Exercise programs in the preventing injuries in football players: a systematic review

Hamstrings injuries are one of the most frequent injuries in football players. Exercise programs leading to lower levels of injury, diminishing their recurrence and severity are extremely important for coaches, physical therapist and players. To recognize the scientific evidence of the effectiveness of exercise intervention programs in the prevention of hamstring injuries, in male football players. Different studies were selected for revision from several databases. To evaluate the methodological quality of these studies we used the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) and determined the strength of the evidence using the best evidence synthesis grading system. The used exercise programs where based in concentric and eccentric strength, the eccentric strength exercise Nordic Hamstrings, The FIFA 11+, and flexibility exercises. The variables studied were: the incidence, the incidence of new injuries, recurrence of injuries, the severity, and the risk of injuries. The concentric and eccentric strength program and the Nordic Hamstrings program seem to be the most effective in reducing the incidence of injuries and the incidence of new injuries, respectively (limited evidence). The Nordic Hamstrings program does not reduce the risk of injuries (limited evidence) and does not improve the level of severity of the injuries (moderate evidence). The FIFA 11+program does not reduce the incidence of injuries (limited evidence). There are contradictory evidences on the other variables.

sports; male; program evaluation