Improving Endurance Lowers Risk for Injury

Improving overall cardiorespiratory endurance may be a key step towards preventing injury.

A new study in the journal “Sports Medicine International Open” analyzed 31 soccer players over the course of two sports seasons. The researchers found that the majority of injuries occurred during the last 15 minutes of each half, when the athletes were presumably in a more fatigued state.

Additionally, athletes who had improved their VO2max prior to the beginning of the season experienced significantly less injuries compared to athletes who had not.

Conclusions

Maintaining a high level of endurance may be key for preventing injuries.

Reference

Eliakim, E., Doron, O., Meckel, Y., Nemet, D., & Eliakim, A. (2018). Pre-season fitness level and injury rate in professional soccer–a prospective study. Sports medicine international open2(03), E84-E90.
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