Effects Provided by a Physiotherapy Treatment Preventing Lower Extremity Injuries in Female Football Players

Effects Provided by a Physiotherapy Treatment Preventing Lower Extremity Injuries in Female Football Players

Effects Provided by a Physiotherapy Treatment Preventing Lower Extremity Injuries in Female Football Players: A Controlled Clinical Trial

Background and justification: Women's football has a percentage of knee injury of 31.8%, and the anterior cruciate ligament lesion is between 2 and 4 times higher than the male. Injury prevention programs seek to improve the control of the neuromuscular recruitment, dynamic valgus and lumbopelvic stabilization. Recently Cibulka and Bennett have proposed a new prevention theory based on the strengthening of the external abductor and hip rotator muscles. The objective of this study is to design and carry out a physiotherapy program based on the prevention of modifiable risks factors. Design: Controlled clinical trial Methodology: 2 groups were formed, the first or experimental integrated by the female players from football team called CD Oliver (CDO), and control, integrated by the female players of the first team SD Huesca (SDH). The investigators will carried out an initial and final evaluation in which they will be collected data on variables of injury incidence, muscle length and torque. A physiotherapy program will be implemented that will consider three areas of weekly action during training, preventive force sessions, compensatory force sessions and physiotherapy sessions.

In order to achieve the objectives of the study the investigators have chosen to conduct a controlled clinical trial. For the clinical trial they will define two intervention groups in collaboration with two women's soccer clubs: CD Oliver Urrutia and SD Huesca. They will carry out the physiotherapy program of lumbopelvic stabilization and strengthening of the musculature of the hip region carried out in the CD Oliver Urrutia (Zaragoza), club where the principal investigator will have a practice contract. The club will agree to implement the physiotherapy program in training with players from the Second National Division. The SD Huesca will be the control group, in which they will only perform the pre and post intervention measurements. The selected team was the first women's team of the club, which plays in group 1 of the Aragonese territorial league. When selecting football clubs, they will be taken into account the same profile of players and training.

The intervention program will begin in August, along with the 2019/2020 season, and will finish at the end of the first round (5-6 months). It will be applied to CD Oliver players in three weekly sessions: preventive force, compensatory force and physiotherapy attention. During this intervention period, the SD Huesca players, control group, continued with their usual training program. They will not implement any physiotherapy program like the designed one for the study.

Inclusion Criteria: Have a valid federal license signed by the competent medical authority. Be part of a team registered in the federated league. Train 4 and a half hours a week or more. Compete and train in regulatory fields, with artificial grass. Have a staff composed of a qualified technician, registered and in possession of the corresponding validated license. Sign the informed consent. Exclusion Criteria: - Suffering a lower limb injury at the start of the study.