Performance staffs are tasked with developing athletic qualities while reducing the risk of injury.
When players get injured, teams lose money and lose games.
While injuries are complex, and are influenced by numerous factors that are not fully in our control, performance staffs should still aim to minimize injury and maintain player availability.
What are the effects of Strength Training on Reducing Injuries?
What did the researchers do?
Researchers performed a systematic review, qualitative analysis and meta-analysis to analyze random the effects of strength-training on sports injuries.
- 6 randomized controlled trials
- 5 different interventions
- 4 distinct outcomes
- 7,738 subjects
- 177 total injuries
Of the 7,738 participants across the 6 included studies, 1502 were military conscripts while the rest were soccer players across various ages and levels of competition.
What were the results?
- Strength training programs reduced the occurrence of injury by an average of 66%.
- Increasing strength training volume and intensity was associated with reductions in injury risk.
- A 10% increase in repetitions reduced relative risk by 13%, suggesting a doe-response.
- Strength training is the superior training method for reducing injury risk.
What does this mean?
- Strength training should be considered as the primary intervention for reducing the risk of injuries for athletes.
- Direct mechanisms is training that targets the frequently injured muscle (e.g. training the hamstring muscles in soccer).
- Indirect mechanisms is training that focuses on strength-related carryover effects of improved coordination and strengthening of adjacent tissues.
Coach's Takeaway
- While injury prediction is unlikely (at least for now), that doesn't mean we cannot reduce the risk of injuries through proper training and recovery.
- Coaches should consider direct and indirect mechanisms as training targets for their athletes.
- The benefits of strength training can be augmented with comprehensive performance planning that optimizes the training-recover response.
