Athlete monitoring: secondary prevention of groin and hamstring injury in male professional development football

Submission note: A thesis submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Department of Rehabilitation, Nutrition and Sport, School of Allied Health, College of Science, Health and Engineering, La Trobe University, Bundoora.

Thesis with publications.

Lower limb injuries to the thigh muscles are common in football and impact on player development and team success. Injury incidence is highest in match play, especially late in halves and during congested match schedules. Despite growing knowledge of potential risk factors, mechanisms, incidence, burden and injury prevention in football, current prevention approaches have not changed the incidence. Alternative and complementary prevention systems are warranted. Overall this thesis aims to introduce a novel prevention system based on primary, secondary and tertiary prevention of groin problems and hamstring strain injuries in football. This thesis is focused on highlighting the potential of athlete monitoring as a successful secondary prevention strategy in male professional development football players. Secondary prevention is a two-step clinical process aimed at early detection and management of impairments, risk or susceptibility of injury. It relies on knowledge of post-match recovery responses. Study One is a longitudinal cohort study highlighting the introduction of in-season monitoring of hip and groin strength, health and function in professional development players over two consecutive seasons. It aimed to compare in-season hip and groin strength, health and function data to pre-season baseline data. Study Two examined the effect of congested match play during an international tournament on hip adductor strength and function in U17 National team players. Study Three investigated the acute effect of football match play on hamstring strength and lower limb flexibility in professional development players. Study Four examined the effect of congested match play on hamstring strength and lower limb flexibility in professional development players. Finally, Study Five is a cohort study designed to introduce a novel hamstring strain injury prevention system using primary, secondary and tertiary prevention strategies. It identifies the potential for secondary prevention of hamstring strain injury in elite male football compared to standard practice (primary and tertiary prevention).