The impact of simulated soccer match-play on hip and hamstring strength in academy soccer players

ABSTRACT

Introduction

Together, the burden of hamstring and hip and groin injuries in soccer is substantial and the risk of re-injury in these areas is high. Reduced muscle strength has been identified as an important modifiable intrinsic risk factor of injury. However, little is known regarding the within-match changes in hip and hamstring muscle strength in order to inform early detection and management strategies.

Methods

Seventy-one male soccer players (age, 19.2 ± 0.9 yrs; height, 175.9 ± 5.8 cm; weight, 73 ±8.2 kg) from an international academy completed a fixed soccer-specific activity profile (SAFT⁹⁰). Isometric hip and eccentric hamstring strength were measured after a standardised 5-min warm-up and repeated at half time and full time. Repeated-measures ANOVA were used to determine changes in muscle strength with magnitude-based decisions used to express probabilistic uncertainty.

Results

Findings indicate that i) there was likely to very likely substantial changes in isometric hip strength (−9.9–15.7%) and ii) no substantial changes in eccentric hamstring strength (−2.6–5.1%).

Discussion

By extrapolating these findings, it can be inferred that reduced isometric hip strength during match play may be one risk factor for injury, especially during periods of fixture congestion and practitioners should routinely assess muscle strength to inform training and match exposure based on player readiness. In doing so, it is likely that practitioners may enhance player availability and minimise injury incidence.

KEYWORDS:

• Hip and groin
• eccentric hamstring
• strength
• fatigue
• soccer
• youth

Acknowledgements

Thank you to the i2i International Soccer Academy for facilitating the research and to Vald Performance for the loan of the GroinBar.

Data Availability

The data that support the findings of this study are openly available at the Open Science Framework at DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/A9ZMY

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

No funding is associated with this study.