Avinash Chandran, Neel Rao, Adrian J Boltz, Reagan E Garcia, Christy L Collins, Andrew Shafik, Evert Verhagen, Margot Putukian, Francesco Della Villa
{"title":"Knee and ACL injury rates in NCAA soccer players: an epidemiological study of 10 consecutive seasons.","authors":"Avinash Chandran, Neel Rao, Adrian J Boltz, Reagan E Garcia, Christy L Collins, Andrew Shafik, Evert Verhagen, Margot Putukian, Francesco Della Villa","doi":"10.1080/24733938.2025.2476479","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/24733938.2025.2476479","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>There is a lack of epidemiological research on knee injuries and Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) tears among National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) soccer athletes. To describe the epidemiology of knee injuries and ACL tears in NCAA soccer. We analyzed data captured within the NCAA Injury Surveillance Program during 2009/10-2018/19. We examined injury frequencies and rates by event type, division, and sex, and knee injury distributions by injury diagnosis, mechanism, history, playing position, and activity at the time of injury. We used injury rate ratios (IRRs) to assess differences in injury rates and injury proportion ratios (IPRs) to assess the differential distribution of injuries across explanatory variables of interest. Random effects Poisson regressions were used to identify factors associated with recovery. Knee injury and ACL tear rates generally centered around comparable values across the study period. Overall knee injury (IRR = 1.38; 95%CI=[1.24, 1.53]) and ACL tear (IRR = 3.10; 95%CI=[2.20, 4.35]) rates were higher in women's soccer, as compared with men's soccer. Competition-related knee injury rates were higher than practice rates in both groups. Knee injuries in men's (36.7%) and women's (38.7%) soccer were most often classified as sprains, and most commonly attributed to blocking/defending activities (Men's soccer: 15.4%; Women's soccer: 15.5%). Findings indicate a higher rate of knee injuries and ACL tears in competitions than in practices. Coupled with the results observed in women's soccer, these findings suggest that the risk of knee injuries and ACL tears in competitions and in women's soccer merit attention.</p>","PeriodicalId":74767,"journal":{"name":"Science & medicine in football","volume":" ","pages":"1-10"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143659976","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Daniela Mifsud, Nic Acampora, Neel Rao, Andrew Shafik, Sean Carmody, Avinash Chandran
{"title":"Burnout in medical and performance professionals working in elite football in the United Kingdom: a pilot study.","authors":"Daniela Mifsud, Nic Acampora, Neel Rao, Andrew Shafik, Sean Carmody, Avinash Chandran","doi":"10.1080/24733938.2025.2476486","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/24733938.2025.2476486","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Despite the focus on the effect of burnout on athlete health and performance, understanding its impact on their support teams remains limited. Our primary aim was to investigate the prevalence of burnout amongst medical and performance professionals working in professional football in the UK.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>In this cross-sectional design study burnout risk was assessed using the Burnout Assessment Tool-23 (BAT-23).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 162 participants completed the questionnaire. The overall average burnout score indicated a low risk of burnout; however, half (42%) of participants had individual burnout scores indicative of being at risk or very high risk of burnout. There was no statistically significant relationship between profession and burnout risk. There was also no statistically significant relationship between burnout risk and number of years working in professional football.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This study, conducted during pre-season, suggests that medical and performance professionals working in professional football in the UK are not at risk of burnout. Measures to continue to safeguard practitioners against the effects of burnout are proposed.</p>","PeriodicalId":74767,"journal":{"name":"Science & medicine in football","volume":" ","pages":"1-10"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143627032","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Antonio Dello Iacono, Naomi Datson, Jo Clubb, Mathieu Lacome, Adam Sullivan, Tzlil Shushan
{"title":"Data analytics practices and reporting strategies in senior football: insights into athlete health and performance from over 200 practitioners worldwide.","authors":"Antonio Dello Iacono, Naomi Datson, Jo Clubb, Mathieu Lacome, Adam Sullivan, Tzlil Shushan","doi":"10.1080/24733938.2025.2476478","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/24733938.2025.2476478","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Despite the rise of data generation in football, the expertise of data analytics within the sport is relatively underdeveloped. To further understand the landscape, a cross-sectional, observational study design was used to survey practitioners in senior, professional, or semi-professional football. Areas of interest included the personnel involved (the 'who'), the data collected (the 'what'), and the analytical techniques employed (the 'how'). A total of 206 practitioners completed an online survey, with representation from all six FIFA confederations. Of the 206 respondents, 86% were male, 13% female, and 1% preferred not