Background: Football is the most popular sport among women; however, little is known about the injury profile in this population. This information would help design tailored injury risk mitigation strategies that may make football safer for women.Objective: The aim of this study was to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of epidemiological data of injuries in women´s football.Methods: A systematic review following PRISMA guidelines was performed up to January 2020 in PubMed, Web of Science, Sport discus and the Cochrane Library databases. Twenty-one studies reporting the incidence of injuries in women football were analysed. Two reviewers independently extracted data (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] for inter-reviewer reliability = 0.87) and assessed study quality using the STROBE statement, GRADE approach, Newcastle Ottawa Scale and Downs and Black assessment tools. Studies were combined in pooled analyses (injury incidence and injury proportion) using a Poisson random effects regression model. Results:The overall incidence of injuries in female football players was 6.1 injuries/1000 hours of exposure.Match injury incidence (19.2 injuries/1000 hours of exposure) was almost six times higher than training injury incidence rate (3.5 injuries/1000 hours of exposure). Lower extremity injuries had the highest incidence rates (4.8 injuries/1000 hours of exposure). The most common types of injuries were muscle/tendon (1.8 injuries/1000 hours of exposure) and joint (non-bone) and ligament (1.5 injuries/1000 hours of exposure), which were frequently associated with traumatic incidents. Slight/minimal injuries (1-3 days of time loss) were the most common. The incidence rate of injuries during matches in the top 5 world ranking leagues was higher than the rest of the leagues (19.3 vs 10.7 injuries/1000 hours of exposure, respectively). The weighted injury proportion was 1.1 (95% confidence interval = 0.6-1.7) whereby on average players sustained more than one injury per season. Conclusions:Female football players are exposed to a substantial risk of sustaining injuries, especially during matches that require the highest level of performance. In order to markedly reduce overall injury burden, efforts should focus on introducing and evaluating preventative measures that target match specific dynamics in order to make football players more capable of responding to the challenges that they have to deal with during match play.Registration: This systematic review was registered in the PROSPERO international prospective register of systematic reviews (ID = CRD42019118152). Key pointsa) Match injury incidence is almost 6 times higher than the training injury incidence rate.-I b) Lower extremity is the anatomical region more frequently injured and the most common types of injuries are muscle/ tendon strains and joint (non-bone) and ligament. c) Although slight/minimal injuries are the most common, the number of severe injuries is high. d) Match injury incidence rates in the top-5 world ranking leagues was nearly t...

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Castillo, D, Raya-González, J, Weston, M, and Yanci, J. Distribution of external load during acquisition training sessions and match play of a professional soccer team. J Strength Cond Res 35(12): 3453–3458, 2021—The aim of this study was to use global position systems to analyze the external loads of the 3 different acquisition training sessions (ATS) with competitive matches in professional soccer players over a 6-week period. Sixteen professional soccer players participated in the study, which analyzed the distribution of external load during the training microcycle of a professional soccer team. The 3 types of ATS undertaken by the players were as follows: ATS1 (strength), ATS2 (endurance), and ATS3 (speed). The total distance covered, the distance covered at above 14 km·h−1, the distance covered >21 km·h−1, the number of high accelerations (>3 m·s−2), and player load were recorded. The results showed that external loads were consistently higher during matches when compared with all training sessions (range of effect sizes: 1.06–3.38). Between training session comparisons revealed higher external loads during ATS1 and ATS2, when compared with ATS3 (range of effect sizes: 0.60–2.41). The only external load variable that differed between ATS1 and ATS2 was the distance covered >21 km·h−1, which was higher for ATS1. Our findings suggest that technical staff should consider the physical demands of weekly periodization to understand the training process regarding optimizing player physical performance.

The results of this study suggest that internal load markers are not associated with non-contact injuries in young soccer players and present poor predictive capacity with regards to the latter.

The aims of the current systematic review were to evaluate the current literature surrounding the chronic effect of flywheel training on the physical capacities of soccer players, and to identify areas for future research to establish guidelines for its use. Studies were identified following a search of electronic databases (PubMed and SPORTDiscus) in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Protocols (PRISMA). Eleven studies met the inclusion criteria and were included. The methodological quality of the included studies ranged between 10 and 18 with an average score of 15 points using the PEDro scale.The training duration ranged from 6 weeks to 27 weeks, with volume ranging from 1 to 6 sets and 6 to 10 repetitions, and frequency from 1 to 2 times a week. This systematic review reported that a diverse range of flywheel training interventions can effectively improve strength, power, jump, and changes of direction in male soccer players of varying levels. Flywheel training interventions improve the physical capacities of soccer players of varying levels. Nonetheless, the current literature suggests contrasting evidence regarding flywheel training induced changes in sprint speed and acceleration capacity of soccer players.