016 US Paralympic trials (N = 144; 83 males and 61 females). Main Outcome Measures: Participants completed electronic survey using Qualtrics XM (Qualtrics, Provo, UT) with questions pertaining to average number of hours trained per week, number of cross-training hours performed each week, descriptive information regarding sport-related injuries, pain, whether athletes received treatment for injuries, and descriptive information regarding whether the athletes had participated in an injury prevention program. Results: Over 64% of respondents reported training greater than or equal to 11 hours per week, and 45% of athletes reported spending greater than or equal to 6 hours per week cross-training. Forty-two percent of athletes reported currently having pain with 34% reporting missing a competition because of injury. Only 24% of respondents reported having participated in an injury prevention program. Conclusions: Many Para sport athletes train at similar durations as able-bodied counterparts and have pain that interferes with their ability to train and compete, however, only a small percentage consistently perform injury prevention programs.

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The FIFA 11+ Injury Prevention Program Still not Implemented by the Majority of Professional and Semi-professional Soccer Players and Coaches Globally

The Open Sports Sciences Journal ◽

10.2174/1875399x02114010058 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

pp. 58-62

Author(s):

Wesam Saleh A. Al Attar ◽

Saud Alarifi ◽

Ibrahim Alramadhani ◽

Majed Aljabri ◽

Mashaer Alyami ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Injury Prevention ◽

Prevention Program ◽

Sports Medicine ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Soccer Players ◽

Research Centre ◽

Professional Soccer ◽

Implementation Rate ◽

Injury Prevention Program ◽

Awareness Level

Background: The Fédération International de Football Association (FIFA) has promoted and deployed the FIFA 11+ injury prevention program worldwide. Developed by the FIFA Medical Assessment and Research Centre (F-MARC), the program relied on the results of an international randomized controlled trial that aimed to reduce sport-related injuries and healthcare costs. Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the awareness level, implementation rate, and opinions about the effectiveness of the FIFA 11+ Injury Prevention Program among professional and semi-professional soccer players and coaches worldwide. Methods: In all, 2000 professional and semi-professional soccer players and coaches were invited to complete a self-administered questionnaire. Several authors, who are experts in sports medicine and injury prevention, participated in developing the questionnaire. The primary outcomes were awareness level, implementation rate, and opinion on the FIFA 11+ Program’s effectiveness in reducing injuries. Results: A total of 1690 professional and semi-professional soccer players and coaches completed the survey (response rate: 84.5%). A total of 824 professional and semi-professional soccer players and coaches (48.8%) were aware of the FIFA 11+ Program, and 680 (83.8%) reported implementing the program in their practice. The participants who implemented the program reported a positive attitude toward the program’s efficacy, with a score of 8.20 ± 1.10 out of 10. Conclusion: More than half of professional and semi-professional soccer players and coaches from different continents are not aware of the FIFA 11+ Injury Prevention Program. Therefore, educating players and coaches is necessary for increased implementation and injury reduction.

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