The use of recovery strategies by Spanish first division soccer teams: a cross-sectional survey

ABSTRACT

Objectives

different active and passive post-exercise recovery techniques such as massage, foam rolling, stretching or ice baths among others, are used by elite athletes to promote effective physiological, physical, and mental restoration. However, limited research is available investigating the use of recovery strategies in professional soccer. As such, we aimed to explore and describe the use of strategies by professional teams throughout the season, describing competitive and preparatory phases.

Methods

the present study collected data from all professional Spanish soccer teams who played in ‘LaLiga’ (The Spanish first division), during the season 2018–2019 (n = 20) and the ones promoted for the season 2019–2020 (n = 3). A six-section online survey was responded once.

Results

teams used different recovery protocols and combinations, although natural and physical strategies such as sleep/nap, food/fluid replacement, cold/ice bath/shower/immersion, and massage were always present. However, there is no agreement in the protocols and timings employed. Three physical strategies showed a higher presence in the recovery protocols after competition: cold/ice bath/shower/immersion, massage and foam rolling; always used by seventeen teams (74%), sixteen (70%) and thirteen (57%) respectively. The design and supervision of recovery are multidisciplinary tasks in 87% of the teams. Our findings also demonstrate that although there is a body of scientific evidence on recovery, a gap between theory and practice exists with 13% of the teams acknowledging that insufficient logistics and economic resources limit the use of some strategies, and two teams (9%) not periodizing or individualizing recovery.

Conclusion

the investigation provided insight into the current use of recovery strategies by ‘LaLiga’ teams, highlighting that all clubs used them to one extent or another, but also that significant variability responding to individualized perceptions exists. Moreover, this study provides relevant contextual information that may be useful for professional soccer staff concerning the use of recovery strategies.

KEYWORDS:

• Football
• recovery methods
• professional players
• questionnaire
• team sports

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to express their gratitude to all the participants of this study. They also want to thank Dr. Fiona Crowther, and Dr. Rachel Venter, who gently made available the surveys used in their investigations. We would also thank Mrs. Yolanda Damià and Dr. Rafael Ramos from “Asociación Española de Médicos de Equipos de Fútbol” (AEMEF), who provided the club contacts and to Lucia Carrani who helped us with the data processing.

Declaration of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest relevant to the content of this manuscript. This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.