ArticlePloS one2022
Use of GPS to measure external load and estimate the incidence of muscle injuries in men's football: A novel descriptive study.
Article in PloS one, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- High-speed running and injury risk in soccer: a systematic review.Frontiers in public health · 2026Pooled it
- Using Match Reference Values of External Load to Monitor Performance and Fatigue in Football: Are We Looking the Right Way?Sports medicine - open · 2026Article
- Monitoring Match-Related Fatigue in Youth Rugby Players Using a Readiness Index and Clinical Tests.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Comparison of the Most Demanding Periods in Three Categories of Female's Soccer: A Double View from the Player and the Team.Journal of human kinetics · 2026Article
- The Influence of Individualization in External Load Control on Anaerobic Performance in a Women's Soccer Team.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Development and validation of a machine learning model for non-contact injury prediction based on lower limb strength asymmetry in professional football.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- How do muscle injuries relate to return-to-performance metrics in male elite football players?Biology of sport · 2026Article
- Prediction of football injuries using GPS-based data in Iranian professional football players: a machine learning approach.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2025Article
- Analyzing the impact of non-participation in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 on LaLiga players' physical performance.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2024Article
- Characterization of acute effects of football competition on hamstring muscles by muscle functional MRI techniques.PloS one · 2024Article
- Performance and healthcare analysis in elite sports teams using artificial intelligence: a scoping review.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2024Article
- Weekly External Load Performance Effects on Sports Injuries of Male Professional Football Players.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Effect of playing position and microcycle days on the acceleration speed profile of elite football players.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Machine Learning for Predicting Lower Extremity Muscle Strain in National Basketball Association Athletes.Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine · 2022Article
- Nutritional Intake and Training Load of Professional Female Football Players during a Mid-Season Microcycle.Nutrients · 2022Article
- A targeted metabolic analysis of football players and its association to player load: Comparison between women and men profiles.Frontiers in physiology · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 6 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Measurement of external load in players provides objective information to optimise the weekly balance between training and recovery to improve performance and prevent injuries. Our aim was to evaluate the incidence of sports-related muscle injuries of the lower limb in relation to external load, measured by global positioning system (GPS), in football players. A descriptive study was carried out. Data were collected from 71 professional male football players (30 professionals and 41 youth players) from an elite football club competing in the Spanish and European League in the 2017-2018 season. As external load variables, we measured High Metabolic Load Distance (HMLD), High Speed Running (HSR), Player Load (PL), and Total Distance (TD) through GPS. Injury rate (IR) was calculated both in relation to such GPS load metrics and to load exposure time. We considered categories (youth and professional), playing positions (centre back, full back, midfielder, and forward), and training day with respect to match-day (-4MD, -3MD, -2MD, -1MD, MD, +1MD, +2MD). The GPS load metrics HMLD, HSR, PL, and TD showed very similar patterns across categories and positions, but varied according to training session or MD. The highest loads were observed on MD and three days prior to the match (-3MD). Similarly, the overall IR, both calculated per load exposure time and per GPS load metrics, was highest on MD and -3MD. Again, no differences were observed between youth and professional players. Midfielders demonstrated the highest IR in all metrics, followed by the forwards. In conclusion, this study suggests that external load and incidence of muscle injuries are directly proportional. Therefore, the measurement of more external load variables other than load exposure time, such as the GPS metrics HMLD, HSR, PL, and TD may help to describe the pattern and magnitude of injuries. Future studies based on ours may help to further improve the understanding of the incidence of muscle injuries on the basis of external loads measurements in different football teams.
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