Effects of Injury Prevention Exercises on Performance and Neuromuscular Function

February 26, 2018 updated by: Martin Hägglund, Linkoeping University

Effects of Two Injury Prevention Exercise Programs on Performance and Neuromuscular Function in Youth Football

This study evaluates the effects of two different injury prevention exercise programs on sports-relevant performance tests and neuromuscular function in youth football players. Half of participants will receive education on an existing and previously tested exercise program, while the other half will receive education on a newly developed exercise program.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Injury prevention exercise programs have been developed for a variety of sporting contexts and many have proven to be efficacious in preventing injuries. Adherence with the training may, however, be an issue and poor adherence may limit the preventive effect. If using the preventive exercise programs can be shown to improve sports-relevant performance this may motivate both coaches and players to use these programs, since the reduction in injury risk is harder to notice for the individual.

This study focuses on a Swedish injury prevention exercise program called Knee Control. The program has been found efficacious in preventing acute knee injuries in girls' adolescent football players in previous trials. We have found, however, that coaches often modify the Knee Control program to improve program fit and player buy-in among female youth football players. Careful changes must be made to the program since there is a risk of compromising the preventive effect and the effect on performance if the training dose is too low or if effective exercises are replaced with other exercises. We have therefore further developed the Knee Control program, to a Knee Control+ program, to support the coaches in the tailoring of the program to preserve the preventive effect and hopefully enhance performance effects. By introducing more variation with easier and more difficult exercises, pair-exercises, competitive and plyometric elements the new Knee Control+ program may better fit both the youngest and the oldest players, which in turn may facilitate fidelity with and maintenance of the program.

The aim of the study is to compare the neuromuscular and performance effects of the original Knee Control and the new Knee Control+ programs among youth female and male football players. A secondary aim is to study player and coach experiences of the programs and their fidelity with the training protocol.

Hypothesis: We expect similar effects of both programs, or superior effects of the Knee Control+ program, showing that the programs are compatible but the program adherence and fidelity being better with Knee Control+.

Methods: Eight youth football teams (4 boys, 4 girls, age 13-17 years) with approximately 120 players will be included in the study. Four teams will receive education about the Knee Control program and four teams about the Knee Control+ program. All coaches and two to three players per team will take part in a workshop at baseline where registered physiotherapists will give practical instructions of the intervention exercise programs. The workshops will also contain theoretical information about injuries in football and the background for either the Knee Control or the Knee Control+ programs. The attending coaches and players will be able to test all exercises and receive feedback about correct movement technique.

Outcomes: Football-relevant performance and neuromuscular function will be tested at baseline and after 12 weeks of training.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

115

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

      • Linköping, Sweden, 58183
        • Division of physiotherapy, Department of Medical and Health Sciences, Linköping University

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

13 years to 17 years (Child)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Football teams who have training at least twice per week
  • Healthy players who can exert themselves maximally during testing

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Teams who have used the Knee Control or a similar injury prevention exercise program on a regular basis the last year
  • Players who cannot take full part in measurements due to illnesses or injuries

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Knee Control original
The Knee Control program exercise program will be performed during the warm-up to each football practice (at least twice per week) during the 12 week intervention period.
The two intervention programs contain exercises aiming to increase lower extremity strength, core stability, balance and neuromuscular function.
Experimental: Knee Control+
The Knee Control+ is an extension of the original Knee Control exercise program offering a wider selection of exercises (to increase adherence) and more physically challenging exercises (adapted for athletes in the late teens and provide further stimuli to increase player performance and neuromuscular function). The program will be performed during the warm-up to each football practice (at least twice per week) during the 12 week intervention period.
The two intervention programs contain exercises aiming to increase lower extremity strength, core stability, balance and neuromuscular function.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Change in performance on the agility t-test (s)
Time Frame: Baseline and 12 weeks
Baseline and 12 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Change in performance on the single-leg hop for distance (m)
Time Frame: Baseline and 12 weeks
Baseline and 12 weeks
Change in performance on drop vertical jumps as measured with knee separation distance (m)
Time Frame: Baseline and 12 weeks
Baseline and 12 weeks
Change in performance on the 505 agility test (s)
Time Frame: Baseline and 12 weeks
Baseline and 12 weeks
Change in performance on the side-hop test (n)
Time Frame: Baseline and 12 weeks
Baseline and 12 weeks
Change in performance on the 10 m sprint test (s)
Time Frame: Baseline and 12 weeks
Baseline and 12 weeks
Change in performance on the 20 m sprint test (s)
Time Frame: Baseline and 12 weeks
Baseline and 12 weeks
Change in performance on evaluation of lower extremity landing technique during the tuck jump test (points)
Time Frame: Baseline and 12 weeks
Baseline and 12 weeks
Coach baseline and follow-up experiences of injuries and of the Knee Control and Knee Control+ programs
Time Frame: Baseline and 12 weeks
Baseline and 12 weeks
Coach reported compliance and fidelity with the program protocol
Time Frame: At follow-up 12 weeks
At follow-up 12 weeks
Player baseline and follow-up experiences of injuries and of the Knee Control and Knee Control+ programs
Time Frame: Baseline and 12 weeks
Baseline and 12 weeks
Injuries that occur during the intervention period (number of injured players in each group)
Time Frame: At follow-up 12 weeks
At follow-up 12 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Collaborators

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Martin Hägglund, PhD, Linkoeping University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

August 19, 2017

Primary Completion (Actual)

November 26, 2017

Study Completion (Actual)

November 26, 2017

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 13, 2017

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 13, 2017

First Posted (Actual)

August 16, 2017

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

February 27, 2018

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 26, 2018

Last Verified

February 1, 2018

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • MHägglundPerformance

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

Undecided

IPD Plan Description

Study data (de-identified player performance test scores) may be available at request from the principal investigator

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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