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Int J Sports Med 2020; 41(02): 89-97
DOI: 10.1055/a-0997-6741
Training & Testing
© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

Workload and Injury in Professional Soccer Players: Role of Injury Tissue Type and Injury Severity

Kevin Enright
1   Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Tom Reilly Building, Byrom St Campus, Liverpool L3 3AF, UK
,
Matthew Green
3   Football Association Premier League, The Premier League, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
,
Gordon Hay
4   Public Health Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
,
James J. Malone
2   School of Health Sciences, Liverpool Hope University, Liverpool, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

Publication Date:
04 December 2019 (online)

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Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to examine the influence of workload prior to injury on injury (tissue type and severity) in professional soccer players. Twenty-eight days of retrospective training data prior to non-contact injuries (n=264) were collated from 192 professional soccer players. Each injury tissue type (muscle, tendon and ligament) and severity (days missed) were categorised by medical staff. Training data were recorded using global positioning system (GPS) devices for total distance (TD), high speed distance (HSD,>5.5 m/s−1), and sprint distance (SPR,>7.0 m/s−1). Accumulated 1, 2, 3, 4-weekly loads and acute:chronic workload ratios (ACWR) (coupled, uncoupled and exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) approaches) were calculated. Workload variables and injury tissue type were compared using a one-way ANOVA. The association between workload variables and injury severity were examined using a bivariate correlation. There were no differences in accumulated weekly loads and ACWR calculations between muscle, ligament, and tendon injuries (P>0.05). Correlations between each workload variable and injury severity highlighted no significant associations (P>0.05). The present findings suggest that the ability of accumulated weekly workload or ACWR methods to differentiate between injury type and injury severity are limited using the present variables.

Key words

football - training - ACWR - load - GPS
 

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