From High-Speed Running to Hobbling on Crutches: A Machine Learning Perspective on the Relationships Between Training Doses and Match Injury Trends

Buchheit M, Settembre M, Hader K & McHugh D. From High-Speed Running to Hobbling on Crutches: A Machine Learning Perspective on the Relationships Between Training Doses and Match Injury Trends. Sport Performance & Science Reports, 2024, January, #216, V1

 

Full Text here

 

🔍 This cool new study dives deep into the relationship between match turnaround durations, high-speed running (HSR), sprinting distances, and their impact on match injuries in elite European football. By leveraging a comprehensive dataset from multiple clubs and employing innovative machine-learning techniques, we’ve uncovered some compelling insights:

 

🧩 Methods:

– 12 Europeans and MLS Teams, 734 season-players, >44000 exposures (7500 matches)

– 172 non-contact injuries.

– Analysis restricted to starter players who played >60 minutes in the 2 consecutive matches.

– eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) to assess the relationship between injury rates and HSR and Sprint volumes during 6-8 day turnarounds.

 

📊 Key Findings:

1. HSR and Sprint running distances peak mid-turnaround, especially in scenarios with turnarounds of 6 days or more.
2. Accumulated HSR and sprinting distances meeting or exceeding single-match demands are only seen in longer turnarounds.
3. Substantial variability exists between teams in the distribution of HSR and sprinting load.
4. HSR distances ranging from 0.6 to 0.9 of match load, and sprinting distances from 0.6 to 1.1 of match load, were associated with lower instances of injuries.

 

🧠 Our study goes beyond just injury prediction, offering actionable insights into training periodization, specifically in match turnaround dynamics – a critical aspect often overlooked in previous research.

 

💬 The responses so far have been phenomenal! Having presented these findings at numerous conferences, the engagement and questions raised have been incredibly insightful. This is a hot topic that resonates deeply within the sports community.

 

🤝 A huge thank you to everyone who’s reached out for further discussions and insights post-conferences. Your interest and feedback are what drive this research forward!

 

📝 Check out the full paper for a detailed exploration of our methodology, results, and implications for football training and injury prevention. Some strong limitations too, of course – and remember association doesn’t mean causation, and injuries are MULTIFACTORIAL 🙂