By Dev K. Mishra, M.D.
I’m a big believer in using warmup-based training programs as part of the overall effort to reduce the numbers of injuries in athletes. I’ve
Over time, additional positive evidence has surfaced. In Europe, the FIFA 11+ hasbeen used in sports outside soccer such as basketball, and some new training methods have also been developed. A study publishedin September 2016 in the American Journal of Sports Medicine came to one solid conclusion: these training methods are effective in reducing injury rates for adolescent athletes in a variety ofsports, and teams would be wise to implement one of these.
The study is a “meta analysis,” where results from several studies arepooled and statistically analyzed for quality and strength of the evidence. Ten independently produced studies were analyzed. The pooled results demonstrated a significant injury rate reduction withthe use of injury prevention programs vs. control interventions overall.
Interestingly, basketball/team handball experienced a greater injury rate reduction with injury prevention programsthan in soccer. Non-FIFA11+ programs experienced a larger injury reduction rate than FIFA11+ programs. But results for all the programs were impressive.
Here are some of the key findings:
• Five of the included studies used the FIFA11+ injury prevention program, while the remaining five studies investigated generic programs with warm-up, stretching, strengthening, and balanceboard exercises.
• Injury prevention programs were associated with a statistically significant 40% reduction in injury rate over a total of 756,461 training and match exposure hours whencompared to control groups.
• Team andball/basketball experienced a 51% reduction in injury rate with injury prevention programs vs. control while a 30% reduction was observed in soccer.
• Non-FIFA11+ programs were associated with a 48% reduction in injury rate compared to control while FIFA11+ programs demonstrated a 32% reduction in injury rate.
The results of thisstudy suggest that the consistent use of injury prevention programs can help to reduce the risk of injury in adolescents competing in team sports. Further research is necessary to dig deeper into thepossible differences of the training programs by sport, but overall I would have to say that all of the programs showed large reductions in injury rates.
The improvements are so large withessentially no downside that I think every youth sport organization should be recommending one of these for their members.
Search yourlocal sport organization or children’s hospital for programs you can use; there are quite a few in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. If you live in the New York City area I like the
Bottom line: injury prevention programs are effective inreducing injury rates for adolescent athletes. Find one and use one.
Key Points:
• Warmup-based injury prevention programs such as the FIFA 11+and others show a dramatic reduction in injury rates for young athletes.
• The results are so impressive that I believe all youth sport organizations should recommend one of thesewarmup-based injury prevention programs for their young athletes.
(Dr. Dev K.Mishra, a Clinical Assistant Professor of orthopedic surgery at Stanford University, is the creator of the SidelineSportsDoc.com online injury-recognition course, now a requirement for US ClubSoccer coaches and staff members. Mishra writes about injury management at SidelineSportsDoc.com Blog, where this article firstappeared.)
Thank you for that very informative and interesting article.
This is good but it leaves out the fundermentals of what can quickly cause some injuries regardless of how much stretching one does.. and that’s correcting eating.. the player must reduce sugar intake and increase potassium intake, this basically helps reduce the amount of acid that is associated with damage limbs like hamstrings injury.. Sometimes it’s good to take a hint from runners.. in addition one must watch out for muscle fatigue this can come into play from coaches that loves train hard like the great one Zidane who is now realizing that hard coaching every day creates muscle fatigue and risk players getting injured..
Great article and the need for a proper warm up can never be stressed enough. One thing I would like to see researched is the changes in warm up needed for girls versus boys. As girls enter their teenage years they undergo some dramatic changes that seems to make them more prone to ACL injuries. In fact, most reports say girls are 3 to 9 times more likely to sustain an ACL injury. In addition, I think club coaches to a poor job of advising the proper cleats to be worn for their playing surface. Reports show wearing “traditional cleats” on turf increase the likelihood of AC: injuries. Check out this article for more information: http://soccerhotspot.com/how-to-avoid-knee-injuries-on-turf-research-says-its-in-the-shoes/It's time to ban traditional cleats on turf!