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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Sports Med Int Open 2018; 02(03): E84-E90
DOI: 10.1055/a-0631-9346
Training & Testing
Eigentümer und Copyright ©Georg Thieme Verlag KG 2018

Pre-season Fitness Level and Injury Rate in Professional Soccer – A Prospective Study

Eyal Eliakim
1   Wingate Institute, Zinman College of Physical Education, Netanya, Israel
,
Ofer Doron
1   Wingate Institute, Zinman College of Physical Education, Netanya, Israel
,
Yoav Meckel
1   Wingate Institute, Zinman College of Physical Education, Netanya, Israel
,
Dan Nemet
2   Child Health & Sports Center, Meir Medical Center, Pediatrics, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University Kfar Saba, Israel
,
Alon Eliakim
2   Child Health & Sports Center, Meir Medical Center, Pediatrics, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University Kfar Saba, Israel
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

received  09 February 2018
revised   01 May 2018

accepted 03 May 2018

Publication Date:
22 August 2018 (online)

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Abstract

The aim of the present study was to assess prospectively the effect of pre-season fitness on injury rate during the competitive season among professional soccer players. Thirty-one players participated in the study during two consecutive competitive seasons (2015–16 and 2016–17; a squad of 22 players in each season). During the 6-week pre-season training period (8 training sessions and a friendly match every week, 14–18 training hours/week) there was a significant improvement in VO2 max, a significant increase in ideal and total sprint time and no change in vertical jump, flexibility and repeated sprint-test performance decrement. During the two consecutive seasons, 28 injuries were recorded. Ten injuries were classified as mild (missing 3–7 days of practice/match), 8 as moderate (missing 8–28 days) and 10 as severe (missing >28 days). The rate of match injuries was higher (9.4 per 1000 match hours) compared to practice injuries (4.7 per 1000 training hours). Most injuries were overuse injuries (72%) of the lower limbs (71%). Most of match injuries occurred during the last 15 min of each half. There were no differences in fitness characteristics in the beginning of pre-season training between injured and non-injured players. However, improvements in VO2 max during the pre-season training period were significantly lower among injured players (0.9±5.5%) compared to non-injured players (10.4±6.5%, p<0.05). Our results emphasize the importance of pre-season training in professional soccer players not only for improvement in fitness but also for injury prevention during the following competitive season.

Key words

physical conditioning - prevention - football - musculoskeletal injuries
 

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