We’ve discussed concussions on this site many times before (just put concussion in the search bar). The actual mechanism of concussion and how it adversely affects the brain is still relatively unknown. Marchi et al, 2013 tested the integrity of the blood brain barrier in American football players’ pre and post-game to determine what, if [...]
We introduced the 11+ warm up a few months ago here, and strongly advocate its use in any sport not just in soccer. While the aim of the warm up is in trying to reduce the rate of injury among athletes, a new study published in The Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine has demonstrated that the warm up induces [...]
Strength training has never been more important in (professional) soccer. We’ve commented before on squat training protocols for youth soccer players and on the fact that UEFA Champions League players combine strength, speed & aerobic power training. A new study published in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research has looked at the effect of a 10 week strength training [...]
Hoshiakwa et al’s 2012 study focused in the cross sectional area of the thigh. Soccer players aged 11-13 had their cross sectional area measured along with dynamic knee flexion and knee extension. Knee flexion strength was comparable in the two groups but knee extension strength was much larger in the athlete’s group. We know that [...]
ACL tears, as discussed previously (here & here) are not career ending but require some time and adaptation before returning to play. Therapists and coaches are left with guidelines and no specific protocols when rehabilitating a torn ACL. Few concrete methods exist with signposts along the way. Della Villa et al. (2012) set out to change that. [...]
Hydration for sports performance has come under attack in recent years. One of the leading critiques of standardising hydration is Dr. Noakes who we referenced here. A recent experiment from professional soccer is one of the first that we know of that supports Noakes’ position. The study published in The Journal of Sports Science looked at the effect of [...]
As our blog is always evidence based, and due to the fact that the European Soccer Championships 2012 (EURO 2012) is underway, our soccer specific series continues here with a look at the latest study which takes a look at the physiology of soccer specific training. – Specificity is one of the key principles of [...]
Field sports, and soccer in particular record high incidences of ankle sprain during competitive matches. Most of these ankle sprains occur during full-contact challenges between players such as tackles, shoulders or jumping headers. But a new study published in American Journal of Sports Medicine has evaluated the potential risk factors that predict non-contact ankle sprains, and have [...]