ArticleBMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation2026
Short-term detraining in semi-professional male football players: impact of a 5-day mid-season break on performance - an observational study.
Article in BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDetraining is a partial reduction or total stoppage of training workloads, resulting in physical and physiological modifications. Prior studies have shown significant reductions in strength and power typically after long-term interruptions (i.e., > 4 weeks), whereas evidence for short-term detraining (i.e., < 4 weeks) remains inconclusive. This observational study describes acute changes in the physical abilities of football players associated with a 5-day in-season break under real-world conditions.
methodsIn this uncontrolled observational study, repeated sprinting ability (primary outcome), body composition, vertical jump performance, and maximum thigh adduction and abduction strength were assessed in 17–21 semi-professional male football players (n = 17 for the primary outcome; other tests ranged from 17 to 21) before and after a 5-day in-season break (age: 21.5 ± 1.37 years; height: 178.96 ± 6.59 cm). Descriptive statistics and paired t-tests were used for comparisons. Intra-individual differences were also calculated.
resultsAfter the 5-day break, repeated sprinting ability was significantly worse. Total time to complete the RAST was approximately 1.0 s higher (before: 29.89 ± 1.14 s; after: 30.77 ± 1.62 s, p = 0.009, d = 0.634). Peak power and maximal velocity showed mean reductions of 55 watts (before: 892.34 ± 125.46 W; after: 837.54 ± 108.92 W, p = 0.049, d = -0.427) and 0.65 km.hˉ¹ (before: 26.86 ± 1.03 km.hˉ¹; after: 26.21 ± 1.35 km.hˉ¹, p = 0.030, d = -0.489), respectively, indicating small-to-moderate effect sizes. Vertical jump performance showed slight, non-significant improvements. No significant changes were found for maximum thigh strength or body composition.
conclusionA brief 5-day in-season break under uncontrolled, real-world conditions was associated with small-to-moderate impairments in repeated sprinting ability, while body composition, maximal strength, and vertical jump performance were largely maintained. These findings underscore the need for practitioners to prioritise targeted interventions for repeated sprinting ability following short in-season breaks, alongside strategies to restore performance without compromising technical-tactical demands.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.