The Effect of FIFA Comprehensive Warm Up Program “11+” for the Prevention of Ankle Injuries in Soccer Players: A Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Introduction: Ankle sprains are most frequent injuries in soccer. Previous studies showed that FIFA comprehensive warm up program 11+ reduce sport injuries but to date there is limited information on effectiveness of this program on prevention of ankle injuries. Thus, the aim of this randomized controlled Trial was to determine the effect of FIFA comprehensive warm-up program for the prevention of ankle injuries in male young soccer players. Materials and Methods: 980 male young soccer players from 35 teams participated in this study. Teams were randomly assigned to an intervention (n = 17 teams, 476 players) or a control group (n = 18 teams, 504 players). Teams in the intervention group performed the +11 at least twice a week as warm up prior training throughout the season. All participants of the control group continued their practice sessions as usual. All soccer-related injuries and player exposure to practice sessions and matches was registered prospectively by the coaches and medical staffs. Results: During 7-month season, we recorded 67383 hours players’ exposure and 1220 soccer related injuries. Poisson distribution showed that ankle injury rate in the intervention group (3.65 injuries/1000 h) was significantly lower than ankle injury rate in the control group (6.84 injuries/1000 h), (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The FIFA 11+ warm-up program is effective in reducing the rates of ankle injuries in male young soccer players. Thus, we recommend young players and their coaches’ use this program as warm up before start training sessions.