Clinical trial NCT04232527: Dynamic Balance, Flexibility and Agility as Predictors of Lower-extremity Injury in Football Players
Official title: Prospective Cohort Study, Follow-up of Subjects Over Long Periods, Assessment of Test Reliability in Predicting Injury Risk
Study type: OBSERVATIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Conditions: LOWER-LIMB INJURY
Keywords: Dynamic balance
Stretching
Flexibility
Agility
Lead sponsor: University of Mostar
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2020-01-18
Enrollment: 110
Sex: MALE
Minimum age (years): 18
Maximum age (years): 40
Standard ages: ADULT
Observational model: COHORT
Time perspective: PROSPECTIVE
Sampling method: PROBABILITY_SAMPLE
Study population: About 110 players (out of about 400 competing in the Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina) would be included in the research.

Brief summary: This research investigates the reliability of tests to assess injury risk. Participants will be tested at the beginning of the survey and will be monitored for over 5 months. Participants will take 4 types of tests related to dynamic balance, flexibility, and agility. Subsequently, the relationship between test results and the incidence of injury in the subjects will be analyzed. If the tests prove reliable, they will be included in standard tests to assess the risk of injury to football players.

Detailed description: Too often, injuring athlete results in a large amount of money being spent on rehabilitation. In a world of sports where the speed of recovery means a lot, ways are sought first and foremost to minimize the frequency of non-contact injuries. To prevent certain things, it is important to know the initial state, therefore, to see if certain factors at the outset indicate to us that there is a certain imbalance that can result in the injury. Since we live in a country where sports clubs are unable to spend large amounts of money on rehabilitation, it would be of great benefit to find reliable tests that can help to prevent an injury. Studies have shown that tests of balance, flexibility, and agility can help to prevent injury to football players in other countries. The same tests will be applied to Premier League footballers in Bosnia and Herzegovina and their effectiveness in assessing the degree of risk of lower limb injuries will be tested. If they prove reliable, they can become a standard in the prevention of these injuries, that is, they will help in the development of injury prevention programs, which would be of great benefit to both clubs and football players.

The study aims to determine whether dynamic balance and flexibility tests can be used as reliable predictors of lower limb injuries in football players and whether reduced agility influences the increased risk of injury.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Professional players
* Age above 18 years
* Voluntary access to research

Exclusion Criteria:

* Age under 18,
* Refusal to take the research,
* Remaining in the club until the end of the examination,
* Errors in keeping records of injuries by responsible persons,
* Injuries to the lower limbs in the last ten days,
* Vestibular disorders.

Primary outcomes:
measure: The incidence
timeFrame: 5 month
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Questionnaire to evaluate the current situation with lower limb injuries in football players
timeFrame: 5 minutes
measure: Y balance test
timeFrame: 15 minutes
measure: Sit and Reach test
timeFrame: 5 minutes
measure: Maximum legs abduction Test
timeFrame: 5 minutes
measure: S_RAG (reactive agility) Test
timeFrame: 10 minutes
measure: Measuring the length of the legs
timeFrame: 2 minutes
measure: S_CODS (change of direction speed) Test
timeFrame: 2 minutes
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Široki Brijeg
country: Bosnia and Herzegovina
facility: NK "Široki Brijeg"
Study officials:
affiliation: KIF Split
name: Damir Sekulić, PhD
role: STUDY_CHAIR
References:
citation: Jones BH, Cowan DN, Tomlinson JP, Robinson JR, Polly DW, Frykman PN. Epidemiology of injuries associated with physical training among young men in the army. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1993 Feb;25(2):197-203.
citation: van Mechelen W. Running injuries. A review of the epidemiological literature. Sports Med. 1992 Nov;14(5):320-35. doi: 10.2165/00007256-199214050-00004.
citation: Kinzey SJ, Armstrong CW. The reliability of the star-excursion test in assessing dynamic balance. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 1998 May;27(5):356-60. doi: 10.2519/jospt.1998.27.5.356.
citation: Greenberg ET, Barle M, Glassmann E, Jung MK. INTERRATER AND TEST-RETEST RELIABILITY OF THE Y BALANCE TEST IN HEALTHY, EARLY ADOLESCENT FEMALE ATHLETES. Int J Sports Phys Ther. 2019 Apr;14(2):204-213.
citation: Lee SK, Ahn SH. Effects of balance evaluation comparison of dynamic balance and Y balance. J Exerc Rehabil. 2018 Dec 27;14(6):939-943. doi: 10.12965/jer.1836494.247. eCollection 2018 Dec.
citation: Sheppard JM, Young WB. Agility literature review: classifications, training and testing. J Sports Sci. 2006 Sep;24(9):919-32. doi: 10.1080/02640410500457109.
citation: Sekulic D, Spasic M, Mirkov D, Cavar M, Sattler T. Gender-specific influences of balance, speed, and power on agility performance. J Strength Cond Res. 2013 Mar;27(3):802-11. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e31825c2cb0.
citation: Brunner R, Friesenbichler B, Casartelli NC, Bizzini M, Maffiuletti NA, Niedermann K. Effectiveness of multicomponent lower extremity injury prevention programmes in team-sport athletes: an umbrella review. Br J Sports Med. 2019 Mar;53(5):282-288. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2017-098944. Epub 2018 Sep 10.
citation: Robinson RH, Gribble PA. Support for a reduction in the number of trials needed for the star excursion balance test. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2008 Feb;89(2):364-70. doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2007.08.139.
citation: Sisic N, Jelicic M, Pehar M, Spasic M, Sekulic D. Agility performance in high-level junior basketball players: the predictive value of anthropometrics and power qualities. J Sports Med Phys Fitness. 2016 Jul-Aug;56(7-8):884-93. Epub 2015 May 5.
citation: Kiesel K, Plisky P, Butler R. Functional movement test scores improve following a standardized off-season intervention program in professional football players. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2011 Apr;21(2):287-92. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0838.2009.01038.x.
citation: Caraffa A, Cerulli G, Projetti M, Aisa G, Rizzo A. Prevention of anterior cruciate ligament injuries in soccer. A prospective controlled study of proprioceptive training. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc. 1996;4(1):19-21. doi: 10.1007/BF01565992.
citation: McGuine TA, Keene JS. The effect of a balance training program on the risk of ankle sprains in high school athletes. Am J Sports Med. 2006 Jul;34(7):1103-11. doi: 10.1177/0363546505284191. Epub 2006 Feb 13.
citation: Lisman P, Nadelen M, Hildebrand E, Leppert K, de la Motte S. Functional movement screen and Y-Balance test scores across levels of American football players. Biol Sport. 2018 Sep;35(3):253-260. doi: 10.5114/biolsport.2018.77825. Epub 2018 Aug 27.
citation: Wong TKK, Ma AWW, Liu KPY, Chung LMY, Bae YH, Fong SSM, Ganesan B, Wang HK. Balance control, agility, eye-hand coordination, and sport performance of amateur badminton players: A cross-sectional study. Medicine (Baltimore). 2019 Jan;98(2):e14134. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000014134.
citation: Sipe CL, Ramey KD, Plisky PP, Taylor JD. Y-Balance Test: A Valid and Reliable Assessment in Older Adults. J Aging Phys Act. 2019 Sep 1;27(5):663-669. doi: 10.1123/japa.2018-0330.