Coaches must be aware of the importance and efficacy of injury prevention programs.
Not all injuries can be prevented, but knee injuries, ankle sprains and overuse problems can be significantly reduced by regular performance of preventive exercises.
The key elements of effective injury prevention programs for football players are core strength, neuromuscular control and balance, eccentric training of the hamstrings, plyometric and agility.
Core training: The “core” represents a functional unit, which not only includes the muscles of the trunk (abdominals, back extensors) but also of the pelvic-hip region. The preservation of core stability is one of the keys for optimal functioning of the lower extremities (especially the knee joint). Football players must possess sufficient strength and neuromuscular control in their hip and trunk muscles to provide core stability. There is growing scientific evidence that core stability has an important role to play in injury prevention.
Neuromuscular control and balance: Neuromuscular control does not represent a single entity, but rather complex interacting systems integrating different aspects of muscle actions (static, dynamic, reactive), muscle activations (eccentric more than concentric), coordination
(multi-joint muscles), stabilisation, body posture, balance and anticipation ability. There is strong empirical and growing scientific evidence that sport-specific neuromuscular training programs can effectively prevent knee and ankle injuries.
Plyometrics and agility: Plyometrics are defined as exercises that
enable a muscle to reach maximum strength in as short a time as possible. Eccentric muscle contractions are rapidly followed by concentric contractions in many sport skills. Consequently, specific functional exercises that emphasise this rapid change in muscle action must be used to prepare athletes for their sport-specific activities. The aim of plyometric training is to decrease the amount of time required between the yielding eccentric muscle contraction and the initiation of the overcoming concentric contraction. Plyometrics provide the ability to train specific movement patterns in a biomechanically correct manner, thereby strengthening the muscle, tendon and ligament more functionally. Plyometrics and agility drills were the important components of the program that proved to be effective in prevention, especially of
ACL injuries, but also of other knee and ankle injuries.
(Source: The “11+”A complete warm-up program to prevent injuries)