Community-driven injury prevention in youth female soccer

• Main Author: Frew, Kira
• Language: English
• Published: University of British Columbia 2013
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/44931

Introduction: Youth female soccer players are at high risk of lower-extremity (LE) injury. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have previously demonstrated the efficacy of team-based neuromuscular training in decreasing injury rates in youth female soccer players. In an RCT, the neuromuscular training program used in this study was efficacious in reducing the risk of all injuries by 38% and acute-onset injuries by 43% in youth soccer players. The aim of this thesis was to determine the effectiveness of such an injury prevention program when community initiated, taught and delivered. Research design: Historical cohort study Participants: In 2008, 23 teams participated in the collection of quality assurance data (n=351). In 2010, 15 teams completed the study (n=187). Players in both cohorts were ages 9 to 17. Intervention: The program included a team-based neuromuscular training warm-up (including dynamic stretching, strength, agility, plyometric and balance components) and an individual home-based wobble board training program. Main outcome measures: Soccer injury resulting in time loss of one week or more. A soccer injury was defined as any injury occurring during soccer activity resulting in medical attention and/or the removal of the player from the current session and/or subsequent time loss of at least one soccer session as a direct result of that injury. Results: In study 1, the Risk Ratios (RR) comparing the intervention season to the control season were: all injury (RR, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.37-1.45), acute-onset injury (RR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.33-1.44) and LE injury (RR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.34-1.64). In study 2, there was evidence that player position and right knee flexion-to-extension ratio were significant risk factors for injury in youth female soccer players participating in an injury prevention program. Conclusions: RR point estimates suggest that a community-driven team-based neuromuscular training program may be protective of all injury, acute-onset injury and LE injury in youth female soccer players. The magnitude of this effect is similar to that previously determined in RCT studies examining a similar neuromuscular training program. Future research should focus on the implementation context of delivery of such a program to evaluate adherence and maintenance in a youth soccer population. === Medicine, Faculty of === Medicine, Department of === Experimental Medicine, Division of === Graduate