Preventing lower limb injuries: Is the latest evidence being translated into the football field?

Abstract

There is accumulating international evidence that lower limb injuries in sport can be prevented through targeted training but the extent to which this knowledge has been translated to real-world sporting practice is not known. A semi-structured questionnaire of all coaches from the nine Sydney Australian Football League Premier Division teams was conducted. Information was sought about their knowledge and behaviours in relation to delivering training programs, including their uptake of the latest scientific evidence for injury prevention. Direct observation of a sample of the coach-delivered training sessions was also undertaken to validate the questionnaire. Coaches ranked training session elements directly related to the game as being of most importance. They strongly favoured warming-up and cooling-down as injury prevention measures but changing direction and side-stepping training was considered to be of little/no importance for safety. Only one-third believed that balance training had some importance for injury prevention, despite accumulating scientific evidence to the contrary. Drills, set play, ball handling and kicking skills were all considered to be of least importance to injury prevention. These views were consistent with the content of the observed coach-led training sessions. In conclusion, current football training sessions do not give adequate attention to the development of skills most likely to reduce the risk of lower limb injury in players. There is a need to improve the translation of the latest scientific evidence about effective injury prevention into coaching practices.

Coaches' perspectives on implementing an evidence-informed injury prevention programme in junior community netball

“…In support of existing research12 13 it seems that incorporating D2E into existing coaching workshops and/or accreditation courses would be the most appropriate way to encourage coaches to implement the programme. This would facilitate the dissemination of critical information about correct landing techniques, motor learning concepts and how to access resources, thereby addressing some of the barriers identified to facilitate the adoption of D2E.…”

“…The reach of the current study expanded from the original efficacy study 28. Using coach training as a delivery platform; a key factor for effective translation of scientific evidence into practice,12 13 the capacity to reach a large number of junior community netball players that could not be reached otherwise was enhanced. In total, approximately half of junior players and coaches of junior players from the target age groups within an association were exposed to D2E.…”

“…In addition, coaches believed that players would be engaging in injury prevention practice without consciously being aware of it. Alternatively, a performance-enhancing benefit has been identified by coaches12 and players5 as a factor that would be likely to enhance the adoption of an injury prevention programme. Future injury prevention intervention research, particularly in netball, should thus consider the context in which the programme is promoted.…”

“…While such programmes currently exist, very few have been implemented with junior players of team sports for whom the rate and impact of injury is high 7–9. Given the importance of coaches in delivering training programmes and other safety initiatives to players,10 11 it is surprising that there have been very few studies of their injury prevention practices, safety promotion attitudes and ongoing role in implementing injury prevention programmes 12 13. Although coaches may not always have direct access to the latest injury prevention research evidence to inform their coaching practices, they do support implementing specific training programmes that can improve both player performance and reduce the risk of injury 12…”

Injury Incidence, Risk Factors and Prevention in Australian Rules Football

“…Current training practice for most football clubs has moved away from aerobic-based training to sport-specific training, which includes repeated high-intensity efforts and game simulation drills, some components of this multifaceted intervention study are now recommended as part of normal training programmes [60,61]. A countermeasure to reduce injury risk is more likely to be adopted by coaches [62] and athletes [63] if it also enhances performances, so including sport-specific drills as part of a structured training or warm-up is appealing. A RCT has examined the benefits of eccentric exercise on the occurrence of hamstring strain injuries in amateur players from seven ARF clubs [59].…”