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  • 284 The effect of the fédération internationale de football association (FIFA) 11+ referees injury prevention program in reducing injury rates among soccer referees and assistant referees: a randomized controlled trial

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284 The effect of the fédération internationale de football association (FIFA) 11+ referees injury prevention program in reducing injury rates among soccer referees and assistant referees: a randomized controlled trial
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  1. Wesam Saleh A Al Attar1,2,3,
  2. Fahad M Alkabkabi1,
  3. Nasser G Alshamrani1,
  4. Saud Alarifi4,
  5. Hussain Saleh H Ghulam5,
  6. Hosam Alzahrani6,
  7. Eman F Aljedaani1,
  8. Ross H Sanders3
  1. 1Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Applied Medical Science, Umm Al Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
  2. 2Department of Sport, Exercise and Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
  3. 3Discipline of Exercise and Sport Science, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
  4. 4Department of Physical Therapy, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  5. 5Department of Rehabilitation Medical Sciences, Faculty of Applied Medical Science, Najran University, Najran, Saudi Arabia
  6. 6Department of Physiotherapy, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background The Fédération International de Football Association (FIFA) 11+ Referees injury prevention program is a structured warm-up program specially designed to prevent injuries among soccer referees and assistant referees and its efficacy is yet to be fully documented in the literature.

Objective The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of the FIFA 11+ Referees injury prevention program in reducing injury rates among soccer referees and assistant referees.

Design Randomized controlled trial.

Setting Competitive soccer.

Patients (or Participants) Two hundred male soccer referees and assistant referees aged (32±4.24), participated in this study. The participants were randomly allocated into the experimental or a control group.

Interventions (or Assessment of Risk Factors) The experimental group performed the FIFA 11+ program as warm-up during training sessions for at least twice a week, and the control group performed their usual warm-ups. Participants were prospectively followed during one season (6 months).

Main Outcome Measurements The primary outcome was to investigate the incidence of initial, recurrent injury and injury severity. The secondary outcome was to measure the rate of compliance by a review of the registered participations.

Results A total of 24 injuries were reported among 100 referees in the control group in 16,606 h of exposure (1.45 injuries/1000 h), and a total of 9 injuries were reported across 100 referees within the experimental group in 17,834 exposure hours (0.50 injuries/1000 h). The injury risk ratio IRR was 0.35 (95% CI 0.26 to 0.45), which indicates that the injuries in the experimental group reduced by 65% when compared to the control group.

Conclusions Implementation of the FIFA 11+ referees injury prevention program reduced overall injury rates in male soccer referees and assistant referees more than the usual warm-up.

https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2021-IOC.262

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