Leg Stiffness in Female Soccer Players: Intersession Reliability and the Fatiguing Effects of Soccer-Specific Exercise

View/ open
Author
De Ste Croix, Mark
Hughes, Jonathan
Lloyd, Rhodri S.
Oliver, Jon
Read, Paul
Date
2017-11Acceptance date
2016-09-22
Type
Article
Publisher
Wolters Kluwer
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Low levels of leg stiffness and reduced leg stiffness when fatigue is present compromise physical performance and increase injury risk. The purpose of this study was to (a) determine the reliability of leg stiffness measures obtained from contact mat data and (b) explore age-related differences in leg stiffness after exposure to a soccer-specific fatigue protocol in young female soccer players. Thirty-seven uninjured female youth soccer players divided into 3 subgroups based on chronological age (under 13 [U13], under 15 [U15], and under 17 [U17] year-olds) volunteered to participate in the study. After baseline data collection, during which relative leg stiffness, contact time, and flight time were collected, participants completed an age-appropriate soccer-specific fatigue protocol (SAFT90). Upon completion of the fatigue protocol, subjects were immediately retested. Intersession reliability was acceptable and could be considered capable of detecting worthwhile changes in performance. Results showed that leg stiffness decreased in the U13 year-olds, was maintained in the U15 age group, and increased in the U17 players. Contact times and flight times did not change in the U13 and U15 year-olds, but significantly decreased and increased, respectively, in the U17 age group. The data suggest that age-related changes in the neuromuscular control of leg stiffness are present in youth female soccer players. Practitioners should be aware of these discrepancies in neuromuscular responses to soccer-specific fatigue, and should tailor training programs to meet the needs of individuals, which may subsequently enhance performance and reduce injury risk.
Journal/conference proceeding
Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research;
Citation
Croix, M., Hughes, J.D., Lloyd, R.S., Oliver, J.L. and Read, P.J. (2017) 'Leg Stiffness in Female Soccer Players: Intersession Reliability and the Fatiguing Effects of Soccer-specific Exercise', The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 31(11), pp.3052-3058.
Description
This article was published in Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research in November 2017, available at https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000001715
Collections
- Import [796]
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, subject and abstract.
-
Fatigue related changes to lower limb muscle activation in female soccer players
Waghorn, Ruth (University of Wales, 2011-10-25)The objective of this study was to review fatigue-related changes in lower limb muscle mechanics in the female soccer player after 45 minutes of soccer simulated exercise, to provide insight to the high risk of ACL injury. ... -
MONITORING NEUROMUSCULAR AND PERCEPTUAL FATIGUE IN COLLEGE RUGBY UNION PLAYERS
Whitney, Adam (2012-09)Aim. The purpose of this study was to investigate the changes in neuromuscular and perceptual fatigue in college Rugby Union players prior to and a day after typical Rugby Union matches over a seven week training and ... -
The Effect of Mental Fatigue on Soccer-specific Skill Related Fitness, Endurance and Technical Performance.
Tolson, Joseph Mark (Cardiff Metropolitan University, 2017-06-01)The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the effect of mental fatigue on soccer-specific physical and technical performance and also the effect on soccer-specific skill related fitness. The method incorporated a ...