006 Is motor performance related to injury risk in adolescent elite-level soccer players? A causal inference approach to injury risk assessment. (3rd March 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Rommers, Nikki; Rössler, Roland; Shrier, Ian; Lenoir, Matthieu; Witvrouw, Erik; D'Hondt, Eva; Verhagen, Evert
• Is Part Of: British journal of sports medicine. Volume 54(2020)Supplement 1
• Page Start: A3
• Page End: A4
• Publication Date: 2020-03-03
• Subjects: Sports medicine -- Periodicals; 617.1027
• DOI: 10.1136/bjsports-2020-IOCAbstracts.6
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0306-3674

Abstract

Abstract : Background: Injury incidence in elite-level youth soccer peaks around the adolescent growth spurt. To adequately manage injury risk in this period, knowledge of risk factors related to growth velocity is required. Objective: To identify the causal relation between growth velocity and injury in elite-level youth soccer players, and to assess the mediating effects of motor performance in this causal pathway. Design: Prospective cohort study. Setting: Youth academies of eight Belgian premier league soccer clubs. Participants: 370 male players of the U13 to U15 age categories (mean age: 13.2±0.9 years). Assessment of risk factors: Height was measured three months before and at the start of the competitive season, when players also performed a motor performance test battery consisting of motor coordination (Körperkoordinationstest für Kinder), strength (Counter Movement Jump), flexibility (Sit and Reach) and endurance measures (YoYo intermittent recovery test). Main outcome measurements: Injuries were registered by the academies' medical staff during the first two months of the season. A causal directed acyclic graph (DAG) was designed to identify our assumptions about causal relationships between growth velocity, injuries and motor performance (see figure 1 ). According to this DAG, the causal effect of growth velocity on injury was obtained by conditioning on maturity offset and age. Natural effects models determined the indirect effects of growth velocity on injury through the four motor performance mediators described above. Results: A total of 102 players sustained an injury. Odds ratios (OR) showed a 10% increase in injury risk per centimeter/year of growth velocity (OR 1.1, 95%CI: 1.0; 1.2). The indirect pathways through the four motor performance mediators revealed no causal association with injuries (all OR 1.0, 95%CI: 1.0, 1.0). Conclusions: Growth velocity is causally related to injury risk in youth elite-level soccer players. Preseason endurance, strength, flexibility and motor coordination cannot be considered risk factors mediating this relation.