Effect of a Shortened FIFA11+ Warm-up Program and Sex-specific Footwear on Cutting in Youth Soccer Players
- Conditions
- Healthy
- Registration Number
- NCT06638346
- Lead Sponsor
- McGill University
- Brief Summary
This research aims to look at how warm-up programs and types of footwear affect movement patterns that are associated with injury risk during change-of-direction tasks, also known as cutting, in youth soccer players. Specifically, this research is conducted in two parts with two different study designs: a quasi-randomized controlled trial and a crossover design. The main questions it aims to answer are:
* \[Part 1: Quasi-RCT\] How does a shortened FIFA11+ warm-up program, lasting 3 months, affect movement patterns during cutting compared to a standard warm-up program in youth soccer players?
* \[Part 2: Crossover design\] How does female-specific footwear affect movement patterns during cutting, compared to unisex footwear, in youth female players? Secondarily, whether specific shoe properties (comfort, functional traction, pressure distribution) differ between the two types of footwear.
For part 1 of the research:
* Researchers will compare a shortened FIFA11+ with a Brazilian warm-up program (standard) to see its effect on movement patterns during cutting.
* Participants will perform their assigned warm-up program twice a week for 3 months (12-weeks).
* To assess movement patterns, participants will perform an unplanned sidestep cutting task, captured with markerless cameras, before and after the training period.
For part 2, only female participants will be involved:
* Researchers will compare the effects of female-specific soccer cleats (designed exclusively for female) with unisex soccer cleats on cutting patterns and certain shoe properties.
* All participants will test both types of footwear and perform an unplanned sidestep task captured with markerless cameras, run through a slalom course (multiple acceleration and change of directions) to test for shoe traction, and complete an online survey on shoe comfort and perceived performance.
* A subset of participants will perform a planned sidestep task with wireless insoles to test for pressure distribution.
- Detailed Description
With the rise of soccer's global prominence, injury risks among players remain a concern. Deceleration and change of direction maneuvers are frequently employed as an evasive strategy during games. However, they often contribute to higher risk of non-contact anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries. Sidestep cutting involves planting with one foot and pushing off in the opposite direction. Improper movement patterns may increase loads on the planted leg leading to injuries. Injury prevention initiatives such as the FIFA11+ have been introduced to reduce injury rates, but it is unclear whether these programs can correct movement patterns during cutting. Moreover, the length of these programs (often lasting 20 minutes) can reduce adherence and hinder their practical implementation in the real-world. This results in alternative programs like the Brazilian warm-up to be used instead.
In addition, females are significantly more at-risk of ACL injuries than males. This is often attributed to differences in movement pattern and anatomy. Variations in foot anatomy can affect how players interact with footwear, which may in turn, influence cutting patterns. Yet, soccer footwear is typically designed using a male foot template (i.e. last), resulting in a one-size for all approach for female athletes.
In order to address current limitations, this study aims to estimate the effect of a shortened FIFA11+ and sex-specific footwear on cutting kinematics in youth soccer players. This will be done in two parts, where part 1 examines two warm-up programs, and part 2 examines two types of footwear. Ethics approval and informed participants and parental consent as well as assent have been obtained.
For part 1 of the study, 64 healthy soccer players will be recruited from Soccer Montréal (formerly known as Association Régionale de Soccer Concordia (ARSC)) sport study program. Soccer Montréal provides soccer sport study programs to high schools for high performance soccer players. Soccer Montréal conducts soccer training with pre-established cohorts separated by sex and age. Two male and 2 female cohorts will be allocated to either the intervention or control group. Male cohorts of similar age groups will be selected, and the entire cohort will be randomly allocated using a computer. The female cohorts have different age groups, and thus allocation to intervention or control will be divided within each cohort following a quasi-randomized fashion. During the testing, participants are required to perform an unanticipated sidestep maneuver at 45 (±10) degrees on artificial turf. Data will be collected with markerless motion capture systems. A total of 7 trials will be captured in each direction, only 5 out of 7 will be analyzed.
