Weekly External Load Performance Effects on Sports Injuries of Male Professional Football Players

Francisco Martins, Adilson Marques (), Cíntia França, Hugo Sarmento, Ricardo Henriques, Andreas Ihle, Marcelo de Maio Nascimento, Carolina Saldanha, Krzysztof Przednowek and Élvio Rúbio Gouveia
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Francisco Martins: Department of Physical Education and Sport, University of Madeira, 9020-105 Funchal, Portugal
Adilson Marques: CIPER, Faculty of Human Kinetics, University of Lisbon, 1495-751 Lisbon, Portugal
Cíntia França: Department of Physical Education and Sport, University of Madeira, 9020-105 Funchal, Portugal
Hugo Sarmento: University of Coimbra, Research Unit for Sport and Physical Activity (CIDAF), Faculty of Sport Sciences and Physical Education, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal
Ricardo Henriques: Marítimo da Madeira—Futebol, SAD, 9020-208 Funchal, Portugal
Andreas Ihle: Department of Psychology, University of Geneva, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland
Marcelo de Maio Nascimento: Department of Physical Education, Federal University of Vale do São Francisco, Petrolina 56304-917, Brazil
Carolina Saldanha: University of Coimbra, Research Unit for Sport and Physical Activity (CIDAF), Faculty of Sport Sciences and Physical Education, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal
Krzysztof Przednowek: Institute of Physical Culture Sciences, Medical College, University of Rzeszów, 35-959 Rzeszów, Poland
Élvio Rúbio Gouveia: Department of Physical Education and Sport, University of Madeira, 9020-105 Funchal, Portugal

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 2, 1-12

Abstract: One of the most challenging issues professional football players face throughout their careers is injuries. Those injuries often result from suboptimal training programs that were not designed according to the players’ individual needs. This prospective study aimed to examine in detail the effects of sports injuries on professional football players’ weekly external load performances. Thirty-three male professional football players were monitored using 10-Hz Global Positioning System (GPS) units (Apex pro series, StatSports) during an entire season. The variables considered in the analysis were total distance (TD), high-speed running (HSR), accelerations (ACC), and decelerations (DEC). The comparisons were made between the four-week block before injury (–4T), four-week block after return (+4T), and players’ season averages (S). Players displayed significantly higher values of TD, HSR, ACC, and DEC in the –4T, compared to the other two moments (+4T and S). Furthermore, the comparison between the +4T and S showed no significant variations in the GPS metrics. It was shown that a significant increase in players’ weekly external load performance over a four–week period may have a negative effect on the occurrence of injuries from a professional football standpoint. Future research should consider the effects of injury severity on players’ external load variations.

Keywords: soccer; risk factors of injury; injury prevention; GPS; sports monitoring (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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