OBJECTIVES:The purpose of the current study was to compare the results of a progressive strength training protocol for soccer players after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) with healthy controls, and to investigate the effects of the strength training protocol on peak quadriceps and hamstring muscle strength. DESIGN:Between subjects design. SETTING:Outpatient physical therapy facility. PARTICIPANTS:Thirty-eight amateur male soccer players after ACLR were included. Thirty age-matched amateur male soccer players served as control group. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:Quadriceps and hamstring muscle strength was measured at three time points during the rehabilitation. Limb symmetry index (LSI) > 90% was used as cut-off criteria. RESULTS:Soccer players after ACLR had no significant differences in peak quadriceps and hamstring muscle strength in the injured leg at 7 months after ACLR compared to the dominant leg of the control group. Furthermore, 65.8% of soccer players after ACLR passed LSI >90% at 10 months for quadriceps muscle strength. CONCLUSION:Amateur male soccer players after ACLR can achieve similar quadriceps and hamstring muscle strength at 7 months compared to healthy controls. These findings highlight the potential of progressive strength training in rehabilitation after ACLR that may mitigate commonly reported strength deficits.
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Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To describe characteristics of outdoor soccer injury and recovery among Dutch soccer players.
Many studies have shown that experts possess better perceptual-cognitive skills than novices (e.g., in anticipation, decision making, pattern recall), but it remains unclear whether a relationship exists between performance on those tests of perceptual-cognitive skill and actual on-field performance. In this study, we assessed the in situ performance of skilled soccer players and related the outcomes to measures of anticipation, decision making, and pattern recall. In addition, we examined gaze behaviour when performing the perceptual-cognitive tests to better understand whether the underlying processes were related when those perceptual-cognitive tasks were performed. The results revealed that on-field performance could not be predicted on the basis of performance on the perceptual-cognitive tests. Moreover, there were no strong correlations between the level of performance on the different tests. The analysis of gaze behaviour revealed differences in search rate, fixation duration, fixation order, gaze entropy, and percentage viewing time when performing the test of pattern recall, suggesting that it is driven by different processes to those used for anticipation and decision making. Altogether, the results suggest that the perceptual-cognitive tests may not be as strong determinants of actual performance as may have previously been assumed.
