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JOURNAL
OF
SPORTS SCIENCE &
MEDICINE
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Research
article
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MONITORING OF LOWER LIMB COMFORT AND INJURY IN ELITE FOOTBALL |
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Michael Kinchington1  ,
Kevin Ball1 and Geraldine Naughton2 |
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1Victoria University School of Human Movement, Recreation & Performance and 2The Centre of Physical Activity Across the Lifespan School of Exercise Science, Australian Catholic University Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia |
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© Journal of Sports Science and Medicine (2010) 9, 652 - 663 |
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| ABSTRACT | |||
| The aim of the study was to examine the relation between lower
limb comfort scores and injury and to measure the responsiveness of a lower
limb comfort index (LLCI) to changes over time, in a cohort of professional
footballers. Lower limb comfort was recorded for each individual using a
comfort index which assessed the comfort status of five anatomical segments
and footwear. Specifically we tested the extent to which comfort zones as
measured by the LLCI were related to injury measured as time loss events.
The hypothesis for the study was that poor lower limb comfort is related
to time loss events (training or match day). A total of 3524 player weeks
of data was collected from 182 professional athletes encompassing three
codes of football (Australian Rules, Rugby league, Rugby Union). The study
was conducted during football competition periods for the respective football
leagues and included a period of pre- season training. The results of regression
indicated that poor lower limb comfort was highly correlated to injury (R2
=0.77) and accounted for 43.5 time loss events/ 1000hrs football exposure.
While poor comfort was predictive of injury 47% of all time loss events
it was not statistically relevant (R2 =0.18). The results indicate lower
limb comfort can be used to assess the well-being of the lower limb; poor
comfort is associated with injury, and the LLCI has good face validity and
high criterion-related validity for the relationship between comfort and
injury.
Key words: Lower limb comfort, musculoskeletal, football, injury. |
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