The Acute: Chronic Workload Ratio and Injury Risk in Semiprofessional
                    Football Players

Roberto Seco-Serna; Carlos Lago-Fuentes; Martín Barcala-Furelos

doi:10.1055/a-2282-0024

International Journal of Sports Medicine, Table of Contents

Int J Sports Med 2024; 45(09): 684-689
DOI: 10.1055/a-2282-0024

Training & Testing

The Acute: Chronic Workload Ratio and Injury Risk in Semiprofessional Football Players

Roberto Seco-Serna

¹Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Europea del Atlántico, Santander, Spain

,

Carlos Lago-Fuentes

¹Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Europea del Atlántico, Santander, Spain

,

Martín Barcala-Furelos

¹Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Europea del Atlántico, Santander, Spain

› Author Affiliations

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze the association and predictive capacity between the acute:chronic workload ratio (ACWR) and non-contact injuries in a semiprofessional football team. Seventeen football or soccer players from a Spanish Third Division football team participated voluntarily in this study. A prospective longitudinal study was developed during the 2020/2021 season. Twenty-four weeks were analyzed from October to March, including a regenerative microcycle due to the absence of competition during Christmas. Rate of perceived exertion (RPE) and session-rate of perceived exertion (sRPE) were registered for every training and game session. Afterward, acute and chronic workloads were calculated, and ACWR was subsequently derived from them. Furthermore, non-contact injuries were registered during the period mentioned. The main findings were that there is a poor correlation between the ACWR and non-contact injuries (r=0.069 (p<0.05)), and the use of the ACWR by itself is insufficient to predict the occurrence of non-contact injuries in a semiprofessional football team. Consequently, the ACWR is not an useful predictive tool for injuries in semiprofessional football teams.

Keywords

load - non-contact injuries - team sports - predictive tools

Full Text

References

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