to disclose their gender. Respondents were categorised as working in either the performance (73%), data (18%), or medical (9%) department. Heterogeneity was observed in responses across all departments regarding training load metrics, outcome metrics, methodological attributes, and measurement properties. Evidence sources used prior to implementing a new metric varied between departments, with performance (63%) and medical (67%) staff relying on professional industry and/or community, while data staff (57%) utilised more in-house projects. The analytical approach used most frequently was exploratory data analysis (90%), with modelling, forecasting, and predicting the least frequent (54%). Respondents reported using a mix of solutions for data storage, aggregating and analysing, and reporting and visualising data. Spreadsheets were cited as a popular solution for data wrangling and reporting tasks. The findings provide an overview of current data ecosystems and information systems in modern football organisations. These results can be used to improve data analytics service provision in football by helping identify areas for development and progression.</p>","PeriodicalId":74767,"journal":{"name":"Science & medicine in football","volume":" ","pages":"1-16"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143627062","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ori Kobi, Asaf Ben-Ari, Antonio Dello Iacono, Yedidya Silverman, Uri Obolski, Israel Halperin
{"title":"Prescribing playing intensity in small-sided games using rating of perceived effort among youth soccer players: a randomized crossover trial.","authors":"Ori Kobi, Asaf Ben-Ari, Antonio Dello Iacono, Yedidya Silverman, Uri Obolski, Israel Halperin","doi":"10.1080/24733938.2025.2471318","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/24733938.2025.2471318","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In this study, we examined whether the 0-10 rating of perceived effort (RPE) scale can serve as a method for prescribing playing intensity in small-sided games (SSGs). We conducted a randomized crossover trial involving 25 young male football players (age range 16-18 years). Participants completed a familiarization and three experimental sessions where game intensity was regulated using prescribed intensities equal to RPE of 6, 8, or 10. Each session involved six teams of three players playing in three SSGs, with 4 min of rest, in a playing area of 133 square meters per player. Outcomes included total distance, high-speed running distance (HSRD), intense acceleration and deceleration (IAD) counts, and average heart rate (HR). We fitted mixed models and estimated 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to analyze the results. The CIs for all locomotive outcomes indicated an increase at RPE-8 and RPE-10 compared to RPE-6. Notably, the effects on HSRD and IAD were substantial, with differences between RPE-10 and 8 to RPE-6 ranging from 28% to 97%. Conversely, differences in the total distance the players covered per game between RPE-10 and 8 to 6 were minor (~5%). We could not identify clear differences between RPE-10 and 8 in the locomotive outcomes (differences range 0%-9.6%, CIs containing zero) nor in HR across all RPE conditions (differences range 1-3.5 bpm, CIs containing zero). We conclude that RPE can serve as a practical tool to prescribe medium or high intensity during SSGs, although its ability to differentiate between higher intensity levels or influence heart rate is limited.</p>","PeriodicalId":74767,"journal":{"name":"Science & medicine in football","volume":" ","pages":"1-7"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143544803","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jonathan M Taylor, Hermes Pallotta, Phillip Smith, Will Short, Matthew D Wright, Paul Chesterton
{"title":"The effect of knee-flexion angle on peak force and muscle activation during isometric knee-flexor strength testing using the Nordbord device in soccer players.","authors":"Jonathan M Taylor, Hermes Pallotta, Phillip Smith, Will Short, Matthew D Wright, Paul Chesterton","doi":"10.1080/24733938.2025.2471316","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/24733938.2025.2471316","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Isometric knee-flexor testing is commonplace in soccer, yet data to inform choice of knee-flexion angle are limited. This study aimed to compare peak force production and muscle activation between two isometric knee-flexor tests. To compare peak force, 43 male soccer players (age 21.5 ± 5 years; stature 180.3 ± 6.3 cm; body mass 74.6 ± 8.9 kg) completed 3 × 5-second maximal efforts on the Nordbord device (Vald Performance) with a 0- (ISO-Prone) and 30-degree (ISO-30) knee angle, respectively. To compare peak muscle activation, a further 13 trained male participants (25 ± 6 years; 178.2 ± 5.6 cm; 79.6 ± 13.2 kg) completed 3 × 5-second maximal efforts with wireless surface electromyography electrodes placed on the Gluteus Maximus, Adductor Magnus, Semitendinosus, Biceps Femoris (long and short heads) and Medial Gastrocnemius. Paired samples t-tests were used to detect differences in force output between tests and Pearson's correlations to quantify associations. A Yuen's modified t-test estimated the trimmed mean differences in muscle activation between tests. Higher peak forces were observed in the ISO-30, with mean differences of 56.4N (36.8 to 75.9 [95% CI]) and 52.9N (33.7 to 72.3 [95% CI]) for right (367 vs 314N) and left legs (351 vs 294N), respectively. Moderate correlations were observed in peak force for left (<i>r =</i> 0.55 (0.29 to 0.73 [95%CI])) and right (<i>r =</i> 0.64 (0.42 to 0.79 [95%CI]) legs. No differences in muscle activation were observed. Peak force varies between the ISO-Prone and ISO-30, with moderate associations between tests, indicating that the tests should not be used interchangeably.</p>","PeriodicalId":74767,"journal":{"name":"Science & medicine in football","volume":" ","pages":"1-8"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143506642","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Julie Gooderick, Toby Wood, Will Abbott, Mark Hayes, Neil Maxwell
