Summary of soccer studies including design, intervention, and results
| First author | Study design | Quality rating | Study aim | Study setting | Study participants/targets | Intervention type | Primary outcome measure | Conclusion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ekstand | RCT | Poor (2/5) | Test a multicomponent prophylactic training programme delivered by (1) trainers and physiotherapists and (2) coaches | Community soccer league | 180 male players aged 17–36 years participating in 12 teams from a Swedish community soccer league; 15 best players per team selected | Education: special warm up/cool down training; information to coaches and players; correction and supervision of training. Environmental: leg guards, ankle taping | Injury incidence & absence from games and practices | After a six-month follow up, there were 75% fewer injuries in the intervention teams. There were also lower levels of ankle, knee strains, sprains, operations, and absence from games among the intervention teams. Additional follow up that did not adhere to the randomisation showed a lesser degree of injury reduction when coaches delivered the intervention |
| Caraffa | Non-equivalent control group | Moderate (10/14) | Assess the ability of a proprioceptive training programme to reduce the incidence of ACL injuries | Community sport club/40 semi-professional and amateur teams | 40 teams of male professional and amateur soccer players in Italy (age not reported) | Education: pre-season, 5-phase training programme of increasing difficulty. At least 20 min a day for a min. of 30 days | Incidence of ACL injuries | The frequency of ACL injuries in the proprioceptive-trained group showed a sevenfold reduction over the control group |
| Elias | Time series | Moderate (8/15) | Assess the effects of emergency preventive measures to prevent heat exhaustion | Summer youth soccer tournament | 4000 male and female players aged 9–19 years exposed to preventive measures at tournament | Regulatory: game modifications: shorter game times, longer breaks, unlimited substitutions. Environmental: spraying players with water | Incidence of heat exhaustion | Rate of heat exhaustion per 1000 player hours decreased after implementation of emergency measures |
| Lehnhard | Time series | Moderate (7/14) | Determine whether strength training had an effect on the incidence of injuries | College soccer team | A team of college level male soccer players in the United States (age not reported) | Education: twice weekly strength training sessions during the non-season and the preseason | Incidence of injuries (team injury rates) | Reduction in team injury rates |