Background
To compare lay-off times achieved by treating acute muscle injuries in elite football players with a multimodal therapy approach that includes a specific protocol of almost daily radial extracorporeal shock wave therapy (rESWT) with corresponding data reported in the literature.
Methods
We performed a retrospective analysis of treatments and recovery times of muscle injuries suffered by the players of an elite football team competing in the first/second German Bundesliga during one of the previous seasons.
Results
A total of 20 acute muscle injuries were diagnosed and treated in the aforementioned season, of which eight (40%) were diagnosed as Type 1a/muscular tightness injuries, five (25%) as Type 2b/muscle strain injuries, four (20%) as Type 3a/partial muscle tear injuries and three (15%) as contusions. All injuries were treated with the previously mentioned multimodal therapy approach. Compared with data reported by Ekstrand et al. (Br J Sports Med 47:769–774, 2013), lay-off times (median/mean) were shortened by 54% and 58%, respectively, in the case of Type 1a injuries, by 50% and 55%, respectively, in the case of Type 2b injuries as well as by 8% and 21%, respectively, in the case of Type 3a injuries. No adverse reactions were observed.
Conclusions
Overall, the multimodal therapy approach investigated in this study is a safe and effective treatment approach for treating Type 1a and 2b acute muscle injuries amongst elite football players and may help to prevent more severe, structural muscle injuries.
Aim: To compare lay-off times achieved by treating acute muscle injuries in elite football players with a multimodal therapy approach that includes a specific protocol of almost daily radial extracorporeal shock wave therapy (rESWT)) with corresponding data reported in the literature.
Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of treatments and recovery times of muscle injuries suffered by the players of an elite football team competing in the first/second German Bundesliga during one of the previous seasons.
Results: A total of 20 acute muscle injuries were investigated in the aforementioned season, of which eight (40%) were diagnosed as type 1a/muscular tightness injuries, five (25%) as type 2b/muscle strain injuries, four (20%) as type 3a/partial muscle tear injuries and three (15%) as contusions. All injuries were treated with the previously mentioned multimodal therapy approach. Compared with data reported by Ekstrand et al. (Br J Sports Med 2013;47:769-774), lay-off times (median / mean) were shortened by 54% and 58% respectively in the case of type 1a injuries, by 50% and 55% respectively in the case of type 2b injuries as well as by 8% and 21% respectively in the case of type 3a injuries. No adverse reactions were observed.
Conclusions: Overall, the multimodal therapy approach investigated in this study is a safe and effective treatment approach for treating type 1a and 2b acute muscle injuries amongst elite football players and may help to prevent more severe, structural muscle injuries.
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