Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36527592›Full record

SynthesisSports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.)2023

The Effects of Fixture Congestion on Injury in Professional Male Soccer: A Systematic Review.

Richard Michael Page, Adam Field, Ben Langley, Liam David Harper, Ross Julian

Open access · hybridAbstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
31citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
7.4field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

31 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 45 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Richard Michael PageDepartment of Sport and Physical Activity, Edge Hill University, St. Helens Road, Ormskirk, Lancashire, L39 4QP, UK. Pager@edgehill.ac.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2916-8822
Adam FieldDepartment of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, M15 6BH, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2600-6182
Ben LangleyDepartment of Sport and Physical Activity, Edge Hill University, St. Helens Road, Ormskirk, Lancashire, L39 4QP, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8989-4810
Liam David HarperDepartment of Life Sciences, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, M15 6BH, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2089-4799
Ross JulianInstitute of Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Muenster, 48149, Muenster, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8558-7132
Edge Hill University · GBManchester Metropolitan University · GBUniversity of Gloucestershire · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundProfessional soccer teams are often required to compete with ≤ 4 days recovery between matches. Since congested schedules reduce recovery time between matches, players are possibly at an increased injury risk. To date, there are no published systematic reviews on the impact of match congestion on injuries during professional male soccer.

objectiveThe aim of this systematic review was to assess the effects of fixture congestion on injuries during professional soccer.

methodsFollowing pre-registration on the Open Science Framework ( https://osf.io/86m25/ ) and conforming with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, systematic searches of four electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus, SPORTDiscus, and Web of Science) were conducted by independent researchers from inception until February 2022. Articles were included if they were original articles written in English and contained relevant time-loss injury data (injury that results in unavailability for training and/or match-play) for male professional soccer players regarding periods of fixture congestion (a minimum of two matches with ≤ 4 days recovery).

resultsA total of eight articles were included in the review. Five studies identified that congested fixture schedules expose players to increased match injury incidence, although layoff duration was typically lower during congested periods. Two studies identified that training and overall injury incidence were higher during congested periods, with another study identifying a lower training injury incidence during congested periods.

conclusionInjury risk is, overall, increased during fixture-congested periods; however, the layoff duration is typically shorter. The current findings have implications for practitioners regarding the management, periodisation, monitoring, and design of training and competition schedules.

Indexed as

Athletic InjuriesAthletic PerformanceSoccerHumansIncidenceMaleTime Factors

Identifiers

PMID36527592
PMCPMC9758680
OpenAlexW4312067334

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.