(36) IN-SEASON MONITORING OF LOWER EXTREMITY JUMPING ASYMMETRY IN FEMALE DIVISION I SOCCER PLAYERS

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore changes in lower extremity asymmetries during a Division I women’s soccer season using countermovement jumps

Methods: Sixteen Division I female soccer players participated in this study (age: 20.9 ± 1.4 years; height: 166.3 ± 4.6 cm, body mass: 62.5± 6.2 kg, training age: 14.4 ± 1.8 years). Subjects completed six testing sessions consisting of an initial baseline assessment followed by five longitudinal measurement sessions across the season. During each experimental session, subjects performed 2-3 countermovement jumps using dual force plates sampling at 1000Hz. Thirty seconds passive rest was given between repetitions. A third jump was performed only if performance measures deviated by 2.5% or more between jumps. Subjects were instructed to perform each jump with maximal intent and verbal cues were given to encourage maximal effort. Kinetic variables collected and used to assess asymmetry included concentric impulse (Con Imp), eccentric impulse (Ecc Imp), concentric peak (Con PF) and mean force (Con MF). A series of repeated measures ANOVA with Bonferroni post hoc comparisons were performed to identify and compare observed differences from the baseline assessment. Greenhouse-Geisser corrections were applied when appropriate.

Results: Multiple statistically significant main effects of time were observed for lower body asymmetry (Con Imp, p < 0.01, Con MF, p < 0.01, Con PF, p < 0.05).

Conclusions: As athletes progressed through the competitive season, statistically significant impairments in jump performance became apparent. Specifically, asymmetries of lower body muscular force-velocity characteristics appear to be sensitive to the physiological strain associated with a NCAA Division I women's soccer season. Additional research is needed to investigate potential alterations in absolute muscular force-velocity characteristics associated with a high-level collegiate soccer season, as well as to identify potential associations between alterations in absolute kinetics and asymmetries. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: It may become important to perform routine monitoring late in the competition season as the data indicate variables were more negatively affected compared to baseline measures as the season progressed.

Acknowledgements: None