LaLiga Lockdown: Conditioning Strategy and Adaptation to In-Game Regulations during COVID-19 Pandemic Prevented an Increase in Injury Incidence

Víctor Moreno-Pérez, Jon Patricios, Narciso Amigo de Bonet, Miguel Ángel Buil, Josu Díaz de Alda, Andrés Fernández-Posada, Oliver Gonzalo-Skok, Sergio Jiménez-Rubio, Alberto Lam, Josean Lekue, Roberto López-Del Campo, Alejandro López-Valenciano, Gil Rodas, José Romero-Sangüesa, Xabier Valencia-Murua, Xavier Yanguas-Leyes, José Conde and Juan Del Coso
Additional contact information
Víctor Moreno-Pérez: Sports Research Center, Miguel Hernandez University of Elche, 03202 Alicante, Spain
Jon Patricios: Wits Sport and Health (WiSH), Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Clinical Medicine, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2193, South Africa
Narciso Amigo de Bonet: Medical Department, Real Club Deportivo Espanyol, 08940 Barcelona, Spain
Miguel Ángel Buil: Department of Sports Medicine, Levante U.D., 46360 Valencia, Spain
Josu Díaz de Alda: Medical Service Department, Alavés Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, 1007 Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
Andrés Fernández-Posada: Club Athlético Osasuna Medical Service, 31192 Pamplona, Spain
Oliver Gonzalo-Skok: Faculty of Health Sciences, University of San Jorge, 50830 Zaragoza, Spain
Sergio Jiménez-Rubio: Performance Department, Getafe C.F., 28903 Madrid, Spain
Alberto Lam: Department of Sports Medicine, Leganes C.D., 28918 Madrid, Spain
Josean Lekue: Medical Services, Athletic Club, 48196 Lezama, Spain
Roberto López-Del Campo: Department of Competitions and Mediacoach, LaLiga, 28043 Madrid, Spain
Alejandro López-Valenciano: Centre for Sport Studies, Rey Juan Carlos University, 28943 Fuenlabrada, Spain
Gil Rodas: Futbol Club Barcelona, Medical Department, FIFA Center of Excellence, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
José Romero-Sangüesa: Sports Performance Department, Alavés Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, 01007 Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
Xabier Valencia-Murua: Medical Services, Sociedad Deportiva Eibar, 20600 Eibar, Spain
Xavier Yanguas-Leyes: Futbol Club Barcelona, Medical Department, FIFA Center of Excellence, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
José Conde: Performance Department, Sevilla C.F., 41005 Sevilla, Spain
Juan Del Coso: Centre for Sport Studies, Rey Juan Carlos University, 28943 Fuenlabrada, Spain

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 5, 1-11

Abstract: The first division of Spanish professional football ( LaLiga ) was suspended for 12 weeks as part of the policies enforced by health authorities during the first wave of COVID-19. During this period, players were confined to home for 8 weeks, followed by a club-based retraining period of 4 weeks. Afterwards, LaLiga’s teams completed 11 matches, with approximately 3 days of recovery between matches, to finish the competition. The aim of this investigation was to determine whether there is a difference in mean injury incidence in LaLiga players between the pre-lockdown period and post-lockdown period. A total of 277 players belonging to 11 teams competing in LaLiga were monitored during the 2019–2020 season. Injury incidence in the 27 matchdays completed before the lockdown was compared to the last 11 matchdays completed after the resumption of the competition. In comparison to the period before the suspension, the resumption of the championship did not significantly affect the injury incidence (4.2 vs. 5.4 injuries per 1000 h of exposure, p = 0.338). Injury incidence before suspension and after resumption of the competition was similar for muscle (2.6 vs. 3.4 injuries per 1000 h of exposure, p = 0.152) and ligament injuries (0.8 vs. 0.4 injuries per 1000 h of exposure, p = 0.062). The resumption of the competition also did not modify the distribution of injury according to body location ( p = 0.948), injury type ( p = 0.766), mode of onset ( p = 0.614), severity ( p = 0.065), or player position ( p = 0.295). In summary, mean injury incidence in LaLiga players was similar before and after the lockdown. It is probable that the conditioning strategy adopted by clubs before the resumption of LaLiga and the adaptation of some in-game regulations helped to avoid an increased injury rate after the lockdown.

Keywords: soccer; injury risk; elite athlete; football performance; muscle injury (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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