Running more than before? The evolution of running load demands in the English Premier League

Purpose The purpose of this study was to assess running load trends (total distance (TD), high-intensity distance (HID; > 5.5ms−1) and sprinting distance (SprD; > 7ms−1)) in the English Premier League (EPL) between the 2014/2015 and 2018/2019 seasons using a semi-automated optical tracking system. Methods A total of 1634 games across 5 seasons (2014/2015–2018/2019) were analysed for team and positional TD, HID and SprD. All matches were tracked using TRACAB® Gen-4 HD motion cameras. Data were analysed to identify significant team and positional differences for each metric. Results Small to moderate increases were seen in team running load for TD (p  =  0.02; effect size (ES): 0.21), HID (p < 0.001; ES: 0.88) and SprD (p < 0.001; ES: 0.67) between 2014/2015 and 2018/2019. Positional analysis showed significant increases in TD for all except for defensive midfielders (DM), attacking midfielders (AM) and wide midfielders (WM) (p < 0.001–0.009; ES: 0.14–0.36); HID for all positions excluding goalkeepers (GK) (p < 0.001–0.007; ES: 0.2–0.54) and SprD for all positions except for GK, central midfielders (CM) and AM, (p < 0.001–0.020; ES: 0.19–0.39). Trivial to small differences were seen in season-to-season comparisons for TD (p < 0.001–0.023; ES: −0.16–0.52), HID (p < 0.001–0.033; ES: 0.10–0.38) and SprD (p < 0.001–0.025; ES: 0.13–0.27) for both team and positional differences. Conclusion Small to moderate increases in team TD, HID and SprD occurred in the EPL between 2014/2015 and 2018/2019, with trivial to small changes in season-to-season variations. Actual changes in running load over time appear to be dependent on playing position. Running load trends should be updated regularly and practitioners should be aware of the variability within their team, and programme accordingly

Managing the return to sport of the elite footballer following semimembranosus reconstruction

Hamstring strains are the most common injury in elite football and typically occur during high-speed running. Despite its important contribution to power production in the late swing phase, injury to the semimembranosus (SM) is less common than to the biceps femoris, but may involve the free tendon and depending on the degree of retraction, warrant surgical repair. Few case reports detail clinical reasoning, supported by objective data during rehabilitation in elite footballers, and none have described the return to sport (RTS) process following this type of hamstring injury. In this article, we outline the management and RTS of an English Premier League (EPL) footballer who suffered a high-grade SM proximal tendon tear during training. Due to the degree of retraction of the free tendon, the player underwent surgical reconstruction at the recommendation of an orthopaedic surgeon. Early physiotherapy care, nutritional support, on- and off-pitch injury-specific reconditioning and global athletic development are outlined, alongside strength and power diagnostic and global positioning systems data, assessment of pain, player feedback and MRI informed clinical reasoning and shared decision-making during the RTS process. 18 weeks post-surgery the player returned to team training, transferring to a new club 3 weeks later. 2.5 years post RTS, the player remains free of re-injury playing regularly in the EPL

Physical preparation and return to sport of the football player with a tibia-fibula fracture: applying the ‘control-chaos continuum’

Contact in elite football can result in severe injury such as traumatic fracture. Limited information exists regarding the rehabilitation and return to sport (RTS) of these injuries especially in elite football. We outline the RTS of an elite English Premier League footballer following a tibia-fibula fracture including gym-based physical preparation and the use of ‘control-chaos continuum’ as a framework for on-pitch sport-specific conditioning, development of technical skills while returning the player to pre-injury chronic running loads considering the qualitative nature of movement in competition. Strength and power diagnostics were used to back up clinical reasoning and decision-making throughout rehabilitation and the RTS process. The player returned to full team training after 7.5 months, completed 90 min match-play after 9 months and remains injury-free 11 months post-RTS

INTERCHANGEABILITY OF OPTICAL TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES: POTENTIAL OVERESTIMATION OF THE SPRINT RUNNING LOAD DEMANDS IN THE ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

The purpose of this study was to assess the agreement between match-derived running load outputs; total distance (TD), high-speed running (HSR) and sprint distance (SPR) obtained by two optical tracking systems. Data were collected from 31 elite footballers from the first team and under-21 squads of an English Premier League (EPL) football club across three competitive matches. One EPL game (game 2) and one under-21 Premier League game (game 3) were played at the team’s home stadium and one EPL game (game 1) at an away venue. All matches were tracked concomitantly using eight colour cameras sampling at 10Hz (PROZONE®) and six high definition motion cameras sampling at 25Hz (TRACAB®). TD displayed a perfect (r = 0.99) correlation while HSR and SPR displayed very large (r = 0.81 and r = 0.73) correlations between TRACAB® and PROZONE®. Mean bias were 5% for TD, -3% for HSR and 61% for SPR. Between games, mean biases for TD were 6% for game 1, and 5% for game 2 and game 3. For HSR, 9% for game 1, -5% for game 2 and 6% for game 3 and for SPR, 31% for game 1, 71% for game 2 and 84% for game 3. TD, and HSR can be interchanged between PROZONE® and TRACAB®, to allow accurate interpretation between the two systems. PROZONE® overestimated SPR compared to the TRACAB®, with the magnitude of difference considered meaningful to alter interpretation of historical match outputs, sprint volume trends across the EPL and forecasts of the modern game

Physical preparation and return to performance of an elite female football player following ACL reconstruction: a journey to the FIFA Women’s World Cup

ACL injuries are among the most severe knee injuries in elite sport, with a high injury burden and re-injury risk. Despite extensive literature on the injury and the higher incidence of injury and re-injury in female athletes, there is limited evidence on the return to sport (RTS) of elite female football players following ACL reconstruction (ACLR). RTS is best viewed on a continuum aligning the recovery and rehabilitation process with the ultimate aim — a return to performance (RTPerf). We outline the RTS and RTPerf of an elite female football player following ACLR and her journey to the FIFA Women’s World Cup, including the gym-based physical preparation and the on-pitch/sports-specific reconditioning. We used the ‘control–chaos continuum’ as a framework for RTS, guiding a return above pre-injury training load demands while considering the qualitative nature of movement in competition. We then implemented the ‘RTPerf pathway’ to facilitate a return to team training, competitive match play and a RTPerf. Objective information, clinical reasoning and shared decision-making contributed to this process and helped the player to reach her goal of representing her country at the FIFA Women’s World Cup