For part 2 of the study, female participants from part 1 (32 females) will test two types of footwear: Female-specific and unisex soccer cleats. Testing will be done at one time point. Female-specific cleats are provided from IDA sports, specifically the IDA centra FG/AG model. Unisex cleats are the Nike Tiempo Legend 10 Academy. Proper fit of shoe sizes will be examined manually by the research team prior to testing. Kinematic data will be collected using the same unanticipated sidestep task as part 1. Additional testing will include a slalom course to examine functional traction of the shoes. Participants will complete an online comfort survey, following the slalom course, once for each shoe. A subset of female participants will also complete a sidestep cutting task with wireless insoles to measure pressure data.
Findings of this study will advance knowledge of ACL injury mechanism during cutting tasks, aid in the design of more practical injury prevention programs and guide the development of female-specific footwear.
Recruitment & Eligibility
- Status
- COMPLETED
- Sex
- All
- Target Recruitment
- 64
- Soccer players
- Enrolled in Association Régionale de Soccer Concordia (ARSC), now known as Soccer Montréal, soccer sport study program.
- Age between 13-17 years old.
- Any history of major lower limb or back injuries (e.g., torn ACL, herniated vertebrae)
- History of any lower extremity surgery
- Current medical/neurological condition preventing cutting maneuver or training.
Study & Design
- Study Type
- INTERVENTIONAL
- Study Design
- PARALLEL
- Primary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method [Study Part 1: Warm-up programs]: Joint kinematics of lower extremity and trunk After the 12-week intervention Kinematic data will be captured for both intervention and control group using markerless motion capture system. Joint angles will be assessed throughout the cutting phase from pre-contact (100ms prior to foot strike) to foot-off of the planted leg. Specifically, joint kinematics will include: hip flexion/extension, hip abduction/adduction, hip internal/external rotation, knee flexion/extension, knee abduction/adduction, ankle dorsiflexion/plantarflexion, ankle inversion/eversion, trunk flexion/extension, trunk side flexion and trunk rotation.
Principal component analysis will be used to analyze the whole angle waveform throughout cutting. Therefore, each kinematic outcome measure will be expressed as angle PC-scores which measures the degree of correspondence between angle waveform and principal components (PCs). PCs will captures variability features of angle waveform data such as amplitude, angle differences, etc.[Study Part 2: Footwear]: Joint kinematics of lower extremity and trunk Baseline (one time point) Kinematic data will be collected for female-specific footwear and unisex footwear using markerless motion capture system. Joint angles will be assessed throughout the cutting phase from pre-contact (100ms prior to foot strike) to foot-off of the planted leg. Specifically, joint kinematics will include: hip flexion/extension, hip abduction/adduction, hip internal/external rotation, knee flexion/extension, knee abduction/adduction, ankle dorsiflexion/plantarflexion, ankle inversion/eversion, trunk flexion/extension, trunk side flexion and trunk rotation.
Principal component analysis will be used to analyze the whole angle waveform throughout cutting. Therefore, each kinematic outcome measure will be expressed as angle PC-scores which measures the degree of correspondence between angle waveform and principal components (PCs). PCs will capture variability features of angle waveform data such as amplitude, angle differences, etc.
- Secondary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method [Study Part 2: Footwear]: Slalom course running time Baseline (one time point) Completion times will be captured with timing gates for both female-specific and unisex cleats. Faster completion times will reflect better functional traction properties. The average of three trials will be taken for each shoe.
[Study Part 2: Footwear]: Hindfoot mediolateral plantar pressure ratios Baseline (one time point) Higher ratios will indicate greater relative pressure on the medial borders, while lower ratios will indicate greater pressures on the lateral border.
Data will be determined for both for both female-specific and unisex cleats from the pressure data obtained with wireless insoles.[Study Part 2: Footwear]: Forefoot mediolateral plantar pressure ratios Baseline (one time point) Higher ratios will indicate greater relative pressure on the medial borders, while lower ratios will indicate greater pressures on the lateral border.
Data will be determined for both for both female-specific and unisex cleats from the pressure data obtained with wireless insoles.[Study Part 2: Footwear]: Peak plantar pressure Baseline (one time point) The plantar surface of the foot will be divided into regions. Peak pressure will represent the highest recorded pressure in each of the regions.
