Adding a post-training FIFA 11+ exercise program to the pre-training FIFA 11+ injury prevention program reduces injury rates among male amateur soccer players: a cluster-randomised trial

QUESTION: Does adding a post-training Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) 11+ exercise program to the pre-training FIFA 11+ injury prevention program reduce injury rates among male amateur soccer players? DESIGN: Cluster-randomised, controlled trial with concealed allocation. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-one teams of male amateur soccer players aged 14 to 35 years were randomly assigned to the experimental group (n=10 teams, 160 players) or the control group (n=11 teams, 184 players). INTERVENTION: Both groups performed pre-training FIFA 11+ exercises for 20minutes. The experimental group also performed post-training FIFA 11+ exercises for 10minutes. OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcomes measures were incidence of overall injury, incidence of initial and recurrent injury, and injury severity. The secondary outcome measure was compliance to the experimental intervention (pre and post FIFA 11+ program) and the control intervention (pre FIFA 11+ program). RESULTS: (1)=0.016, p=0.898). CONCLUSION: Implementation of the FIFA 11+ program pre-training and post-training reduced overall injury rates in male amateur soccer players more than the pre FIFA 11+ program alone. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ACTRN12615001206516. [Al Attar WSA, Soomro N, Pappas E, Sinclair PJ, Sanders RH (2017) Adding a post-training FIFA 11+ exercise program to the pre-training FIFA 11+ injury prevention program reduces injury rates among male amateur soccer players: a cluster-randomised trial. Journal of Physiotherapy 63: 235-242].