The Efficacy Of The Fifa 11+ Injury Prevention Program In The Collegiate Male Soccer Player

OBJECTIVES: To examine the efficacy of the FIFA 11+ injury prevention program in Men’s NCAA collegiate soccer. METHODS: A prospective randomized controlled trial was conducted in Division I and Division II NCAA men’s soccer teams during the Fall, 2012 season. Every athletic director, head soccer coach and head athletic trainer from each Divion I and Division II member institution with a men’s collegiate soccer program (N=411) was contacted via a formal letter, email and phone call. Sixty-one member institutions consented to participate. Human ethics review board approval was obtained through Quorum IRB, Seattle, WA, USA. After randomization was completed, the intervention group received an instructional DVD, teaching manual and exercise placards thoroughly describing the FIFA 11+ intervention. An injury surveillance database was utilized (HealtheAthleteTM, Overland Park, Kansas). Every athletic exposure, injury incurred, utilization of the 11+ program and compliance data was entered weekly. Sixty-one institutions completed the study: 34 control institutions (N=850 athletes) and 27 intervention institutions (N=675 athletes). The FIFA 11+ program served as the intervention program over the course of one collegiate season. The warm-up was utilized two to three times per week for the duration of the season. RESULTS: In the intervention Group (IG), 285 Injuries were reported (mean=10.56 injuries/team+/-3.64) compared to 665 Injuries (mean=20.15 injuries +/- 11.01) in the control group (CG). The number of athletic exposures was 35,226 (Games: 10,935 AE, Practice: 24,291 AE) for the IG and 44,212 (Games: 13,624 AE, Practice: 30,588 AE) in the CG). The incidence rate (IR) was 8.09/1,000 AE (95% CI) in the IG compared to 15.04/1000 AE (CI=95%) in the CG (p=0.00117). Total days missed due to injury was 2824 (mean=9.94) in the IG compared to 8776 days (mean =13.20) in the CG. CONCLUSION: The FIFA 11+ was shown to significantly reduce injury rates and time loss in the competitive male collegiate soccer player in a statistically significant manner. There was a significant reduction in ACL injuries, hamstring injuries and ankle sprains in the intervention group compared to the control group. A biomechanical analysis has been planned in order to fully understand the neuromuscular changes imparted onto the participating athlete by the FIFA 11+ program.