THE 21st CENTURY STRENGTH & CONDITIONING COACHDATA, MONITORING & INJURY RISK FACTORS

Eamonn Flanagan, PhD.

@eamonnflanagan

“To bankrupt a fool, give him information”

- Nassim Taleb

TIME RPE LOAD

60 X 8 = 480 units

SESSION RPE SYSTEM

LOAD Monotony STRAIN

EVEN THE SIMPLEST OF SYSTEMS GENERATES LARGE

VOLUMES OF DATA….

How do we quickly drill into the data?

Who are the priority athletes?

What data should be actionable?

Where are our vulnerabilities?

STRENGTHIs the athlete significantlyweaker than their peers?

AGEHow old is the athlete? How long have they been playing at this level of the sport?

INJURY HISTORYDoes the athlete have anextensive injury history?

CONCUSSIONHas the athlete had a recent concussion?

ATHLETE PROFILEDoes the athlete have an explosive, fast-twitch fibre type?

CONDITIONINGIs the athlete more poorlyconditioned than their peers?Are they overweight?

INJURY HISTORYDoes the athlete have an extensive injury history?

Adapted from Arnason, 2004

1 Season17 teams>300 players

AnthropometryPowerFlexibilityAerobicInjury History

Previous injury the strongest predictor of future injury

INJURY HISTORYDoes the athlete have an extensive injury history?

Hagglund et al., 2012

UEFA Injury Study

10 year period26 teams>1400 players

Previous injury a strong predictor of future injury

INJURY HISTORY - CONCUSSION

50-60% more like to get injured that season

Higher risk within first 90 days of sustaining concussion

AGEHow old is the athlete? How long have they been playing at this level of the sport?

UEFA Injury Study: Age is a clear injury risk factor. Those above the mean age were x2 more likely to suffer calf injury

Arnason et al: Those who suffered injury were SD older than those who were injury free. Players in oldest age group (29-38) had highest absolute injury rates.

Rogalski & Gabbett: Australian Rules footballers with greater training experience (7+ years) have higher probabilities of injury when exposed to large fluctuations in training load

STRENGTHIs the athlete significantlyweaker than their peers?

AGEHow old is the athlete? How long have they been playing at this level of the sport?

INJURY HISTORYDoes the athlete have anextensive injury history?

CONCUSSIONHas the athlete had a recent concussion?

ATHLETE PROFILEDoes the athlete have an explosive, fast-twitch fibre type?

CONDITIONINGIs the athlete more poorlyconditioned than their peers?Are they overweight?

STRENGTH & CONDITIONINGDoes the athlete’s fitness play a role?

“Injury, or failure of a tissue, occurs when the applied load exceeds the failure tolerance or strength of the tissue.”

- McGill, 1997

STRENGTH & CONDITIONINGDoes the athlete’s fitness play a role?

“Injury, or failure of a tissue, occurs when the applied load exceeds the failure tolerance or strength of the tissue.”

- McGill, 1997

STRENGTH & CONDITIONINGDoes the athlete’s fitness play a role?

Fitter and stronger athletes showed smaller increases in muscle damage post-game (rugby league) – despite resulting in greater loads during the game.

Stronger, fitter players are likely to carry less fatigue into consecutive games and should be better able to tolerate busy playing schedules

Johnston et al., 2014

STRENGTHIs the athlete significantlyweaker than their peers?

AGEHow old is the athlete? How long have they been playing at this level of the sport?

INJURY HISTORYDoes the athlete have anextensive injury history?

CONCUSSIONHas the athlete had a recent concussion?

ATHLETE PROFILEDoes the athlete have an explosive, fast-twitch fibre type?

CONDITIONINGIs the athlete more poorlyconditioned than their peers?Are they overweight?

ATHLETE PROFILINGAre explosive, fast-twitch athlete more susceptible to injury?

Very little available evidence relating to fiber-typing and injury risk. But logically we can make a case.

Fast twitch dominant athletes may need longer tapering strategies & some evidence that fast twitch fibers may be more susceptible to eccentric muscle damage.

The fast twitch athlete is capable of phenomenally high “outputs” – they will likely sprint faster, jump higher and hit harder than their slow-twitch peers. These athletes can produce higher forces and impacts, more often which exposes them to high, injury-causing, external forces. The very factor which makes them talented also exposes them to potential risk.

Fast twitch athletes may require longer recovery periods within the game and within the training week.

These factors may create a perfect storm environment for injury

STRENGTHIs the athlete significantlyweaker than their peers?