Data will be determined for both for both female-specific and unisex cleats from the pressure data obtained with wireless insoles.[Study Part 2: Footwear]: Mean plantar pressure Baseline (one time point) The plantar surface of the foot will be divided into regions. Mean pressure will be the average pressure in each of the regions.
Data will be determined for both for both female-specific and unisex cleats from the pressure data obtained with wireless insoles.[Study Part 2: Footwear]: Impulse plantar pressure Baseline (one time point) Impulse (pressure-time integral) will be derived by multiplying the pressure amplitude by the duration of application (i.e. contact phase of interest).
Data will be determined for both for both female-specific and unisex cleats from the pressure data obtained with wireless insoles.[Study Part 2: Footwear]: Performance rating: Perceived traction suitability Baseline (one time point) Perceived ratings will be completed using an online survey, following the slalom course, once for each shoe (female-specific and unisex cleats). Traction suitability rating ranges from 0 (Worse suitability) to 15 (Best suitability) using a visual analogue scale.
Traction suitability refers to ability of the shoe to maintain its grip with the playing surface to minimize slip and falls. Worse suitability indicates greater slips and falls. Best suitability rating indicates a greater ability to maintain stability and less risk of slips and falls.[Study Part 2: Footwear]: Performance rating: Overall performance Baseline (one time point) Perceived ratings will be completed using an online survey, following the slalom course, once for each shoe (female-specific and unisex cleats). Overall performance rating ranges from 0 (Worse performance) to 15 (Best performance) using a visual analogue scale.
Overall performance refers to how well you feel you did during the dynamic tasks in terms of overall speed, turn and satisfaction. Worse performance means that you did not perform well in this shoe. Best performance means that this shoe allowed you to give your best performance.[Study Part 2: Footwear]: Comfort rating: Overall comfort Baseline (one time point) Perceived ratings will be completed using an online survey, following the slalom course, once for each shoe (female-specific and unisex cleats). Overall comfort rating ranges from 0 (Not comfortable at all) to 15 (Most comfortable condition imaginable) using a visual analogue scale.
Overall comfort refers to your overall impression of the shoe in terms of how comfortable. Not comfortable at all means that the shoe is overall not comfortable. Most comfortable condition imaginable, means that the shoe comfort is perfect for your needs.[Study Part 2: Footwear]: Comfort rating: Overall shoe fit Baseline (one time point) Perceived ratings will be completed using an online survey, following the slalom course, once for each shoe (female-specific and unisex cleats). Overall shoe fit rating ranges from 0 (Not comfortable at all) to 15 (Most comfortable condition imaginable) using a visual analogue scale.
Shoe fit refers to the overall fit and size of the shoe. Not comfortable at all means the fit of the shoe is not comfortable either too tight or too loose at some parts of the foot. Most comfortable condition imaginable, means that the size and the fit of the shoe is perfect for your foot.[Study Part 2: Footwear]: Comfort rating: Overall cushioning Baseline (one time point) Perceived ratings will be completed using an online survey, following the slalom course, once for each shoe (female-specific and unisex cleats). Overall comfort rating ranges from 0 (Not comfortable at all) to 15 (Most comfortable condition imaginable) using a visual analogue scale.
Overall cushioning refers to the softness/hardness of the insole at the forefoot or heel region. Not comfortable means the cushioning at the front or back of your foot is too hard or too soft, making it uncomfortable during use. Most comfortable means that the cushioning is perfectly fitted for your foot and needs.[Study Part 2: Footwear]: Comfort rating: Overall shoe weight Baseline (one time point) Perceived ratings will be completed using an online survey, following the slalom course, once for each shoe (female-specific and unisex cleats). Overall shoe weight rating ranges from 0 (Not comfortable at all) to 15 (Most comfortable condition imaginable) using a visual analogue scale.
Shoe weight refers to the weight/heaviness of the shoe. Not comfortable at all means that the weight is too heavy or too light for your comfort. Most comfortable means that the shoe weight is perfect for your foot and tasks.
Trial Locations
- Locations (1)
McGill University
🇨🇦Montreal, Quebec, Canada