A high training load could increase the risk of injury in soccer players. However, there is still a lackof knowledge regarding the effect on young athletes, in whom a different maturity status could lead to differentphysiological responses to training. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the association of internalload markers and recovery status with risk of illnesses and non-contact injuries in young soccer players characterisedby different maturity status. Twenty-three U14 soccer players were monitored during a full season and categorisedaccording to years from peak height velocity (PHV). Based on the estimated values, athletes were divided intothree different groups: Pre-PHV, Circa-PHV and Post-PHV players. The following internal load markers weremonitored: rating of perceived exertion (RPE), session rating of perceived exertion (S-RPE), weekly load (WL),cumulative loads for 2, 3, and 4 weeks (WL2, WL3, WL4), acute to chronic workload ratio for 2, 3 and 4 weeks(A:C2, A:C3, A:C4) and week-to-week percentage variation (%WL). Recovery status was quantified using the totalquality recovery (TQR) scale. Z-score transformation was adopted for TQR and RPE values and the differencebetween the parameters was calculated (Z-TQR-RPE). The Kruskal-Wallis test was adopted to evaluate differencesin TQR and RPE with respect to maturity offset. A multinomial regression analysis was performed to evaluate theassociation between internal load markers and risk of illness and non-contact injuries. The variables that showeda significant association were included in the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. The resultsrevealed that RPE was significantly higher (p < 0.01) and TQR significantly lower (p < 0.05) in Post-PHV comparedto Pre- and Circa-PHV. Moreover, RPE, A:C4, TQR and Z-TQR-RPE showed a significant (p < 0.01) association withnon-contact injuries. The internal load markers included in ROC curve analysis showed poor predictive ability(AUC ≤ 0.6). A rapid increase in training load together with a decrease in recovery status may produce highersusceptibility to illnesses and non-contact injuries. The contrasting physiological responses found in relation tomaturity status could explain the different injury predisposition in young soccer players.

The influence of maturity on recovery and perceived exertion, and its relationship with illnesses and non-contact injuries in young soccer players

Tessitore A
2022-01-01

Abstract

A high training load could increase the risk of injury in soccer players. However, there is still a lackof knowledge regarding the effect on young athletes, in whom a different maturity status could lead to differentphysiological responses to training. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the association of internalload markers and recovery status with risk of illnesses and non-contact injuries in young soccer players characterisedby different maturity status. Twenty-three U14 soccer players were monitored during a full season and categorisedaccording to years from peak height velocity (PHV). Based on the estimated values, athletes were divided intothree different groups: Pre-PHV, Circa-PHV and Post-PHV players. The following internal load markers weremonitored: rating of perceived exertion (RPE), session rating of perceived exertion (S-RPE), weekly load (WL),cumulative loads for 2, 3, and 4 weeks (WL2, WL3, WL4), acute to chronic workload ratio for 2, 3 and 4 weeks(A:C2, A:C3, A:C4) and week-to-week percentage variation (%WL). Recovery status was quantified using the totalquality recovery (TQR) scale. Z-score transformation was adopted for TQR and RPE values and the differencebetween the parameters was calculated (Z-TQR-RPE). The Kruskal-Wallis test was adopted to evaluate differencesin TQR and RPE with respect to maturity offset. A multinomial regression analysis was performed to evaluate theassociation between internal load markers and risk of illness and non-contact injuries. The variables that showeda significant association were included in the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. The resultsrevealed that RPE was significantly higher (p < 0.01) and TQR significantly lower (p < 0.05) in Post-PHV comparedto Pre- and Circa-PHV. Moreover, RPE, A:C4, TQR and Z-TQR-RPE showed a significant (p < 0.01) association withnon-contact injuries. The internal load markers included in ROC curve analysis showed poor predictive ability(AUC ≤ 0.6). A rapid increase in training load together with a decrease in recovery status may produce highersusceptibility to illnesses and non-contact injuries. The contrasting physiological responses found in relation tomaturity status could explain the different injury predisposition in young soccer players.
2022
Fatigue
Maturity
Recovery
Youth
Workload
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14244/6101
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