TY - JOUR
AU1 - Ribeiro-Alvares, João Breno
AU2 - Cetolin, Tiago
AU3 - Haupenthal, Alessandro
AU4 - Baroni, Bruno Manfredini
AB - PurposeGiven the controversial use of the Acute:Chronic Workload Ratio (ACWR) in determining the availability of soccer players for training and matches, this study aimed at verifying how many professional soccer players had an ACWR above 1.5 (considered a ‘danger zone’) immediately before the exposure (training or match) in which they sustained a hamstring muscle injury.MethodsForty-eight male soccer players of a professional team were monitored through global positioning system (GPS) in this 2-season retrospective study (10 participated in both seasons and 38 in a single season). The ACWR of total distance, high-speed running distance, very high-speed running distance, and the number of actions performed >19 km/h were calculated before all hamstring injuries and included in the analysis.ResultsTwenty players sustained hamstring injuries. There was no time effect on the group’s daily workload or the average workload over the 4 weeks before the injury (p > 0.05). Fifteen players (i.e., 75%) had ACWR below 1.5 for the four GPS metrics immediately before the training or match in which they sustained a hamstring injury. Five players (25%) were classified in the ‘danger zone’ (i.e., ACWR > 1.5) for the very high-speed running distance; 3 of these players were also in the ‘danger zone’ for high-speed running distance and the number of actions >19 km/h, and 2 players for the total distance.ConclusionSince three-quarters of the hamstring injuries affecting professional soccer players were preceded by ACWR values below 1.5 in all GPS metrics, it is prudent for medical/coaching staff exercise caution when considering the ACWR ‘danger zone’ as the primary metric for determining player availability for training or matches.
TI - Acute:chronic workload ratio of professional soccer players preceding hamstring muscle injuries: a 2-season retrospective study
JF - Sport Sciences for Health
DO - 10.1007/s11332-023-01127-y
DA - 2024-06-01
UR - https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/springer-journals/acute-chronic-workload-ratio-of-professional-soccer-players-preceding-prs0xdhcvS
SP - 501
EP - 507
VL - 20
IS - 2
DP - DeepDyve
ER -