Association of Peak Height Velocity and Skeletal Maturity to Injury Incidence in Male Elite Adolescent Football (Soccer) Players—A Systematic Review

Objective

To analyze the impact of peak height velocity (PHV) and skeletal maturity on the injury incidence and injury burden in adolescent football (soccer) players.

Methods

PubMed, Scopus, SPORTDiscus, and Web of Science databases were searched in March 2023, for observational studies focusing on PHV or skeletal maturity status and injuries in youth football players. Risk of bias assessment was performed using the Newcastle Ottawa Scale. The evidence of certainty of outcomes was ranked according to GRADE. We did not conduct statistical meta-analysis synthesis of the results due to substantial heterogeneity in the methods and limited reporting of the original studies.

Results

A total of 699 abstracts were screened, and 12 studies were included for review. Eight studies analyzed players regarding the PHV status, and four regarding the skeletal maturity. The certainty of evidence for both outcomes was very low. Regarding PHV, the injury incidence and injury burden were highest in the circa-PHV group in five studies, highest in post-PHV in two studies, and lowest in pre-PHV group in all but one study. Regarding skeletal maturity, in two studies, the injury incidence was highest in early mature and in one study it was highest in normal maturers, with no detectable differences between the groups. In one study, the injury burden was highest in the early maturers.

Conclusion

Injury incidence and injury burden may be increased during the peak high-velocity growth period in male elite-level adolescent football players. It is unclear whether the level of skeletal maturity affects the injury incidence or injury burden.