Summary of a survey study looking at subjective wellbeing (fatigue, mood, soreness, stress, sleep quality), sleep duration and training load influence risk of injury and illness in young female soccer (football) players.
Who
75 female soccer players aged on average 15.5 (±1.6) (range 13-18) (USA).
Design
Survey data collected daily for 20 weeks via fitfor90.com.
Outcome measures
sports injuries - “any injury that occurred during a soccer training or game and resulted in the athlete being unable to continue to participate”
acute injury - “with a sudden onset during an identifiable event”
overuse injury - with “a gradual onset and unrelated to a specific event”
illness - “any illnesses that resulted in restriction from participation in soccer events, including the date of onset and predominant symptoms”
training load, wellbeing (fatigue, mood, soreness, stress, sleep quality), sleep duration
all self-reported
Main results
- 84.7% of possible data was collected in this study.
- 36 injuries in 28 athletes and 54 illnesses in 33 athletes were recorded.
- Lower mood and higher daily and prior day training load were predictors of acute injury.
- Higher preceding weekly and monthly training load were predictors of illness.
- Other measures of wellbeing could not predict injury or illness in this study.
Take home message
Original article
Watson A, Brickson S, Brooks A, Dunn W. Subjective well-being and training load predict in-season injury and illness risk in female youth soccer players. Br J Sports Med. 2017 Feb 1;51(3):194-9.