Document Type : Original Articles
Authors
1 Department of sport injury and corrective exercise, Faculty of sport sciences, university of Guilan, Rasht, Iran.
2 Department of Sports Injuries and Corrective Exercises, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran.
3 Associate Professor of Sport Biomechanics, Department of Sport Biomechanics, Hamedan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Hamedan, Iran.
Abstract
Background: Background: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are prevalent in soccer and can significantly affect an athlete's stability and performance. The Prevent Injury and Enhance Performance (PEP) training program is designed to reduce the risk of ACL injuries. This study aimed to investigate the effect of the PEP training program on time to stability (TTS) and center of pressure (COP) changes in soccer players with and without ACL reconstruction (ACLR).
Method: Twenty-one male soccer players (mean age: 25.43 years), 15.12 months post-ACLR, and 21 healthy male soccer players (mean age: 22.79 years) underwent a jump-landing test. Data related to COP and TTS changes were collected before and after an 8-week PEP training program. intra-group comparisons was conducted using a paired t-test, while a one-way ANOVA was used for inter-group analyses, with a significance level set at p ≤ 0.05.
Results: intra-group comparisons showed significant reductions in COP fluctuations (M-L, p = 0.018) and TTS (M-L, p = 0.001) in the healthy group, and COP fluctuations (M-L, p = 0.001), COP variability (M-L, p = 0.034), total TTS (p = 0.015), and TTS (M-L, p = 0.001) in the ACLR group between the pre-test and post-test. Pre-test inter-group comparisons showed significantly higher COP fluctuations (M-L, p = 0.001), COP variability (M-L, p = 0.044), and total TTS (p = 0.021) in the ACLR group. Post-test comparisons showed no significant differences between groups (p > 0.05), indicating that the PEP training program effectively reduced deficits in the ACLR group, bringing their performance closer to that of healthy players.
Conclusion: The implementation of the 8-week PEP training program can lead to positive changes in postural control among both healthy and ACLR soccer players, which may further clarify the effectiveness of such programs in reducing the risk of ACL injury or re-injury.
Keywords
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