AGEHow old is the athlete? How long have they been playing at this level of the sport?

INJURY HISTORYDoes the athlete have anextensive injury history?

CONCUSSIONHas the athlete had a recent concussion?

ATHLETE PROFILEDoes the athlete have an explosive, fast-twitch fibre type?

CONDITIONINGIs the athlete more poorlyconditioned than their peers?Are they overweight?

STRENGTHIs the athlete significantlyweaker than their peers?

AGEHow old is the athlete? How long have they been playing at this level of the sport?

INJURY HISTORYDoes the athlete have anextensive injury history?

CONCUSSIONHas the athlete had a recent concussion?

ATHLETE PROFILEDoes the athlete have an explosive, fast-twitch fibre type?

CONDITIONINGIs the athlete more poorlyconditioned than their peers?Are they overweight?

These characteristics are clear, evidence-based injury risk

factors. So in the assessment of daily monitoring data, we

must have a strong understanding of this background

information to frame our data in the appropriate context.

Are all athletes equal?

Should athlete 11 and athlete 8 be treated in the same way in light of monitoring red flags?

ATHLETE REVIEW DATA

Helps us quickly identify at risk players- monitoring data prioritisation- more aggressive interventions- more visibility for coaches (it gives them a “why”)

Promote interdisciplinary discussion and shared ownership of wins and losses

Identify robust athletes and those more tolerant of risk

Its not a perfect system, its over simplified and has limitations… but it’s a start

THANK YOU

1. Gamble, P. Comprehensive strength and conditioning: physical preparation for sports performance. 2016. 2. Arnason, A., Sigurdsson, S.B., Gudmundsson, A., Holme, I., Engebretsen, L. and Bahr, R., 2004. Risk factors for injuries in football. The American journal of sports medicine, 32(1 suppl), pp.5S-16S. 3. Hägglund, M., Waldén, M. and Ekstrand, J., 2013. Risk factors for lower extremity muscle injury in professional soccer the UEFA injury study. The American journal of sports medicine, 41(2), pp.327-335. 4. Cross, M., Kemp, S., Smith, A., Trewartha, G. and Stokes, K., 2015. Professional Rugby Union players have a 60% greater risk of time loss injury after concussion: a 2-season prospective study of clinical outcomes. British journal of sports medicine, pp.bjsports-2015. 5. Nordström, A., Nordström, P. and Ekstrand, J., 2014. Sports-related concussion increases the risk of subsequent injury by about 50% in elite male football players. British journal of sports medicine, 48(19), pp.1447-1450. 6. Brooks, M.A., Peterson, K., Biese, K., Sanfilippo, J., Heiderscheit, B.C. and Bell, D.R., 2016. Concussion increases odds of sustaining a lower extremity musculoskeletal injury after return to play among collegiate athletes. The American journal of sports medicine, p.0363546515622387. 7. Rogalski, B., Dawson, B., Heasman, J. and Gabbett, T.J., 2013. Training and game loads and injury risk in elite Australian footballers. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 16(6), pp.499-503. 8. Gabbett, T. Training smarter and harder. Seminar series hosted by the IRFU and Institute of Technology Tallaght, 2015. 9. McGill, S.M., 1997. The biomechanics of low back injury: current practice in industry and the clinic. Journal of Biomechanics, 30(5), pp.465-475. 10. Lauersen, J.B., Bertelsen, D.M. and Andersen, L.B., 2014. The effectiveness of exercise interventions to prevent sports injuries: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. British journal of sports medicine, 48(11), pp.871-877. 11. Johnston, R.D., Gabbett, T.J., Jenkins, D.G. and Hulin, B.T., 2015. Influence of physical qualities on post-match fatigue in rugby league players. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 18(2), pp.209-213. 12. Opar, D.A., Williams, M., Timmins, R., Hickey, J., Duhig, S. and Shield, A., 2014. Eccentric hamstring strength and hamstring injury risk in Australian footballers. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 46. 13. Messier, S.P., Gutekunst, D.J., Davis, C. and DeVita, P., 2005. Weight loss reduces knee joint loads in overweight and obese older adults with knee ‐osteoarthritis. Arthritis & Rheumatism, 52(7), pp.2026-2032. 14. Tyler, T.F., McHugh, M.P., Mirabella, M.R., Mullaney, M.J. and Nicholas, S.J., 2006. Risk factors for noncontact ankle sprains in high school football players the role of previous ankle sprains and body mass index. The American journal of sports medicine, 34(3), pp.471-475.