Citation

Silvers H, Mandelbaum B, Bizzini M, Dvorak J. Br. J. Sports Med. 2014; 48(7): 662.

Affiliation

Santa Monica Sports Medicine Foundation, Santa Monica, CA, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, BMJ Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1136/bjsports-2014-093494.272

PMID

24620313

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The efficacy of the FIFA 11+ program in collegiate soccer. OBJECTIVE: Can the FIFA 11+ effectively reduce injury in the competitive male soccer player?. DESIGN: Prospective randomized controlled trial conducted in the NCAA. Every institution (N=411) was contacted via a formal letter, email and phone call. Sixty-one institutions consented to participate. Human ethics approval was acquired through Quorum IRB, Seattle, WA, USA. The intervention group received an instructional DVD, manual and placards. A injury surveillance database was utilized (HealtheAthlete(TM), Kansas) for data collection. Every exposure, injury, and compliance data was entered weekly. SETTING: NCAA institutions playing competitive soccer. PARTICIPANTS: 61 institutions completed the study: 34 control (N=850 athletes) and 27 intervention (N=675 athletes). INTERVENTION: The FIFA 11+ injury prevention program served as the intervention program. It was utilized three times per week for the duration of the season. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: Specific injuries, athletic exposures, program compliance and time loss were recorded. RESULTS: In the intervention Group (IG), 285 injuries were reported (mean=10.56 injuries/team+/- 3.64) compared to 665 injuries (mean=20.15 +/- 11.01) in the control group (CG). The number of athletic exposures was 35,226 (Games: 10 935 AE, Practice: 24 291AE) for the IG and 44 212 (Games: 13 624 AE, Practice: 30 588 AE) in the CG). The incidence rate (IR) was 8.09/1000 AE (95% CI) in the IG compared to 15.04/1000 AE (95% CI) in the CG (P=.00117). Total days missed due to injury was 2 824 (mean=9.94) in the IG compared to 8776 days (mean=13.20) in the CG. CONCLUSIONS: The FIFA 11+ was shown to reduce injury rates and time loss in the male collegiate soccer player in a statistically significant manner.

Language: en