Seasonal variation in neuromuscular control in young male soccer players.
Rhodri S Lloyd, Jon L Oliver, Gregory D Myer and 2 others
PMID 31869753WHAT IT FOUND
Young elite male soccer players jumped farther over a season, but single leg landing forces rose and knee alignment during landing did not consistently improve.
No injuries were tracked, so this describes change, not proven risk.
Key findings
01Peak vertical landing force during the single leg countermovement jump increased significantly in the left leg between each test session.
02Single leg hop distance increased significantly in both legs between pre-season and end-season and between mid-season and end-season.
03The most common knee valgus score was 2 for both legs at pre-season, reduced to 1 on the right leg at mid-season, and remained 1 to end-season while the left leg remained 2.
STILL TO COME
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What it does not show
The study followed 43 elite male youth soccer players from an English Premier League academy, so it may not apply to female players, other ages, other sports, or lower performance levels. Training, match, and other physical exposure were not tracked, so load changes could not be linked to the test results. Injuries were not recorded during the season, so the study cannot show that the observed changes in landing force, hop distance, or knee valgus increased or decreased injury risk. The study followed the same players over time, so it cannot show that training, growth, or fatigue caused the changes. The sample was too small to split by maturity status, and relationships between changes in height, mass, leg length, or growth rate and neuromuscular control changes were consistently small.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that increased landing forces prove these players are at higher injury risk. The study did not record injuries, did not test an intervention, and followed the same players over time, so it shows seasonal changes in test scores, not a proven increase in harm.