Examination of the validity of the Injury-Psychological Readiness to Return to Sport (I-PRRS) scale in male professional football players: A worldwide study of 29 professional teams.

Perceived confidence is an important dimension of an athlete's psychological readiness to return-to-play. However, there is no established and validated tool to evaluate confidence in professional football. This study aimed to provide preliminary evaluation of the internal structure of the Injury-Psychological Readiness to Return-to-Sport scale (I-PRRS) in a cohort of injured male professional footballers. Over an 18-month period, 29 teams from 17 leagues participated. Players sustaining injuries eliciting ≥ 3 weeks' time-loss were recruited. Cross culturally adapted to 4 further languages, the I-PRRS was administered on two occasions: 1) day before returning-to-training and 2) day before returning-to-match-play. In total, 113 injuries were recorded with 96 completed I-PRRS data sets collected. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated the I-PRRS was a unidimensional scale, with all items measuring the same construct. The scale demonstrated good internal consistency (ω = .88). When examining longitudinal invariance of the I-PRRS across administration time-points, indices of model fit supported scalar invariance. There was preliminary evidence of good internal structure for the I-PRRS in professional male footballers. However, before further research involving the I-PRRS can be endorsed, efforts to confirm or refute empirical developments pertaining to psychological readiness are necessary.

Development of a Standardised System to Classify Injury-Inciting Circumstances in Football: the Football Injury Inciting Circumstances Classification System (FIICCS).

BACKGROUND: A comprehensive examination of the sport-specific activities and circumstances being performed at the time of injury is important to hypothesise mechanisms, develop prevention strategies and inform future investigations. Results reported in the literature are inconsistent because inciting activities are reported using different classifications. Hence the aim was to develop a standardised system for the reporting of inciting circumstances. METHODS: The system was developed using a modified Nominal Group Technique. The initial panel included 12 sports practitioners and researchers from four continents with respectively ≥ 5 years of experience working in professional football and/or conducting injury research. The process consisted of six phases: idea generation, two surveys, one online meeting and two confirmations. For answers to the closed questions, consensus was deemed achieved if ≥ 70% of respondents agreed. Open-ended answers were qualitatively analysed and then introduced in subsequent phases. RESULTS: Ten panellists completed the study. The risk of attrition bias was low. The developed system includes a comprehensive range of inciting circumstances across five domains: contact type, ball situation, physical activity, session details, contextual information. The system also distinguishes between a core set (essential reporting) and an optional set. The panel deemed all the domains to be important and easy to use both in football and in research environments. CONCLUSION: A system to classify inciting circumstances in football was developed. Given the extent of reporting inconsistency of inciting circumstances in the available literature, this can be used while further studies evaluate its reliability.

Return-to-Play Practices Following Hamstring Injury: A Worldwide Survey of 131 Premier League Football Teams.

PURPOSE: Return-to-play (RTP) is an on-going challenge in professional football. Return-to-play related research is increasing. However, it is unknown to what extent the recommendations presented within research are being implemented by professional football teams, and where there are gaps between research and practice. The purposes of this study were (1) to determine if premier-league football teams worldwide follow a RTP continuum, (2) to identify RTP criteria used and (3) to understand how RTP decision-making occurs in applied practice. METHODS: We sent a structured online survey to practitioners responsible for the RTP programme in 310 professional teams from 34 premier-leagues worldwide. The survey comprised four sections, based on hamstring muscle injury: (1) criteria used throughout RTP phases, (2) the frequency with which progression criteria were achieved, (3) RTP decision-making process and (4) challenges to decision-making. RESULTS: One-hundred and thirty-one teams responded with a completed survey (42%). One-hundred and twenty-four teams (95%) used a continuum to guide RTP, assessing a combination of clinical, functional and psychological criteria to inform decisions to progress. One-hundred and five (80%) teams reported using a shared decision-making approach considering the input of multiple stakeholders. Team hierarchy, match- and player-related factors were common challenges perceived to influence decision-making. CONCLUSIONS: General research recommendations for RTP and the beliefs and practices of practitioners appear to match with, the majority of teams assessing functional, clinical and psychological criteria throughout a RTP continuum to inform decision-making which is also shared among key stakeholders. However, specific criteria, metrics and thresholds used, and the specific involvement, dynamics and interactions of staff during decision-making are not clear.

Thicker Achilles tendons are a risk factor to develop Achilles tendinopathy in elite professional soccer players.

The primary aim of this prospective cohort study was to compare the incidence of Achilles tendinopathy symptoms in elite soccer players with and without baseline asymptomatic ultrasound abnormalities. This study also investigated the relationship between baseline tendon thickness and development of symptoms. Using ultrasonography, 18 players were examined in 2009 for the existence of hypoechoicity, paratenon blurring, focal thickening and/or neovascularisation, and anteroposterior tendon thickness was measured. Symptom development during the follow-up period was assessed by interview one year later. Baseline mid-tendon thickness was greater (p=0.041) in tendons that experienced symptoms [median (IQR): 0.53 (0.51-0.55) cm] in the following year than tendons remaining asymptomatic [0.48 (0.45-0.52) cm]. No association between the existence of baseline ultrasound signs and development of symptoms in the following year was observed (Chi-Square: 1.180, p=0.277). A thicker baseline mid-tendon thickness was identified as a risk indicator for the development of Achilles tendinopathy in elite soccer players.