{"title":"Does a self-reported sleep duration reflect actigraphy reported sleep duration in female football players?","authors":"Julie Gooderick, Toby Wood, Will Abbott, Mark Hayes, Neil Maxwell","doi":"10.1080/24733938.2023.2297903","DOIUrl":"10.1080/24733938.2023.2297903","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Sleep is often compromised in female athletes, and the monitoring of female athletes' sleep is an important preventative and educational tool. With self-reporting of sleep common practice for athletes as part of a daily wellness assessment, there is a need to understand whether sleep indices are being reported accurately, and thus whether self-report data are useful. This study aimed to compare the agreement between self-reported and actigraphy reported sleep duration in female football players, with the intention of informing best practice for athlete monitoring. Twenty-two female footballers (mean age 19.5 ± 1.3 years) provided a daily self-report across 7 days, whilst also wearing an actigraph across the same testing period. Agreement between the two measures was assessed using Bland-Altman limits of agreement, with acceptable limits of agreement defined as <30 minutes. Results showed evident disagreement between the two methods, with a mean bias of -0.54 (32 min, 95% CI -0.66 to -0.43) and a potential disagreement range of over 2 h (Lower 95% limits of agreement -1.49 to upper 95% limits of agreement 0.40). Coaches using self-reported sleep durations as a monitoring tool for female footballers should interpret the results with caution and be aware of the potential for inaccuracies in this measure. As such, where possible, coaches should consider other methods of sleep monitoring, rather than solely relying on a self-report, to ensure they are operating with optimal practice within situational constraints.</p>","PeriodicalId":74767,"journal":{"name":"Science & medicine in football","volume":" ","pages":"19-25"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139089663","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Billymo Rist, Claire Quartuccio, Ben Smith, Alan J Pearce
{"title":"End on a positive note: an exploration of flourishing, identity, and career confidence in professional Australian footballers transitioning out of football.","authors":"Billymo Rist, Claire Quartuccio, Ben Smith, Alan J Pearce","doi":"10.1080/24733938.2023.2300448","DOIUrl":"10.1080/24733938.2023.2300448","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study explored professional male Australian rules football players leaving the Australian Football League (AFL), either from retirement or from deselected from their team. Identified athletes (<i>n</i> = 425) transitioning from the AFL competition from years 2019 to 2021 were invited to participate in an anonymous online survey with 60% completing the survey. Using scaled-response questions, responses were compared between groups across a number of areas including their experience of leaving, athlete identity, the influence of sport in their daily life, psychological flourishing, financial confidence, social relationships, and future career preparations. Results showed deselected players (<i>n</i> = 152), compared to retired players (<i>n</i> = 56), reported shorter career spans, and poorer perception of their club's handling of the transition process (<i>p</i> < 0.001). Compared to retired players, deselected players reported stronger identity attachment to sport, less confidence in their financial capabilities, and career outside football (all <i>p</i> < 0.05). Conversely retired players, compared to deselected players, showed stronger psychological flourishing. Correlations showed that retired players were more confidence in their finances, reported greater psychological flourishing, and lower attachment to an athletic identity (all <i>p</i> ≤ 0.05). The results of this study suggest that as deselected players expressed poorer perception of club's handling of the transition process the role of AFL club staff could improve the transition process in in preparation for life outside of professional sport.</p>","PeriodicalId":74767,"journal":{"name":"Science & medicine in football","volume":" ","pages":"76-82"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139089579","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
R Anderson, I Rollo, R K Randell, D Martin, C Twist, N Grazette, S Moss
