ArticleKnee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA2020
Prevention of severe knee injuries in men's elite football by implementing specific training modules.
Article in Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 44 citations in OpenAlex.
- Injury risk reduction programs including balance training reduce the incidence of anterior cruciate ligament injuries in soccer players: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2025Pooled it
- Exercise-Based Training Strategies to Reduce the Incidence or Mitigate the Risk Factors of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury in Adult Football (Soccer) Players: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- A Position-Specific, Time-Efficient Warm-Up Injury Prevention Program in Male Football Players: A Season-Long Intervention Study.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Exercise-Based Strategies from Warm-Up to Training: A Systematic Review of Performance Enhancement and Injury Prevention.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Sport-specific differences in ACL injury, treatment and return to sports: Football.Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA · 2025Review
- Is the FIFA 11+ Warm-Up Effective for Inducing Acute Knee Adaptations in Recreational Soccer Players?Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2025Article
- Return to Soccer After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: An Outcome or a Decision?Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine · 2024Article
- [Ligamentous and meniscal injuries of the pediatric knee joint].Orthopadie (Heidelberg, Germany) · 2024Article
- Four distinct patterns of anterior cruciate ligament injury in women's professional football (soccer): a systematic video analysis of 37 match injuries.British journal of sports medicine · 2024Article
- [Injury prevention in football : A challenge for team doctors and coaching team].Orthopadie (Heidelberg, Germany) · 2024Article
- Injury Patterns and Incidence in an Elite Youth Football Academy-A Prospective Cohort Study of 138 Male Athletes.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Article
- Contemporary practices of physical trainers in professional soccer: A qualitative study.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Article
- No increased injury incidence in the German Bundesliga after the SARS-CoV-2 virus lockdown.Archives of orthopaedic and trauma surgery · 2022Article
- Review
- Higher risk of ACL rupture in amateur football compared to professional football: 5-year results of the 'Anterior cruciate ligament-registry in German football'.Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA · 2022Article
- Increased occurrence of ACL injuries for football players in teams changing coach and for players going to a higher division.Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA · 2022Article
- Football-related injuries are the major reason for the career end of professional male football players.Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA · 2021Article
- Injury Profile and Sex-Specific Differences in Bubble-Soccer - A First Scientific Survey of a Dangerous New Sports Trend.Open access journal of sports medicine · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeInjury prevention of knee injuries by means of training and warm-up exercises has been investigated in several studies in amateur football. However, the number of investigations in elite football is limited despite the currently higher injury incidence of severe knee injuries. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate whether specifically adapted preventive training modules may reduce severe knee injuries in elite football.
methodsIn a prospective controlled cohort study of elite football players in Germany, an injury prevention programme with 5 modules was implemented in the season of 2015-2016. The training modules were specifically adapted to this skill level and based on scientific evidence, team coach preferences, and the specific environment of this playing level. Of the 62 teams taking part in this study, 26 used the new trainings modules and 36 continued their standard programme as a control group. Success of the programme was documented by means of an injury report over one season. The primary outcome was reduction in severe knee injuries.
resultsA pre-seasonal investigation had identified five modules to be implemented in the training routine. Postural stability, mobilisation of lower extremity joints, leg and trunk stabilisation, jumping, and landing exercises as well as agility movements were incorporated into the programme to prevent severe knee injuries in elite football. Over the season, the study group (529 players) with the adapted training modules had sustained 52 severe knee injuries (incidence: 0.38 per 1000 h football exposure; prevalence: 9.8%) compared to 108 severe knee injuries in the control group (601 players) using the standard programme (incidence: 0.68 per 1000 h football exposure; prevalence: 18.0%; p < 0.05). The overall injury incidence for any other type of injury was comparable between the two groups (3.3 vs. 3.4 in h 1000 football, n.s.).
conclusionAppropriate preventive training modules reduce severe knee injuries in elite football significantly. The key for the sustainability of preventive training measures are programmes specifically adapted to the demands of the playing level and to the preferences of the coaches LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: II.
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