Abstract
Background: Effects of internal and external workloads (IL, EL) on lower limb soft-tissue injuries (LLSTI) risk in male soccer players has been described, the relationships remain unclear in collegiate female (soccer players. Objective: The purpose was to examine the mean difference in IL and EL in LLSTI between non-injured and injured groups (N-IG and IG). Method: 20 collegiate female soccer players (age: 19.2±1.2years; height: 168.2±7.3cm; body mass: 41.0±17.9kg) were included for 14 week competitive season. IL included average heart rate (Avg-HR) and high heart rate zone. EL included total distance, average speed (Avg-Spd), and high-speed running distance. Injuries were counted if (a) they were LLSTI and muscular/ligamentous strains or tears and tendon problems, and (b) the players missed more than one match or training session. Acute (7-day simple average) and chronic (21-day simple average) IL and EL were calculated in the IG while the mean of acute (7-day) and chronic (21-day) IL and EL were computed in the NIG. Acute Chronic Workload Ratio (ACWR) was calculated as the ratio of acute and chronic IL and EL. Results: Seven LLSTI occurred over 14 weeks. The acute Avg-HR and ACWR of Avg-Spd were significantly higher in the IG than the N-IG (p=0.001 and 0.024). IL and EL in the IG were placed below or above the mean of the N-IG. Conclusion: LLSTI might occur at high and low workloads in collegiate female soccer players. This may support the use of micro-technology to monitor workload based on individual player’s threshold to reduce LLSTI.
Highlights
Soccer is the world’s most popular sport (Kunz, 2007) and is played by all genders and ages at a variety of competitive levels
One injury occurred on the third day of the season, acute to chronic workload ratio (ACWR) analysis was not performed for the injury
The primary findings were (a) the acute Avg-heart rate (HR) in the injured group was statistically higher than the non-injured group, (b) ACWR of average speed (Avg-Spd) in the injured group was statistically higher than the non-injured group, by 0.07, and (c) the injured group sustained injury when the workloads were extremely high or low compared to the mean of the non-injured group
Summary
Soccer is the world’s most popular sport (Kunz, 2007) and is played by all genders and ages at a variety of competitive levels. In National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I female soccer in North America, players participate in approximately 20 to 25 matches over a 12 to 14 week season. This requires appropriate rest between matches to be allocated to maintain physical performance and minimize the risk of injuries (Andersson et al, 2008; Rollo, Impellizzeri, Zago, & Iaia, 2014). Conclusion: LLSTI might occur at high and low workloads in collegiate female soccer players. This may support the use of micro-technology to monitor workload based on individual player’s threshold to reduce LLSTI
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