RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Assessing the cumulative effect of long-term training load on the risk of injury in team sports
JF BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine
JO BMJ OPEN SP EX MED
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
SP e001342
DO 10.1136/bmjsem-2022-001342
VO 8
IS 2
A1 Bache-Mathiesen, Lena Kristin
A1 Andersen, Thor Einar
A1 Dalen-Lorentsen, Torstein
A1 Clarsen, Benjamin
A1 Fagerland, Morten Wang
YR 2022
UL http://bmjopensem.bmj.com/content/8/2/e001342.abstract
AB Objectives Determine how to assess the cumulative effect of training load on the risk of injury or health problems in team sports.Methods First, we performed a simulation based on a Norwegian Premier League male football dataset (n players=36). Training load was sampled from daily session rating of perceived exertion (sRPE). Different scenarios of the effect of sRPE on injury risk and the effect of relative sRPE on injury risk were simulated. These scenarios assumed that the probability of injury was the result of training load exposures over the previous 4 weeks. We compared seven different methods of modelling training load in their ability to model the simulated relationship. We then used the most accurate method, the distributed lag non-linear model (DLNM), to analyse data from Norwegian youth elite handball players (no. of players=205, no. of health problems=471) to illustrate how assessing the cumulative effect of training load can be done in practice.Results DLNM was the only method that accurately modelled the simulated relationships between training load and injury risk. In the handball example, DLNM could show the cumulative effect of training load and how much training load affected health problem risk depending on the distance in time since the training load exposure.Conclusion DLNM can be used to assess the cumulative effect of training load on injury risk.Data are available in a public, open access repository. Data are available upon reasonable request. All data relevant to the study are included in the article or uploaded as supplementary information. All data relevant to the study are included in the article, are available as supplementary files, or available upon reasonable request. The anonymous training load variable from the Norwegian Premier League football data, and all statistical programming code, is available in a GitHub repository. The anonymised Norwegian elite youth handball data are available upon reasonable request.