The Role of Periodic Health Examination in Determining Indirect Muscle Injury Risk in Elite Football (Soccer)

NCT ID: NCT03782389

Last Updated: 2018-12-20

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Total Enrollment

321 participants

Study Classification

OBSERVATIONAL

Study Start Date

2013-07-01

Study Completion Date

2018-05-19

Brief Summary

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Preseason periodic health examination (PHE) is used routinely in elite football (soccer) and can be used to inform injury prevention strategies. Indirect muscle injuries (IMI) are a considerable burden to elite teams. This investigation aims to evaluate whether measurements from PHE can be used in a multivariable model to predict IMI risk in elite players, or to establish prognostic factors that are associated with IMIs.

Detailed Description

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BACKGROUND Indirect muscle injuries (IMIs) are a considerable burden to elite football (soccer) teams and prevention of these injuries offers many benefits. Preseason medical, musculoskeletal and performance screening (termed periodic health examination (PHE)) is used to help determine players at risk of injuries such as IMIs, where identification of PHE-derived prognostic factors (PF) may inform IMI prevention strategies. Furthermore, using several PFs in combination within a multivariable prognostic model may allow individualised IMI risk estimation and specific targeting of prevention strategies, based upon an individual's PF profile. No such models have been developed in elite football and the current IMI prognostic factor evidence is limited. This study aims to: 1) to develop and internally validate a prognostic model for individualised IMI risk prediction during a season in elite footballers, using the extent of the prognostic evidence and clinical reasoning; 2) explore potential PHE-derived PFs associated with IMI outcomes in elite footballers, using available PHE data from a professional team.

METHODS A retrospective review has been completed of PHE and injury data, routinely collected over 5 years (from 1st July 2013 to 19th May 2018) from a population of elite male players at an English Premier League football club. Of 60 candidate PFs, 15 were excluded. Ten factors will be included in model development, identified from a systematic review, missing data assessment, measurement reliability evaluation and clinical reasoning. A full multivariable logistic regression model will be fitted, to ensure adjustment before backward elimination. The performance and internal validation of the model will be assessed. The remaining 35 candidate PFs are eligible for further exploration, using univariable logistic regression to obtain unadjusted risk estimates. Exploratory PFs will be grouped according to type and incorporated into multivariable logistic regression models to determine risk estimates.

DISCUSSION This study will offer insights into clinical usefulness of a model to predict IMI risk in elite football and highlight the practicalities of model development in this setting. Exploration may identify other relevant PFs for future confirmatory studies, model updating, or influence future injury prevention research.

Conditions

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Muscle Injury Sprains and Strains

Keywords

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Athlete injury prevention muscle strain prediction prognosis screening sport

Study Design

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Observational Model Type

COHORT

Study Time Perspective

RETROSPECTIVE

Study Groups

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Elite football players aged 16-40 years

Preseason Periodic Health Examination Completion

Intervention Type OTHER

all available players completed a mandatory PHE on one of three days during the first week of the season. Typically, the musculoskeletal and performance components of the PHE included: 1) anthropometric measurements; 2) medical history (i.e. previous injury history); 3) musculoskeletal examination tests; 4) functional movement and balance tests; 5) strength and power tests.

Interventions

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Preseason Periodic Health Examination Completion

all available players completed a mandatory PHE on one of three days during the first week of the season. Typically, the musculoskeletal and performance components of the PHE included: 1) anthropometric measurements; 2) medical history (i.e. previous injury history); 3) musculoskeletal examination tests; 4) functional movement and balance tests; 5) strength and power tests.

Intervention Type OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* had an outfield position (i.e. not a goalkeeper);
* participated in PHE testing for the relevant season.

Exclusion Criteria

\- if players were on trial or not contracted to the club at the time of PHE.
Minimum Eligible Age

16 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

40 Years

Eligible Sex

MALE

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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University of Manchester

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Keele University

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Manchester Metropolitan University

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Manchester United Football Club

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Tom Hughes

Senior Physiotherapist and Clinical Lead

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Richard Riley, PhD

Role: STUDY_DIRECTOR

Centre for Prognosis Research, Keele University. UK

Jamie Sergeant, PhD

Role: STUDY_DIRECTOR

Arthritis Research UK Centre for Epidemiology, University of Manchester. UK.

Michael Callaghan, PhD

Role: STUDY_DIRECTOR

Dept of Health Professions, Manchester Metropolitan University. UK

References

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Hughes T, Riley R, Callaghan MJ, Sergeant JC. Can prognostic factors for indirect muscle injuries in elite football (soccer) players be identified using data from preseason screening? An exploratory analysis using routinely collected periodic health examination records. BMJ Open. 2023 Jan 24;13(1):e052772. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-052772.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 36693686 (View on PubMed)

Hughes T, Riley RD, Callaghan MJ, Sergeant JC. The Value of Preseason Screening for Injury Prediction: The Development and Internal Validation of a Multivariable Prognostic Model to Predict Indirect Muscle Injury Risk in Elite Football (Soccer) Players. Sports Med Open. 2020 May 27;6(1):22. doi: 10.1186/s40798-020-00249-8.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 32462372 (View on PubMed)

Provided Documents

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Document Type: Study Protocol and Statistical Analysis Plan

View Document

Other Identifiers

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MUFC1

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id