In the 2020/21 season, it was said: Not again! National player Alexandra Popp seriously injured her knee in the middle of the final spurt of the season and had to undergo surgery. The national striker's months-long absence was a bitter blow for the player. At the same time, her club, VfL Wolfsburg, missed her at the start of the new season and she only made it onto the European championship bandwagon in the national team at the last minute.
We all know how important Alexandra Popp was for the national team at the European Championships.
At the same time, many of us also know how painful and hard this period of suffering can be.
Liverpool Virgil van Dijk experienced a similar one throughout the 2021/22 season. The Dutchman injured his cruciate ligament so severely on matchday 5 that the season was over for him personally. His absence was identified as a decisive factor for a season among Liverpool's options and goals. Two different cases with the same consequences for individuals and their respective associations.
In cooperation with TU Munich, B42 will increasingly focus on women's soccer and players' problems in order to contribute to clarifying the differences between men's soccer.
As a player, you can of course hope that you will be spared injuries yourself. However, it is better to understand the background so that you can actively protect yourself from the causes of injuries. And that is exactly what my colleagues and I are investigating in our research. We want to know why certain people get injured more than others and how we can prevent this risk of injury. Do our genes and gender have an influence? And can training be improved to prevent injuries?
Can the risk of injury be reduced? Definitely yes! Regardless of whether you are a man or a woman, injuries to the muscle, tendon and ligament areas can be prevented preventively. In addition to soccer training, correct and targeted strength training is recommended to strengthen the legs. More background information can be found below:
A lot of data on injuries has been collected in soccer in recent years. Today we know that muscle injuries in particular are the most common type of injury suffered by soccer playersare inside. Knee injuries, such as cruciate ligament ruptures, are fortunately much less common. However, if there is ae PlayerIf injured in the cruciate ligament, then a long rehabilitation period is imminent, which can last for several months. Despite rehab training, such a serious injury can still affectFollow the player for a lifetime. Have a look at our blog post “Preventative prevention of cruciate ligament injuries.” Unfortunately, research has focused primarily on male soccer players for many years, although it is obvious that men and women are not synonymous due to their physique and hormonal balance.
As always, there are many reasons why. One of the most important, however, is that it is much more difficult to collect well-founded research on female player injuries. There are initial findings that women injure themselves at different rates over the course of the menstrual cycle. This means that in an investigation, as a researcher, you must know exactly at what point in the menstrual cycle the player got injured. In many studies, the menstrual cycle of women was not included or only roughly estimated. The cycle of women could not be more different and therefore estimates are extremely inaccurate. And the menstrual cycle of the same examined woman can also vary in every cycle period, which certainly does not simplify the situation. The fact that various contraceptive methods now have an influence on the hormone balance and the menstrual cycle further complicates the investigation many times over.
This is one of the main reasons why research has focused primarily on male test subjects for many years. The results were transferred to both sexes for simplicity. In recent years, however, a change has been observed, which has also meant that, fortunately, women are now being examined more specifically. The most important findings are: The incidence of injuries among female soccer players is similar to that in men's soccer. However, the proportion of serious injuries is demonstrably higher in women's soccer. Female soccer players reportedly have 21% more injury-related absences compared to men, primarily due to severe knee and ankle ligament injuries. Injuries to the anterior cruciate ligament are 2-8 times more common among female soccer players.
In a recently published study, Dan Martin and his colleagues addressed the issue of injuries suffered by professional players taking into account the menstrual cycle. 113 female English international players from all ages were accompanied for over four years, with a total of 156 injuries registered. After a closer analysis, the research group was able to show that muscle and tendon injuries were almost twice as common shortly before ovulation (“late follicular phase”) compared to the remaining phases of the cycle (“early follicular phase” or “luteal phase”). In addition, 20% of injuries occurred when female soccer players' menstruation was “overdue.”
The menstrual cycle is divided into several phases. The first half of the menstrual cycle, the phase between the onset of menstruation and ovulation, is known as the follicular phase. The period after ovulation and the start of the next menstrual period is called the luteal phase. This cycle is completely automatic and is controlled by certain hormones in the female body, including estradiol. It is a female sex hormone from the group of estrogens. Especially at the end of the late follicular phase, i.e. at the time with the highest injury rate, the concentration of estradiol rises sharply. Several studies have previously shown that an increased estrogen concentration reduces ligament and tendon stiffness. This result suggests that the increased estrogen concentration just before ovulation could cause reduced stiffness of tendons and ligaments and that this loss of stiffness increases the risk of injury.
The statistical evaluation was explained very imprecisely and partly contradictory. Precisely because statistics are at the heart of this entire study, the results must be treated with caution. On the day of their injury, the tested players were also asked in retrospect when their last menstrual cycle began. As mentioned above, this is only a rough estimate. In addition, the number of female players tested was relatively low and all female soccer players who used contraception were excluded from the study. Further studies must now follow in order to be able to confirm and deepen these initial results.
STAY FIT AND INJURY-FREE! With the B42 app for soccer players.
Scientifically, it is still too early to give sound advice as to whether training types should be varied over the course of the menstrual cycle. However, it is generally recommended to strengthen muscles, tendons and ligaments through training. A major review by Pertushek and colleagues from the USA from 2019 showed that exercises, for example, have been shown to help against cruciate ligament injuries that strengthen leg strength and include jumping and landing training. Regular strength training should not be neglected and include exercises such as Nordic hamstrings, lunges and calf raises as well as plyometric training with jumping exercises. This has been proven to have a positive effect on female soccer players in particular. Exercise programs for cruciate ligament injuries that only include balance and stretching exercises help less. By the way, there are also similar results for prevention training against muscle injuries! In short, young and adult soccer players must strengthen their legs! Strength training strengthens muscles, tendons and ligaments and gives the body more safety so that it can better withstand external forces in borderline situations. And there is no excuse: you can do this type of training at a gym or with your B42 app at any time.
Of course, technological progress also helps research. For example, thanks to modern smartphone apps, we can now ask young and adult female soccer players specifically and anonymously about their individual menstrual cycle over a longer period of time. However, this is not possible without the participation of test subjects, which is why we are very grateful for any participation. The input is completed in a short time and the resulting variety of data can provide clearer research results in the future. Stay tuned for more!
Dr. Philipp Baumert (born 1985) studied at the Cologne Sports University (Sport and Performance; Bachelor) and at the University of Frankfurt (Sports Medicine Training/Performance Physiology; Master) and completed his master's thesis at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association in Berlin.
He then completed his doctorate at Liverpool John Moores University (Great Britain) from 2015-2019, researching individual muscular adaptation responses after intensive sporting activity.
Philipp Baumert is now a researcher at the Chair of Sports Biology at the Technical University of Munich, and is studying metabolic pathways in the area of muscle growth in collaboration with the Technical University of Denmark.
Dr. Philipp Baumert, PhD
Technical University of Munich
Department of Sport and Health Sciences
Professor of Sports Biology
TUM Campus in the Olympic Park
Connollystrasse 32
80809 Munich
Email: philipp.baumert@tum.de
Web: https://www.sg.tum.de/exercisebiology/mitarbeiterinnen/wissenschaftliche-mitarbeiterinnen/
Rehab and prevention training for your team
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