{"title":"A formative investigation assessing menstrual health literacy in professional women's football.","authors":"R Anderson, I Rollo, R K Randell, D Martin, C Twist, N Grazette, S Moss","doi":"10.1080/24733938.2023.2290074","DOIUrl":"10.1080/24733938.2023.2290074","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The aim of this study was to assess and compare menstrual health literacy in professional women's football. A three-section questionnaire was completed by professional players (<i>n</i> = 25), development players <i>(n</i> = 22) and staff <i>(n</i> = 19). The mean total knowledge score (out of 19) was lower for development players (5.4 ± 2.9) than professional players (7.8 ± 3.2) and staff (9.1 ± 4.8) (<i>p < 0.001</i>). No group achieved >50% correct answers. For each group, knowledge of the menstrual cycle (MC) was greater than knowledge of hormonal contraceptives (HC) (<i>p < 0.001</i>). Previous MC and HC education did not correspond to higher knowledge scores in professional players (<i>p = 0.823</i>) or development players <i>(p = 0.274</i>). In professional and development players, comfort of communication was influenced by the sex of whom they were communicating with (<i>p < 0.001</i>), with a preference for females. In conclusion, results from the present study suggest refined education strategies and new approaches are required for both players and staff to improve menstrual health literacy in professional women's football.</p>","PeriodicalId":74767,"journal":{"name":"Science & medicine in football","volume":" ","pages":"12-18"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138814974","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Community perspectives on spinal cord injury in rugby union: facts and fears.","authors":"Nicole Merrick, Marelise Badenhorst, Ashlee Morgan, Lauren Fortington","doi":"10.1080/24733938.2023.2253191","DOIUrl":"10.1080/24733938.2023.2253191","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>The sport of rugby union, henceforth rugby, is associated with a risk of spinal cord injury (SCI). Perceived risks can impact participation. Understanding community perspectives on rugby-related SCI may provide insight for addressing concerns around risk. The aim of this study was to explore community perspectives through social media discussion about SCI in rugby union.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Posts about SCI in rugby union were identified using the advanced search function on Twitter. Data (content as original post, retweet, quote tweet and comments) were included if focused on Rugby Union and written in English. Inclusion dates (July 2018 to June 2019) were chosen to capture a period when several SCI (<i>n</i> = 4) occurred in community rugby in Australia. Data were analysed using a thematic approach.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Four themes were derived from the collected data. The 'pendulum swing' relates to the disparate views of rugby, from being overly cautious to too dangerous to play. The 'role of rugby culture' described engrained behaviours and attitudes on and off-field toward safety. 'Media influence' describes the emotive narrative used when reporting rugby-related SCI. 'After the injury' looks at expressions of sympathy and inspiration. These findings showed how individuals' views of SCI were influenced through rugby culture, trust in governing bodies and the news media.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>By 'listening in' to community views, their most pertinent safety concerns can be addressed. Both facts and fears on rugby-related SCI were evident, and these extreme views can be balanced with evidence-based education and sensible risk management.</p>","PeriodicalId":74767,"journal":{"name":"Science & medicine in football","volume":" ","pages":"50-58"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10483266","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Else E A E Juch, Vincent C van de Koppel, Donna Blokland, Renko A Wouters, Frank J G Backx, Edwin A Goedhart, Nick van der Horst
{"title":"Growth-related sports injuries among young male professional football players in the Netherlands: a prospective cohort study concerning injury incidence, severity and burden.","authors":"Else E A E Juch, Vincent C van de Koppel, Donna Blokland, Renko A Wouters, Frank J G Backx, Edwin A Goedhart, Nick van der Horst","doi":"10.1080/24733938.2023.2261399","DOIUrl":"10.1080/24733938.2023.2261399","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>To investigate the incidence, type and location of growth-related sports injuries (GRSI) in youth professional football in the Netherlands. Secondary, to gain more knowledge on the injury severity and burden of GRSI.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>In this prospective, longitudinal cohort study, 813 players aged 10-18 are included. Data collection is performed by instructing the medical staff of six professional football club academies to register GRSI by means of standardized forms. Training and match exposure are registered individually on a weekly basis. Injury incidence was calculated as number of GRSI per 1000 hours, injury severity as the median number of days lost in categories and injury burden as the number of days lost per 1000 hours.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 62 GRSI were documented in the football season 2021-2022. The total incidence of GRSI was 0.62/1000 hours football exposure. Morbus Osgood Schlatter and Morbus Sever were most common types of GRSI, both with incidence rates of 0.22/1000 hours exposure. About 58.3% of the documented GRSI were classified as major (>28 days lost). Within this group, the mean severity was 55 days time-loss to football.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>GRSI are relatively common in youth professional football. The most common types are Morbus Sever and Morbus Osgood Schlatter. Morbus Osgood Schlatter has the highest injury severity and burden compared to other types of GRSI.</p>","PeriodicalId":74767,"journal":{"name":"Science & medicine in football","volume":" ","pages":"26-37"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41159948","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}