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By Anne Harding
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A simple training program requiring no special equipment and little extra time can sharply reduce knee injuries in soccer-playing teen girls, Swedish researchers report.
What’s more, the injuries that did occur among girls assigned to special training were much less severe than those among the girls who didn’t take part in the training program, Dr. Liisa Byberg and colleagues from Uppsala University found.
Due to a combination of anatomic, hormonal and other gender-related differences, Byberg and her team write in the Archives of Internal Medicine, female soccer players are many times more likely than males to injure their anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), which is key to maintaining the stability of the knee. These injuries can have lasting consequences, the researchers add, including osteoarthritis.
The researchers developed a 20- to 25-minute series of exercises focused on preventing such injuries by building strength, balance, core stability and awareness of the best way to execute movements that can stress the knees, such as landing from a jump. Because many of the exercises can be incorporated into standard pre-practice warm-ups, Byberg noted, including them in a team’s practice regimen need not require extra time.
The "HarmoKnee" program also includes a seminar on knee injury prevention for the athlete’s, their parents, and coaches. "The thought behind this is that the girls can feel support from all areas," Byberg noted.
This is important, she added, because talented teen female soccer players in Sweden are often asked to play on adult teams, which can put them at greater risk of injuries. Thus, she said, feeling supported should help girls to feel confident saying "no thanks" to such requests.
To evaluate the program, Byberg and her colleagues assigned 777 13- to 19-year-old soccer players on 48 different teams in one Swedish county to receive the intervention; another 729 girls on 49 teams in a different county acted as the control group. Teams in the intervention group were instructed to do the exercises twice a week during pre-season training, and once a week during the regular season.
From February through October 2007, there were three knee injuries among athletes on teams in the intervention group, and none of these injuries involved the ACL. In the control group, there were 13 knee injuries, five involving the ACL.
This translated to a 77 percent lower knee injury risk among the athletes in the special training group compared to the control athletes. And while all three of the athletes in the intervention group had returned to unrestricted play six months after their injury, just four of the 13 players in the control group had.
Among the 48 teams in the intervention group, 45 reported doing the exercises at least 75 percent of the time. A key aspect of the program, Byberg said, is that athletes should focus on doing the exercises correctly, rather than repeating them multiple times.
Coaches from the US, Germany and other countries have contacted Byberg’s team to learn about implementing the program, she noted. Anyone interested in finding out more, she added, can go to www.harmoknee.com.
SOURCE: Archives of Internal Medicine, January 11, 2010.
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02/02/10
Looking ahead we are planning to play in a tournament in Massachusetts the final weekend in March. Dates: March 26, 27, 28. It is outside of Boston in the Braintree, Ma. area, specifically at the Citizens Bank Fields, Progin Park, in Lancaster . This is close enough to commute daily for those wishing to do so. I do not have a schedule yet, but will pass it along ASAP. I am planning to list our team as commuting, so we do not have to use the hotel booking service for finding hotels. Kathie Reimondo will have additional hotel information for those looking to stay near the fields. From past experience there are several area hotels that should be able to accomodate our team.
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02/04/10
Below are some announcements from the Club. There is a new program beginning for young players starting at U-6, and an announcement about the upcoming Academy Games at OSP. It would be fun to attend the games as a team. Having seen a few Academy Games already, it is worth the trip over to OSP. It would be beneficial for the Team to see the speed of play and level of play.
We are still on for Saturday...if there is a change due to the weather I will email everyone on Saturday morning.
Please pass on the following links to all Oakwood team members & families:
YTL program for U8/7/6 players at TD Bank Oakwood Soccer Park
February Feature games at TDB OSP; we really want a good showing of fans
at the February home games, we expect to have a food tent & grill serving hot food
& drinks during each match day!
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02/08/10
A few words about yesterday’s game. It is always great to see us compete against another Oakwood Team. So many elements are tested in an Oakwood-v-Oakwood Game. The biggest element is the mental side of the game. Can one team figure out how to unbalance the other. Yesterday this could not be more evident. There were many momentum switches, periods of great combination play, along with good physical battles to win loose balls. I was pleased with our overall performance. The down side to the game yesterday came in repeated mistakes both on offense and defense. We did not capitalize on some very good opportunities to finish, and we did not adjust our team shape quickly enough in the back for better coverage. Hence why the setting of yesterday’s game was perfect. It helped clearly identify areas that need to become stronger for better team success. We will spend the majority of training tonight, and in the upcoming weeks, on these facets of the game both in high and low pressure situations.
As we move forward toward the outdoor season the level of intensity will be increased. Players will be individually challenged, challenged in partnered pairs or groups and the entire team will be pressed to dig deep to expand their abilities both physical and mental. I am enjoying the growth and development I have seen over the last weeks and months and look forward to raising the bar again.
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02/11/10
Oakwood has started a Juggler's Club. It is similar to the Century Club I created about a year ago, but this will be posted on its own link on the Oakwood Web Site. It will list players, the players age and Oakwood Team, as well as your highest number of juggles. Please send me your number of juggles. As you break your old records, the web page will be updated. I cannot say how glad I was to create the Century Club and have almost every player meet or exceed 100 juggles. Beyond the kudos for 100 or more juggles you have increased your touch on the ball, improved your eye foot coordination and hopefully have had fun juggling in groups, or even as an individual. I love to watch prior to trainings and games the groups of players looking to now master juggling with their head. It will be great to see your results and great for the rest of the Club to see what you have accomplished!!!
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