Injury Risk: Artificial Turf vs Natural Grass

Years ago, many players, coaches and trainer felt that playing or training on artificial turf lead to more injuries. This was true for soccer as well as other sports like American football, field hockey and lacrosse. Recent advances in technology have lead to “third generation” artificial turf that can be found on many public fields and in some professional stadia. But, the debate continues. Does playing or training on turf raise injury risk? Over the past several years, several studies have compared injury rates on turf and grass for several sports. Recently, we compiled the research on soccer and, using a meta-analysis attempted to determine if there is increase risk of injury on turf. We found that playing or training on turf does not raise the potential for acute injury. However, changes in the style of play and/or player perception of turf may affect injury risk.

Evolving Game Speed and Style of Play

Charles Darwin said, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change." While Darwin was talking about species evolution, the concept of evolution holds true for sport, including soccer. Teams that fail to adapt to changes in the game, are often left behind, unable to take advantage of or respond to new strategies, player characteristics, training routines, injury prevention / treatment, player identification or rule changes. Compared to other sports, the laws of the game, equipment has remained relatively constant. However, many will argue that the game continues to change and evolve. The extent of change is shown in a recent study of past World Cup Championship matches. This study shows that over the past 44 years, the style of play has evolved to one that emphasizes speed, technical skill, decision-making and set pieces.

Unwanted Weight Gain: A Secondary Effect of Knee Injuries

There is little argument that weight gain and obesity is a major concern for today’s youth. The data all point to many of today’s children and adolescents experiencing an unhealthy body weight. The fact that overweight youth tend to become obese adults points to a growing health problem. Increasing physical activity is one strategy to combat excessive weight gain. In particular, several studies show that those involved in youth sports tend to have a healthier body weight and tend to be more active and fit as adults. Unfortunately, those who play sports are also at risk of injury. Researchers at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital found that female athletes who suffer a knee injury gain significantly more weight that uninjured players. The researchers argue that this can be avoided and an ounce of prevention can prevent a pound of weight gain.

Soccer Diet Webinar: "Multiple Games with Little Time for Recovery"

Update (May 23):  For those who missed it, we've posted a recording of our webinar (click here).  Teams are often faced with a congested timetable when they are expected to play multiple matches over very few days. Playing matches with no recovery days or a single off day can present a host of difficult nutritional challenges.  How can players properly recover and prepare themselves for the next day's match? Sports Path and the Science of Soccer Online will offer a free webinar on Tuesday May 21st at 12 noon Eastern Daylight Time (USA), 5pm British Summer Time.  Our webinar will address these challenges and will lay out a strategy to insure that players are well fueled and well hydrated throughout the weekend’s matches.

Playing Matches in the Heat: Dehydration and Performance

Often matches are played in hot, humid conditions. In this environment, the body attempts to cool itself by increasing the sweat rate. Unfortunately, the fluid lost through sweat can lead to dehydration. Laboratory research has shown that even mild dehydration can impact physical performance, reducing strength, power and endurance. Researchers from the United Kingdom and Denmark approached the question of heat, dehydration and performance in a different manner. They took their experiment to the pitch and asked if competing in the heat influences post-match physical performance. Their results show that playing elite, competitive matches in a hot environment adversely affect explosive performance and that the change in performance may be linked to dehydration.

Making the Cut: Strength Training and Change-Of-Direction Sprints

Soccer is a very dynamic game. Instead of moving at a constant pace and in only one direction, the nature of the game requires sprints, jogs, starts, stops, jumps and landing. In fact, players can change directions up to 1000 times per match. Often this occurs when a player plants his/her foot to stop moving in one direction and accelerate in another. Such cuts are designed to either elude a defender of respond to the movement of an attacking player or the ball. This can be a critical point the game. Precious inches can be gained of lost when trying to separate from or track an opponent. Thus, the ability to quickly change directions and accelerate in another is an important part o the game. A new study from the Goethe University of Frankfurt found that long-term resistance training improves change-of-direction sprint performance in youth players. Players are able to cut and accelerate better after weight training.

Sports Participation Promotes Long-Term Bone Health

It’s been known for some time that exercise promotes bone health. Specifically, weight-bearing activities that place stress on the bone increases bone density, bone mineral content and improves bone strength. In both the young and elderly, stress placed on the bone stimulates growth, improving density as well as strength. Several studies also show that those who participate in sports such as weightlifting, running, gymnastics and soccer have improved bone health compared to inactive control subjects. In fact, most recommend activities such resistance exercise for older adults and the elderly who want to preserve bone health. Researchers in Sweden asked the question about carry over from youth to adulthood. Do improvements in bone health as a young age extend as we grow older? They report that yes, participating in sports during adolescence results in reduced bone fractures and improved overall health during the elderly years.