The within-match patterns of locomotor efficiency during professional soccer match play: Implications for injury risk?. Issue 10 (October 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Barrett, Steve; Midgley, Adrian; Reeves, Matt; Joel, Tom; Franklin, Ed; Heyworth, Rob; Garrett, Andrew; Lovell, Ric
• Is Part Of: Journal of science and medicine in sport. Volume 19:Issue 10(2016:Oct.)
• Page Start: 810
• Page End: 815
• Publication Date: 2016-10
• Subjects: Accelerometry -- Football -- Injury risk -- Fatigue; Sports sciences -- Periodicals; Sports medicine -- Periodicals; Exercise -- Physiological aspects -- Periodicals; Sports -- physiology -- Periodicals; Sports Medicine -- Periodicals; Sportgeneeskunde; 617.102705
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jsams.2015.12.514
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1440-2440

Abstract

Abstract: Objectives: The principle aim of the current study was to examine within-match patterns of locomotor efficiency in professional soccer, determined as the ratio between tri-axial accelerometer data (PlayerLoad™) and locomotor activities. Between match variability and determinants of PlayerLoad™ during match play were also assessed. Design: A single cohort, observational study. Methods: Tri-axial accelerometer data (PlayerLoad™) was recorded during 86 competitive soccer matches in 63 English championship players (574 match observations). Accelerometer data accumulated (PlayerLoad Vector Magnitude [PLVM ]) from the individual-component planes of PlayerLoad™ (anterior–posterior PlayerLoad™ [PLAP ], medial–lateral PlayerLoad™ [PLML ] and vertical PlayerLoad™ [PLV ]), together with locomotor activity (Total Distance Covered [TDC]) were determined in 15-min segments. Locomotor efficiency was calculated using the ratio of PLVM and TDC (PlayerLoad™ per metre). The proportion of variance explaining the within-match trends in PLVM, PLAP, APML, APv, and TDC was determined owing to matches, individual players, and positional role. Results: PLVM, PLAP, APML, APv and TDC reduced after the initial 15-min match period ( p = 0.001; η 2 = 0.22–0.43, large effects). PL:TDC increased in the last 15 min of each half ( p = 0.001; η 2 = 0.25, large effect). The variance in PLVM during soccer match-play was explained by individual players (63.9%; p = 0.001) and between-match variation (21.6%; p = 0.001), but not positional role (14.1%; p = 0.364). Conclusions: Locomotor efficiency is lower during the latter stages of each half of competitive soccer match-play, a trend synonymous with observations of increased injury incidence and fatigue in these periods. Locomotor efficiency may be a valuable metric to identify fatigue and heightened injury risk during soccer training and match-play.