ORIGINAL ARTICLE  SPORT INJURIES AND REHABILITATION 

The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness 2020 August;60(8):1128-36

DOI: 10.23736/S0022-4707.20.10552-8

Copyright © 2020 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

lingua: Inglese

Effects of pelvic and core strength training on biomechanical risk factors for anterior cruciate ligament injuries

Ana FERRI-CARUANA ¹ ✉, Beatriz PRADES-INSA ¹, Pilar SERRA-AÑÓ ²

¹ Department of Physical Education and Sport, Faculty of Science of Physical Activity and Sport, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain; ² UBIC Research Group, Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Physiotherapy, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the changes in biomechanical risk factors for an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury after participation in a pelvic and core strength training (PCST) program in female team players.
METHODS: This is a randomized controlled trial for which a total of 29 female soccer players were recruited from a soccer club and split into two groups, namely, experimental group (EG, N.=18; mean [SD] age, 17.8 [2.0 years], weight 64.0 [6.6] kg and height 1.7 [0.0] m) and control group (control, N.=11; mean [SD] age, 16.2 [1.2] years, weight 61.6 [7.3] kg and height 1.7 [0.0] m). The EG participated in an in-season 8-week PCST program (twice/week). Participants in the CG performed their normal training without additional pelvic and core strengthening. Pre- and postintervention knee frontal plane projection angle (FPPA), hip, knee and ankle peak flexion angles and jump height were collected during bilateral and unilateral drop jumps.
RESULTS: PCST significantly reduced FPPA at dynamic landing, in both dominant (-7.1º) and non-dominant lower extremities (-8º). Further, this training significantly increased the peak hip (24.4º) and knee flexion angles (14.94º), but not the peak ankle dorsiflexion angle (P>0.05) which, significantly decreased in the CG (-3.5º). Following the intervention, EG significantly increased measures obtained for both bilateral (2.84 cm) and unilateral jumps (1.33 cm for the dominant leg and 1.22 cm for the non-dominant leg) (P<0.05), not so for CG (P<0.05).
CONCLUSIONS: PCST resulted in improvements on ACL injury risk factors and vertical drop jump performance, suggesting that strengthening this body part warrants not only injury prevention, but increases jumping performance.

KEY WORDS: Risk factors; Athletic performance; Women; Soccer